THE UNIVERSITY BABY KANSAS
MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008
SPORTS
3B
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Colorado tries to find its way in improving North
The Buffs have plenty of work ahead to stay competitive in 2008.
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
It's easy to ignore the history of football success at Colorado.
The Buffalooes went to four Big 12 championship games from 2001-05 and won the title in 2001. However, this occurred in the dark ages of the Big 12 North, a time that witnessed unprecedented mediocrity from its six teams.
In fact, Colorado probably felt more like lambs being led to slaughter than title contenders in '04 and '05, when it lost to Oklahoma and then Texas by a combined score of 112-6.
As for Colorado's glory days in the early 90s? That was so long ago that it's impossible for most fans today to imagine the Buffs as national champions, which they were in 1990. No, instead Colorado is the team often seen just hanging around that has little to say at the end of the year.
The Big 12 North is no lon
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ger for bottom feeders, and coach Dan Hawkins, former head man at Boise State, understands the difficult situation he put himself in when he took over Colorado before the 2006 season.
"I just think there has to be a certain amount of reinvention in a person in being able to put yourself up against it and see what you're all about," Hawkins said. "So as my dad told me when I came here, 'You asked for it, buddy, and you got it.'"
Hawkins likened his opportunity with the Buffalooes to a gardener cleaning out the weeds and planting a new crop, but all he pulled in year one was a rotten welcome to the Big 12. Colorado lost its first six games and eventually finished the year at 2-10.
Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins: "I'm not a very patient guy, and so I expected to win 10, 11 or 12 our first year out of the gate. I took a lot of years off my life in '60 I think."
"I'm not a very patient guy, and so I expected to win 10, 11 or 12 our first year out of the gate," Hawkins said. "I took a lot of years off of my life in '06 I think."
In an effort to reclaim some of those years, Dan tadhern his son Cody, a redshirt freshman, as the 2007 starting quarterback. This was no inside job as Cody was an Elite 11 quarterback coming out of high school and his teammates
awarded him the Offensive Scout Award after the '06 season.
Cody threw six interceptions in his first four games, but in his Big 12 debut the younger Hawkins threw two fourth quarter touchdowns to defeat No. 3 Oklahoma, 27-24. Buffalo fans flooded Folsom Field following one of the biggest upsets in school history, and Dan realized that his team was on its way.
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Colorado sophomore Cody Hawkins returns as Colorado's starting quarterback this year. He is the son of head coach Dan Hawkins.
Colorado went on to play Kansas to a close loss at home and then won at Texas Tech and Nebraska. Hawkins' squad finished the year 6-7, but he saw the makings of a much improved team.
"So much of life is made up of the details in the little things," Hawkins said. "We were a scosche from winning 10 games a year and also a scosche from winning two, again, as horrific as it sounds."
Colorado's up-and-down season followed the uneasy arm of Cody, who threw for 22 touchdowns and 3,015 yards, but also fired 17 interceptions. His play should get better with experience, and also there to help will be incoming freshman running back Darrell Scott.
Scott was the No.1 rated running back in the nation, and on the last day to sign a letter of intent he opted for Colorado over Texas. Scott figures to get immediate playing time in Boulder and with some guidance, senior defensive tackle George Hypolite said he sees more than just that in his future.
"As seniors and leaders, we have to show him how to play football," Hypolite said. "We have to show him how to prepare, how to work, how to be a smart football player in practice and all those things."
"If we do that, say in three years,
if I'm worthy my salt in doing that.
Buffalo wide receiver Josh Smith pulls in a pass during football practice. He caught 23 passes for 451 yards in 2007.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Conference filling up Top 25
BY JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Oklahoma and Missouri are the favorites to meet in the Big 12 title game at the end of the season. It's only fitting they're the highest ranked teams in the league before it starts.
Oklahoma, last season's Big 12 champion, is No. 4 in the Associated Press preseason rankings released Saturday, Missouri, the defending North division champion, debuts at No. 6.
For Oklahoma and coach Bob Stoops, the Sooners are aiming for their sixth conference title. They were the only team to beat Missouri — twice — last season, including a 38-17 victory in the league title game.
Other Big 12 teams in the rankings are No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 14 Kansas.
Win another Big 12 title and the Sooners could get a crack at another national championship. Some voters thought them worthy
of the top spot now, giving the Sooners four votes for No. 1.
Missouri could be the team to spoil all that. The Tigers have quarterback Chase Daniel, who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy this season, and a taste of how close they came to success last season. The Sooners aren't on the regular season schedule this year, but the Tigers' season could hinge on a trip to Texas (Oct. 11) and their annual rivalry with Kansas.
It's the South division where the sparks could really fly.
The Longhorns are trying to get over the 10-3 hump of the last two seasons after an undefeated national championship season in 2005. Last season's three conference losses were the most since 1997, and they lost to both Oklahoma and Texas A&M for
Oklahoma may be the highest ranked team in the division, but the annual match-up with Texas (Oct. 4) and against Texas Tech (Nov. 22) loom large again.
the first time since 1993.
Tech returns 18 starters, 10 on coach Mike Leach's pass-pappy offense that can pile up huge points. Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree is the most dynamic pass-catch combination in the country.
The Red Raiders play host to Texas on Nov. 1 and travel to Oklahoma three weeks later. But the Red Raiders have never beaten both UT and OU in the same season under Leach.
The Red Raiders could be the wild card. Their No.12 preseason ranking is their highest since they were No.8 to start the 1977 season.
Kansas went 12-1 last season, the Jayhawks' only loss coming against Missouri. They have a much tougher road this year with Oklahoma, Texas and Tech
— three teams they didn't play last season — all on the schedule.
he will be a Heisman Trophy winner."
"Every team that plays us this year, No. 1 is going to know what Colorado football means," Hypolite said. "We're going to hit you hard, we're going to play hard and we're going to die bleeding black and gold."
"I really believe that if we're able to reach down in the hearts and minds of young men and push the right buttons and do the right things, you can develop that
Scott's unlikely to secure the Heisman his freshman season, but Rashaun Salaam, Colorado's 1994 Heisman-winning running back, has been put on notice. So has his former teammate, Buffalo quarterback Kordell Stewart, whose records aren't safe with Cody controlling the skies.
dominant teams of the early '90s. Those teams may have been forgotten or overlooked, but the pride is back in Boulder and the Big 12 has been put on notice.
Hypolite, senior safety Ryan Walters and senior linebacker Brad Jones anchor the Colorado defense. With that much experience on his team, Hawkins isn't prepared to wait around for a break through season.
In fact, Hawkins' 2008 squad has a lot in common with Colorado's
kind of chemistry and that kind of magic and make (success) happen," Hawkins said.
Edited by Luke Morris
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