Hawkins duo sinks Sooners

Colorado football seems in good hands. The Hawkins hands. Coach Dan and quarterback Cody engineered Colorado’s 27-24 upset of OU on Saturday, and the rally from a 24-7 deficit could be a defining moment for the Buffaloes.

Dan, in his second year in the Flatirons, and his staff clearly outschemed Bob Stoops and Co.  A Colorado offense that hadn’t done much this season butchered the Sooner defense in the second half. Here are some sobering numbers.Colorado rushed for 32 yards on 26 carries against Arizona State, which is no defensive juggernaut; discounting two sacks, CU gained 48 yards on 24 carries, a 2.0 average.

A week later against Florida State, which IS a defensive juggernaut, the Buffs rushed for minus-27 yards; throw out sacks and CU’s numbers aren’t much better  —  23 carries, minus-12 yards. Think about that for a minute. On average, Colorado literally couldn’t get back to the line of scrimmage trying to run on Florida State.

Yet against OU, the Buffs got stronger and stronger. CU’s rushing yards by quarter: 7, 40, 70 and 44, 161 in all. Dan Hawkins found holes in the Sooner defense and exploited them, courtesy of tailback Hugh Charles, who gained 110 yards on 24 carries.

Call it an extension of the Boise State curse. Dan Hawkins put together the Boise State team that stunned the Sooners 43-42 in overtime in an epic Fiesta Bowl last January. He handed over that team to Chris Peterson, who did a splendid job coaching. But make no mistake, that was Hawkins’ team.

Now Hawkins has torpedoed OU’s national title hopes, and his son was a major reason why. Cody Hawkins, according to Colorado officials, is just the ninth player to quarterback a Division I-A team with his father as coach. I was critical of Dan Hawkins’ selection of his son as QB; a redshirt freshman quarterback on a team that figured to struggle seemed like a recipe for dissent and revolt.

But I was wrong. Cody Hawkins has been a solid quarterback, and he came up big against the Sooners at Folsom Field. Hawkins’ fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to Tyson DeVree brought Colorado within 24-17 early in the fourth quarter, and Hawkins directed two other scoring drives in the period.

His numbers weren’t gaudy: 22 of 36 for 220 yards, two TDs and two interceptions, and even Hawkins’ fourth-quarter stats were merely solid, 5-of-8 passing for 49 yards. But Hawkins made his plays count. Colorado’s future seems in good hands.