Colorado turnovers costly in loss to Huskers

Colorado Buffaloes 2009 ... Head Coach: Dan Hawkins

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 7-5
2009 Record: 3-9

9/6 Colorado St L 23-17
9/11 at Toledo L 54-38
9/19 Wyoming W 24-0
9/26 OPEN DATE
10/1 at W Virginia L 35-24
10/10 at Texas L 38-14
10/17 Kansas W 34-30
10/24 at Kansas St L 20-6
10/31 Missouri L 36-17
11/7 Texas A&M W 35-34
11/14 at Iowa St L 17-10
11/19 at Oklahoma St L 31-28
11/27 Nebraska L 28-20

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2008 Record: 5-7

Aug. 31 Colorado St  W 38-17
Sept. 6 Eastern Wash W 31-24
Sept. 13 OPEN DATE
Sept. 18 W Virginia W 17-14 OT
Sept. 27 Florida St (Jax) L 39-21
Oct. 4 Texas L 38-14
Oct. 11 at Kansas L 30-14
Oct. 18 Kansas State W 14-13
Oct. 25 at Missouri L 58-0
Nov. 1 at Texas A&M L 24-17
Nov. 8 Iowa State W 28-34
Nov. 15 Oklahoma State L 30-17
Nov. 22 OPEN DATE
Nov. 28 at Nebraska L 41-30

Colorado Buffaloes

Nov. 27
Nebraska 28 … at Colorado 20
Nebraska scored in a variety of ways getting a 59-yard punt return for a score from Niles Paul, a 24-yard Zac Lee touchdown pass to Ben Cotton, and a 20-yard Matt O’Hanlon interception return for a score on the way to a 21-7 halftime lead. But Colorado caught back with a six-yard Scotty McKnight touchdown catch to make things interesting before the Huskers went on a crushing 13-play, 80-yard drive, finshing with a seven-yard Red Burkhead touchdown, to put the game away.
Player of the Game: Nebraska RB Rex Burkhead ran 18 times for 100 yards and a score
Colorado: Passing: Tyler Hansen, 21-44, 269 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 21-110, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 7-114, 2 TD
Nebraska: Passing: Zac Lee, 9-14, 73 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Rex Burkhead, 18-100, 1 TD, Receiving: Ben Cotton, 3-33, 1 TD
What It All Means: Colorado played with its normal effort, but the mistakes and the wrong times, with three interceptions and seven penalties, turned out to be too costly. The defense, led by Cha’pelle Brown and his 11 tackles and two tackles for loss, played a whale of a game and did what it needed to do for the first three quarters to get the win. Now it’s going to be an interesting offseason with Dan Hawkins back. Being sharper is job one, but there also needs to be an instant infusion of talent. Colorado simply isn’t good enough.

Nov. 19
at Oklahoma State 31 … Colorado 28
Brandon Weeden stepped in for an ineffective Alex Cate and threw two touchdown passes, including a 28-yarder to Justin Blackmon with 8:11 to play, to give Oklahoma State the lead, and the defense held with a stuff on fourth down to end CU’s chances. Perrish Cox started out the scoring for the Cowboys with a 67-yard punt return for a score, but Colorado fought back with two Tyler Hansen touchdown passes leading the way to a 21-10 lead. And then Keith Toston took over. The OSU back ran for a 45-yard touchdown in the third and took a pass 46 yards for a score in the fourth, but after the second score, Brian Lockridge returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. The Buffs wouldn’t get back on the board.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State RB Keith Toston ran 30 times for 172 yards and a score, and he caught two passes for 45 yards and a score.
Colorado: Passing: Tyler Stewart, 23-36, 169 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 8-21, Receiving: Markques Simas, 11-90, 1 TD
Oklahoma State: Passing: Brandon Weeden, 10-15, 168 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Keith Toston, 30-172, 1 TD, Receiving: Josh Cooper, 3-32
What It All Means: It’s not that Colorado isn’t trying, it’s that it’s not getting any breaks its way, it’s not creating any breaks, and it’s not getting the timely plays needed to keep the momentum once everything swings its way. After the Brian Lockridge kickoff return for a score to give the Buffs a fourth quarter lead, the defense gave up a seven-play, 73-yard drive, and couldn’t recover. 2-19 on the road under Dan Hawkins, the era has one game left against Nebraska. 

Nov. 14
at Iowa State 17 … Colorado 10
Austen Arnaud connected with Alexander Robinson for a 20-yard touchdown and threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Hamilton for a score on the way to a 17-3 lead. Colorado rallied with a 36-yard Markques Simas touchdown catch and had one final chance, but a mad scramble was stopped. Iowa State is bowl eligible with the win.
Player of the Game: Iowa State RB Alexander Robinson ran 30 times for 138 yards, and he caught a pass for a 20-yard score.
Colorado: Passing: Tyler Hansen, 18-38, 259 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 19-85, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 8-107
Iowa State: Passing: Austen Arnaud, 12-25, 116 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Alexander Robinson, 30-138, Receiving: Collin Franklin, 3-38
What It All Means: Colorado continues to be its own worst enemy. With three turnovers and 11 penalties, there were several mistakes and several missed opportunities. Tyler Hansen couldn’t keep the chains moving, even though he threw for 259 yards and made a few big plays. Assured of a losing season and with a trip to Oklahoma State next week and Nebraska to close, things could get a lot uglier if the team doesn’t sharpen up. CU outgained Iowa State 390 yards to 310, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The offense will have to be far better to have any chance of not being blown out over the final two weeks. 

Nov. 7
at Colorado 35 … Texas A&M 34
Colorado couldn’t protect QB Tyler Hansen, who was sacked eight times, but got the win as Patrick Devenny caught a 22-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes to play. Anthony Perkins snuffed out the ensuing Aggie drive with a pick, and after CU had to punt, Marcus Burton a muffed attempt to end the drama. A&M got up 21-10 at halftime helped by a 99-yard kickoff return for a score from Cyrus Gray and a Jerrod Johnson one-yard touchdown run and a one-yard pass to Jeff Fuller. But Rodney Stewart ran for an 11-yard score and Demetrius Sumler ran for a seven-yard score to get close before Devenny was able to put the Buffs over the top. Von Miller came up with two sacks for the Aggies.
Player of the Game: Colorado RB Rodney Stewart ran 20 times for 118 yards and two scores.
Texas A&M: Passing: Jerrod Johnson, 20-36, 242 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Christine Michael, 16-74, 1 TD, Receiving: Ryan Tannehill, 9-100
Colorado: Passing: Tyler Hansen, 21-32, 271 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 20-118, 2 TD, Receiving: Markques Simas, 7-135
What It All Means: Colorado was coming off two ugly losses, more speculation of Dan Hawkins getting fired, and losing 2008 star recruit Darrell Scott, who decided to transfer. But even with all the problems, and the inability to protect QB Tyler Hansen, the offense actually moved the ball with Rodney Stewart running well on the Aggies and Hansen throwing well even though he was continually being popped. The Buffs continue to tease, and even with all the problems, they’re still in the hunt for a bowl game with a winnable game starting against Iowa State next week. CU won’t go bowling, they’re not going to beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater, but the team hasn’t shown any quit under Hawkins. 

Oct. 31
Missouri 36 … at Colorado 17
The Missouri defense dominated the Buffs holding them to just 176 yards of total offense, while the Tiger attack got touchdown catches from Danario Alexander from 73 and two yards out and a one-yard Derrick Washington run on the way to a 33-0 first half lead. Colorado managed to mount a little bit of a comeback with a three-yard Rodney Stewart scoring run and a 78-yard interception return for a score from Benjamin Burney, but couldn’t get closer than 16 points. The Buffs were stuffed all game long finishing with -14 rushing yards.
Player of the Game: Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon made 12 tackles with a tackle for loss.
Colorado: Passing: Tyler Hansen, 22-36, 190 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Simmons, 1-15, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 9-104
Missouri: Passing: Blaine Gabbert, 17-29, 192 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Derrick Washington, 22-99, 1 TD, Receiving: Danario Alexander, 8-123, 2 TD
What It All Means: If the Dan Hawkins era had a spark of life after the win over Kansas, it’s all gone now. The offensive line was a disaster against the Missouri pass rush and Tyler Hansen did nothing for the passing game. Even with the team down big, Cody Hawkins, the better passing option, didn’t with Hansen sinking or swimming with the offense. Nothing is working with the special teams having as many problems as the passing game and the 114th ranked rushing attack. The Buffs will have to win out to be bowl eligible, but that will be a problem with Texas A&M up next week and a trip to Oklahoma State down the road. 

Oct. 24
at Kansas State 20 … Colorado 6
Kansas State came up with 17 points in the second quarter on short touchdown runs from Daniel Thomas and Grant Gregory, and Josh Cherry hit two first half field goals from 25 and 27 yards on the way to the win. Colorado had a strong first quarter drive culminating in a two-yard Rodney Stewart touchdown run, but the offense floundered the rest of the way with four turnovers and just 244 yards of offense. Emmanuel Lamur picked off two passes for the Wildcats.
Player of the Game: Kansas State RB Daniel Thomas ran 20 times for 145 yards and a score, and he caught two passes for 18 yards
Colorado: Passing: Cody Hawkins, 10-23, 95 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 16-49, 1 TD, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 6-61
Kansas State: Passing: Grant Gregory, 9-18, 80 yds
Rushing: Daniel Thomas, 20-145, 1 TD, Receiving: Attrail Snipes, 2-33
What It All Means: And the disaster is back. A week after the seemingly breakthrough win over Kansas, Colorado’s offense went back into the tank as Tyler Hanson didn’t provide any of the spark he showed against the Jayhawks, and now the quarterback flip-flopping has kicked in. Cody Hawkins was a big problem before, and now he might have to be the answer to try to save his dad’s job. At 2-5, all isn’t quite lost yet, especially with home games against Missouri and Texas A&M up next, but with the way the O is playing, it’s going to take something special to get a win the rest of the way. 

Oct. 17
Colorado 34 … at Kansas 30
Colorado, led by new starting quarterback Tyler Hansen, got up 24-3 in the first half, and then it was the Todd Reesing show. The Kansas quarterback was sacked six times, but he threw for 401 yards and two touchdowns with a 25-yarder to Dezmon Briscoe giving the Jayhawks a three point lead in the fourth quarter. But Colorado took the lead for good with a 13-yard Rodney Stewart scoring run with 8:36 to play. Reesing wasn’t finished with two more shots deep into CU territory, but they both came up empty including a last-second pass in the end zone that went through Briscoe’s hands. Hansen ran for a one-yard score and connected with Riar Geer for a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but he didn’t lead the Buffs back into the end zone again until the fourth. KU finished with -8 rushing yards but outgained CU 423 yards to 322.
Player of the Game: Colorado RB Rodney Stewart ran 24 times for 108 yards and two scores
Kansas: Passing: Todd Reesing, 30-51, 401 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jake Sharp, 13-29, Receiving: Kerry Meier, 11-103, 1 TD
Colorado: Passing: Tyler Hansen, 14-25, 175 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 24-108, 2 TD, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 5-33
What It All Means: Did Colorado just save Dan Hawkins’ job and the 2009 season? After a stunning win to give Kansas its first loss of the season, there’s plenty of excitement and the belief that this might be the win to open the floodgates. Was the move of Tyler Hansen to the starting role the difference? Yes, but only because it was addition by subtraction. He doesn’t throw like Cody Hawkins does and the offense changed and highlighted his mobility a bit more. The defense has to do more to slow down decent passing games, and got torched by the Jayhawks, and with Missouri and Texas A&M coming up after the trip to Kansas State, the Buffs need to be ready to be in more firefights. There’s still time to get to a bowl, and with a win like this, and with Missouri and Nebraska coming to Boulder, there’s still time to dream of the ultimate turnaround. The North is up for grabs; can Colorado suddenly be good enough to be in the hunt? 

Oct. 10
at Texas 38 … Colorado 14
Texas overcame a sluggish, ugly start with 35 unanswered points helped by a Jordan Shipley 39-yard touchdown catch and a 74-yard punt return for a score. The defense got into the act with Earl Thomas squashing the hopes of a Colorado comeback with a 92-yard interception return for a score a few minutes after Ben Wells took a blocked punt for a touchdown. Colorado only ended up with 127 yards of total offense and committed 20 penalties.
Player of the Game: Texas WR Jordan Shipley caught 11 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, and he returned three punts for 88 yards and a score.
Colorado: Passing: Cody Hawkins, 6-18, 68 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 21-40, Receiving: Markques Simas, 2-13
Texas: Passing: Colt McCoy, 32-39, 265 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Cody Johnson, 9-20, Receiving: Jordan Shipley, 11-147, 1 TD
What It All Means: What a mess. It isn’t a crime to lose to Texas, but Colorado now has to deal with family issues, a quarterback problem, and a disaster of a 1-4 start with Kansas coming up next. Cody Hawkins has been lousy, but it hasn’t been all his fault. Even so, he’s getting the blame and will be benched for Tyler Hansen for the foreseeable future. 127 yards of offense, two major special teams breakdowns, and 20 penalties all add up to a possible end to the Dan Hawkins era quickly coming.

Oct. 1
at West Virginia 35 … Colorado 24
Noel Devine ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run and Jarrett Brown connected with Jock Sanders for a six-yard score and Brad Starks for a 48-yard touchdown as West Virginia won a sloppy game. Colorado stayed alive on a 36-yard Rodney Stewart touchdown run and got a 29-yard touchdown catch from Scotty McKnight, but three interceptions, three missed field goals from Aric Goodman, and two short touchdown runs from West Virginia’s Ryan Clarke were too much to overcome. The Mountaineers turned it over four times, all on fumbles.
Player of the Game: West Virginia RB Noel Devine ran 22 times for 220 yards and a touchdown
Colorado: Passing: Cody Hawkins, 27-52, 292 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 21-105, 1 TD, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 9-98, 1 TD
West Virginia: Passing: Jarrett Brown, 12-19, 148 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Noel Devine, 22-220, 1 TD, Receiving: Brad Starks, 3-68, 1 TD
What It All Means: West Virginia gave Colorado several chances to take over the game, but the Buffs didn’t take advantage. The defense couldn’t slow down Noel Devine and the Mountaineer running game, but the bigger problem was CU’s own ineffectiveness on offense. Cody Hawkins threw 52 times, but the passing game only gained 292 yards with three rough interceptions. To have any chance at Texas next week, the offense has to be perfect while the defense can’t give up the big plays it allowed in Morgantown.

Sept. 19
at Colorado 24 … Wyoming 0
Colorado got its first win of the season when Rodney Stewart came back from a hamstring problem to run for scores from two and 11 yards out. Scotty McKnight started off the scoring with a two-yard run in the first quarter, and Aric Goodman kicked a 20-yard field goal in the second. Wyoming managed just 230 yards of total offense and misfired on its best chance with a missed field goal.
Player of the Game: Colorado RB Rodney Stewart ran 32 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns
Wyoming: Passing: Austyn Carta-Samuels, 11-24, 125 yds
Rushing: Austyn Carta-Samuels, 9-36, Receiving: David Leonard, 6-49
Colorado: Passing: Cody Hawkins, 17-31, 175 yds
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 32-127, 2 TD, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 5-77
What It All Means: Colorado finally got a win thanks to a good defensive performance, a must after getting gouged by Toledo, and with the running game finally looking like the Colorado running game. Rodney Stewart showed once again why he’s the team’s best rushing option, especially with Darrell Scott out, carrying the workload and talking all the pressure off Cody Hawkins. Hawkins still has to prove he can produce again against a team with a decent defense, but he’ll have two weeks to prepare and improve before dealing with West Virginia. Colorado needs to take a deep breath and start to just play. This isn’t the best team in the Big 12, but it’ll come up with a few nice wins if the defense can be as aggressive as it was against the anemic Cowboy attack. But to have any real hope of getting to a bowl, Hawkins has to be better. 

Sept. 11
at Toledo 54 ... Colorado 38
Toledo cranked out 624 yards of total offense, and all but put the game away early with two of Aaron Opelt's four touchdown passes, throwing an eight-yarder to Danny Noble and connecting with Eric Page for a 70-yarder, on the way to a 30-3 halftime lead. Colorado tried to furiously rally, with Cody Hawkins throwing three touchdown passes, but the Rockets went on a 17-point fourth quarter run highlighted by a 61-yard Opelt scoring dash.
Player of the Game: Toledo QB Aaron Opelt completed 15-of-23 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns, and he ran eight times for 109 yards and two scores.
Toledo: Passing: Aaron Opelt, 15-23, 319 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: DaJuane Collins, 20-160, 1 TD, Receiving: Danny Noble, 5-56, 1 TD
Colorado: Passing: Cody Hawkins, 30-64, 356 yds, 4 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Darrell Scott, 12-85, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 11-114, 1 TD.
What It All Means: The Buff secondary has been awful over the first two games, but it's not the only reason for the disastrous start. Cody Hawkins isn't getting any better. With so much experience and his dad as his head coach, he has to be far sharper, do a better job of making the right reads, and he has to be more consistent with his mechanics. The receiving corps was supposed to be the biggest problem coming into the season, but Scotty McKnight has stepped up and TE Rian Geer has been fine. Now the team needs to limit the mistakes and has to figure out how to finally get RB Darrell Scott into a lather. But first, the defense has to come up with something that works in a real hurry. Toledo not only threw the ball at will, but it also ran wild. Things get really tough, really fast, with at West Virginia, at Texas, and Kansas coming up to start October, so there is a chance to make amends.

Sept. 6
Colorado State 23 ... at Colorado 17
Colorado State controlled the game from the start with the passing of Grant Stucker and the running of John Mosure helping pave the way to a 17-0 lead and a 20-3 advantage going into halftime. Colorado tried to come back with a nine-yard Brian Lockridge touchdown run in the third quarter and pulled within six with less than two minutes to play with a two-yard Scotty McKnight scoring grab, but CSU got the onside kick and ran out the clock. CSU outgained Colorado 376 yards to 251.
Player of the Game: Colorado State QB Grant Stucker completed 10-of-17 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
Colorado: Passing: Cody Hawkins, 24-40, 222 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 6-38, Receiving: Riar Geer, 6-65
Colorado State: Passing: Grant Stucker, 10-17, 208 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Leonard Mason, 23-107, Receiving: John Mosure, 3-38, 1 TD
What It All Means: Where's the offense? That Colorado didn't get blown away by CSU was a shocker considering the Buff O line was destroyed, there was no running game, and Cody Hawkins didn't appear to make any strides from last year. 29 yards of rushing is an embarrassment considering the talent at running back, and after an offseason of excitement about last year's super-recruit, RB Darrell Scott, there was only one carry for one yard. Dan Hawkins had better have some tricks up his sleeve, or this might be the beginning of the end.