KSU’s Snyder: Buffs’ Hansen "scary" | All Things Colorado Sports
"I’m impressed by the way (Hansen) moves around, everybody is. But not to be overlooked is, he throws the ball quite well," Bill Snyder said on the teleconference. "He’s an excellent combination-type quarterback. He’s a little scary running around back there.
Scope Scheduled For Scott - CUBuffs.com
Darrell Scott will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday and could miss up to three weeks, Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said Wednesday. "They're just going to clean up some stuff; they're not taking anything out," Hawkins said.
Scout.com: 2009 Midseason Report & Picks - Big 12
College Football News thinks the Buffs will finish 5 - 7 with wins over Kansas State, Texas A&M and Iowa State still forthcoming. They think Tyler Hansen is the "player who'll step up in the second half" the most in the Big 12 and they feel the Big 12 game of the first half was last week when Colorado beat Kansas.
Big 12 North: Looking for one good team | Berry Tramel's Blog
Berry Trammel of The Oklahoman still thinks the Buffs winning the Big 12 North is not so crazy:
Suddenly, it’s not crazy to see Colorado winning the North. Kansas has the toughest schedule (OU, Texas and Tech). Missouri has a bad team. Nebraska has no offense. I can see Colorado winning at Iowa State and beating Texas A&M at Boulder. That’s three wins. CU also goes to Kansas State (this Saturday) and hosts Missouri. If the Buffs can split those two, that’s four wins. That means Colorado would host Nebraska on Thanksgiving Friday with a 4-3 record and perhaps the North Division title on the line.
Second-half outlook: Colorado - Tim Griffin ESPN
Tim Griffin doesn't have a rosy outlook for the second half of the Buffs' season starting with a loss on the road against Kansas State:
My prediction: No bowl. Colorado will win two of its remaining home games and lose its three games on the road. Hawkins will need a big performance against Nebraska, not only to keep the Cornhuskers out of the championship game but maybe to protect his job. The perception among many pundits is that Colorado can't afford the cost of a coaching change. If the Buffaloes bottom out in the second half, the program might not be able not to afford making that change.
CU Buffs' run defense toughening up - Boulder Daily Camera
The Buffs will face another stiff test this week at Kansas State, a team that is determined to run and remains patient with its running game throughout all four quarters. Hawkins said KSU also will use its quarterback on designed running plays, something the Buffs saw little of from the Longhorns and Jayhawks. The Wildcats are averaging 184 rushing yards per game and junior running back Daniel Thomas is the third-leading rusher in the Big 12 Conference with 669 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games. Thomas has three 100-yard games this season but he hasn`t reached triple digits yet against a team from a Bowl Championship Series conference.
many more links after the jump...
Woelk: CU Buffs have chance to build momentum - Boulder Daily Camera
Rather, the Buffs need to answer a simple question: Was last weekend`s win over Kansas a sign of improvement or just an aberration? Remember, it`s not the first time a Hawkins team has defeated a ranked team in Boulder. Two seasons ago, the Buffs rallied for a win over No. 3 Oklahoma. Last year, Colorado beat No. 21 West Virginia. But neither of those victories proved to be much of a springboard. In 2007, the Buffs followed up the win over Oklahoma bybeating Baylor, but then proceeded to lose four of the next five. Last year, Colorado followed the win over West Virginia by losing three straight and five of their next six. With the next four games all winnable affairs -- Kansas State, Missouri, Texas A&M and Iowa State -- it`s an opportunity the Buffs can`t afford to let slip by again.
Woelk: Tyler Hansen's future as CU Buffs' starting QB looks bright - Boulder Daily Camera
Neill Woelk thinks Tyler Hansen could be the Buffs version of Todd Reesing:
I`d also say the Buffs are incredibly glad there weren`t three more ticks on the clock Saturday night at Folsom Field, I`d say that Todd Reesing is one of the most electrifying quarterbacks I`ve seen in ages -- and I`d also say that before it`s all over, Hansen has a chance to fit that mold.
CU quarterback Hansen aims for fewer turnovers - The Denver Post
Scotty McKnight has some high praise for Tyler Hansen after the Kansas game:
"I thought he played an unbelievable game. He played a gutsy game," wide receiver Scotty McKnight said. "He was running people over, diving for yards. Great leadership ability in the huddle, and he kind of sparked us. And the thing with Tyler is it's never been a question of his arm strength. He's getting the ball there. Even the interception he threw, that was partly on me. "But he's playing well. He played like a veteran the other night. There's going to be growing pains, it's his third or fourth start of his career and he's a true sophomore. . . . It was fun to be a part of that offense with him that night."
CU’s Stewart named Big 12 player of week | All Things Colorado Sports
CU Buffs coach Dan Hawkins doesn't lament quarterback choice - Boulder Daily Camera
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins says he has no regrets and hasn't second-guessed himself for the decision he and his assistants made two weeks into fall camp to make his son, Cody, the starting quarterback for the third year in a row. Hawkins benched his son in the fourth quarter at Texas two weeks ago and turned to sophomore Tyler Hansen, who made his first start of the season against then-No. 17 Kansas last week and led the Buffs to a victory. "Not at all," Hawkins said.
"You make decisions based off the material you have at the time. So not at all. I mean, you don't like jockeying your guys around like that. You don't want to do that, but sometimes that's the nature of it. It just happens and you deal with it and both of them handled it well."
Buffs stress method to scrambling madness - The Longmont Times-Call
Notes: In Bill Snyder's first season back as coach, Kansas State leads the Big 12 North through the early part of conference play. During non-conference play, it lost 17-15 at Louisiana-Lafayette. ... Quarterback Grant Gregory went 10-for-13 for 147 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 62-14 defeat of Texas A&M. Daniel Thomas ran for four touchdowns and Brandon Banks returned the second-half kickoff 97 yards for a score. ... Saturday is homecoming at Kansas State. The Wildcats are 16-3 since 1990 on homecoming. ... The Wildcats trail the series 44-19-1 to CU, but have won two of the past three. In last year’s 14-13 loss in Boulder, Kansas State was caught off guard when CU pulled quarterback Tyler Hansen’s redshirt.
Kansas St. ‘goofy’ after topsy-turvy two weeks - The Longmont Times-Call
The Colorado Buffaloes are preparing to play the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday in Manhattan, Kan. (10:30 a.m., FCS-C). Which Kansas State team they’ll play remains to be seen. The Wildcats (4-3, 2-1 Big 12) ran roughshod over Texas A&M last Saturday, blowing out the visiting Aggies 62-14. A week earlier, they lost 66-14 at Texas Tech. "It probably tells us we’re a little goofy and we have no idea where we are or who we are," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said Monday. "Why does it happen? Everybody has their open opinion about it. I think in our situation, there was a major embarrassment from the week before, and I think the preparation in a lot of different ways improved over the week."
Dan Hawkins Press Conference Quotes - CUBuffs.com
On Kansas State "They are doing a nice job, and a nice job in areas you need to be [doing a nice job]. They are running the football really well, doing a nice job on special teams, doing a great job in turnovers, give you a lot of problems and will attack you in many different ways on defense. This is a team that is getting better, starting to improve, really caught fire last week and obviously they have the home-field advantage and homecoming and all that. They're getting hot and obviously they have a coaching staff that has been around and know what they are doing but they do a ton of things and give you problems."
Midseason quiz on the 2009 college football season - ESPN
The Most Message-Board-Massacred Quarterback (21) of the half-year is:
B. Cody Hawkins, Colorado. Buffaloes fans finally got their wish -- a benching for the coach's son. His replacement, Tyler Hansen, helped lead an upset of Kansas last week.
Buffs’ season on the brink - The Longmont Times-Call
Nebraska Fans Are Clamoring for a Change At QB - The Independent