Sunday Buff Bites - 13 Days Until This Nightmare Is Over...Hopefully

Woelk: Decision on Hawkins` future must come soon - Buffzone

It means that very soon, athletic director Mike Bohn and chancellor Phil DiStefano must come to a decision. Clearly, the program is nowhere close to where Bohn envisioned it being when he hired Hawkins. When Bohn managed to land one of the nation`s hottest young coaching prospects in December of 2005, he certainly never thought he`d be contemplating another change just four years later. Now such a decision is a distinct possibility. Today, I`m still not ready to say a change would be in the best interest of the program and the university. But, whatever decision is reached, it must be reached soon. After Saturday`s effort at Iowa State, waiting for the outcome of the last two games makes absolutely no sense. Bohn and DiStefano must sit down as soon as possible and examine the situation from every angle. Economics. Possible fallout from all sides. Recruiting. Next year`s schedule. Returning players. Then make a decision and move on. Let Hawkins know whether he`ll be here next year or not. If he`s going to be the head coach, make it known so he can begin to reassure recruits, contemplate staff changes and move on with business. If not, give him and his staff the opportunity to assess their futures. But whatever the decision, make it soon. Waiting will only increase the questions hanging over the program while doing nothing in terms of moving forward. Simply, a quick resolution is the only sensible solution.

Bowl ineligibility befalls Buffs - The Denver Post

Hawkins' problem is, in his fourth year, his team is going in the opposite direction of two rebuilding programs that beat him with first-year coaches. Paul Rhoads' Cyclones (6-5, 3-4) joined Kansas State in downing the Buffs at home. This time the nearly packed house of 43,208 stormed the field, celebrating bowl eligibility a year after going 2-10. Once again, offensive ineptitude on the road crippled Colorado. CU scored one touchdown against the second- worst defense in the league. That doubled its number of TDs in the past 10 quarters on the road to two.

CU Buffs bowl hopes end in another road wreck - Boulder Daily Camera

The signs are all there and they`re pointing toward a coaching change at Colorado. The football team isn`t playing well when it desperately needs to. Athletic director Mike Bohn, who just three months ago robustly defended head coach Dan Hawkins, turned away requests for comment after another loss Saturday.

Buffs lose 17-10 at Iowa State - The Denver Post

Lacking a killer instinct, Colorado (3-7, 2-4 Big 12) produced just three points — total — out of four possession inside the ISU 10-yard line, committed costly, careless penalties and set up Iowa State's third-quarter touchdown with a turnover. "We went from being one of the better teams in the red zone in the country to one of the worst," Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said.

Same old story for Buffs - The Longmont Times-Call

Hawkins, repeating another familiar line, said it just came down to a couple of plays. "Particularly with this group of guys, when you have a big play against you, there’s a huge momentum thing going on," Hawkins said. "We just have to be able to counter that a little bit better."

CU vs. Iowa State Game Quotes
Momentum thing, rhythm thing, confidence thing...blah, blah, blah, blah

On poor passing game
"On the first drive we had a couple of drops. You talk about that rhythm thing and that confidence thing and that momentum thing. A couple of drops on the first drive took us out of rhythm."

The Longmont Times-Call

From CU offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau: "The frustrating part is the turnovers and the penalties. We’re not getting outschemed. We know what they’re doing. If we eliminate turnovers and penalties, this is a completely different ball club." CU committed 11 penalties and three turnovers Saturday. CU was also 2-for-14 on third down conversions.

Bruising running game paves way for OSU - Big 12 Blog - ESPN
The Colorado Buffaloes next opponent, Oklahoma State, had a good win last night against Texas Tech but lost their starting quarterback in the process. Zac Robinson was hit hard late in the game and supposedly has a concussion.

One negative coming out of the game was an apparent concussion sustained by OSU quarterback Zac Robinson on a devastating hit by Tech cornerback Jamar Wall. With the Cowboys playing Thursday night against Colorado, it might be asking a lot for Robinson to return to action that soon. And Robinson was the key before his injury. He piled up a team-high 97 yards. Keith Toston added 78 and Kendall Hunter had his most impressive performance since returning from his foot injury with 70 tough yards on 17 carries.

Two key fumbles put Stewart in tough situation - The Denver Post

Stewart lost two fumbles, both coming at crucial times in the second half. His first turnover, on the Colorado 33-yard line, occurred early in the third quarter. That set up Iowa State's final touchdown and, ultimately, the Cyclones' winning score. The second turnover came at the end of a 7-yard run to the ISU 8 on a hit by safety David Sims, ending a CU threat early in the fourth quarter.

Givens' strange season takes another turn - The Longmont Times-Call

The strange season Bryce Givens is enduring in his redshirt freshman year at Colorado took another twist during Saturday’s 17-10 loss at Iowa State. Givens, making his first start Saturday since the Big 12 opener at Texas, was called for a personal foul during the third quarter for hitting an Iowa State pass rusher in the face as quarterback Tyler Hansen scrambled to the Cyclones’ 2 on first-and-goal. After Givens turned and said something to referee Tom Walker, Walker picked his flag up off the ground and tossed it high into the air to call a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalties gave CU a first-and-goal at the 39. The drive ended when kicker Aric Goodman missed from 42 yards. Coaches pulled Givens from the game and he did not return. Ryan Dannewitz took his place at right tackle.

ISU Football: Cyclones beat Colorado, become bowl eligible - The Des Moines Register

They reached bowl eligibility for the first time since 2005 after a 17-10 win against Colorado before a boisterous 43,208 who held breaths as the Buffaloes tossed the ball around backwards on the final play before finally ending 69 yards from the end zone.

Go Cyclones - ISU bowl eligible after Colorado win

Iowa State beats Colorado 17-10 and Cyclones become bowl eligible - KansasCity.com

For some programs, reaching bowl eligibility is little more than a footnote. It’s a much bigger deal for Iowa State. Picked to finish last in the Big 12 North, the Cyclones can at least dream of their first bowl bid since 2005 after beating Colorado 17-10 on Saturday for their sixth win.

CU players say they`ll play for pride - Boulder Daily Camera