Boulder – There is a list of first-year Big 12 football coaches who have had the fortune and fortitude to lead teams to bowl eligibility.
Kansas State’s Ron Prince etched his name onto that list Saturday while simultaneously rubbing out the name of Colorado’s Dan Hawkins.
The long-term tale of the tape from Kansas State’s 34-21 victory over Colorado at Folsom Field is concise. The Buffaloes can make Christmas plans. The Wildcats can’t. After the regular season, K-State will play its first postseason game since 2003. Colorado now unequivocally will miss the bowl season for the first time since 2003.
Until their loss Saturday, the Buffs still had a chance.
They were PowerBall odds, to be sure. Few teams that are 1-8 still have a shot at the postseason. But because of the Big 12 North, a division that prides itself on everyone losing enough to keep all teams in the race, CU still could have advanced to the Big 12 championship game next month in Kansas City, Mo.
But no more.
CU’s season will end Nov. 24 at Nebraska. By that time, maybe the Buffs (1-9, 1-5 Big 12) will have solved the riddle of putting together a game in which all three phases of football – offense, defense and special teams – come to play on the same day.
That day hasn’t come yet.
“(CU) represented the North (in the Big 12 championship game) last year and to be able to win this game on the road in this place, that was really our goal,” Prince said.
The head-shaking component for Hawkins is this time the CU offense wasn’t totally to blame. The Buffs started slowly, gaining just 64 yards in the first half, but picked up the pace in the second half (306 yards) to post some of the best offensive numbers CU has had all season.
Junior quarterback Bernard Jackson had 250 total yards (105 rushing and 145 passing). He ran for two touchdowns and passed for a TD. He did not throw an interception and did not lose a fumble.
The Buffs finished with 370 total yards, averaging 6.4 yards per play.
But …
Colorado’s defense tied a season high by allowing 34 points and gave up a season-high 188 yards rushing. Only two other opponents threw for more than K-State’s 251 yards passing, and for the Wildcats it was a coming-out party for blue- chip freshman quarterback Josh Freeman.
Freeman had struggled more often than not coming into Saturday, but was improving. Still, he had thrown nine interceptions before finally firing a touchdown pass last weekend. Against the Buffs, he looked like he had arrived.
Freeman hit 22-of-26 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns.
“It kind of parallels a little bit what we’ve done,” Hawkins said. “We haven’t put offense and defense together. When the offense gets going, we can’t get help from the defense.
“It’s probably typical of a team that’s probably looking for external means of confidence and reinforcement. So it’s hard during those down times because you’re sort of waiting for something to happen rather than going and making something happen.”
CU fell behind 17-0 at halftime before the Buffs’ offense found its legs. For a few, furious moments at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, momentum flipped back and forth.
Jackson’s 3-yard touchdown run with 1:48 left in the third quarter brought CU to 17-7. Kansas State (6-4, 3-3) gained a 20-7 lead on Jeff Snodgrass’ 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Jackson came back with a 62-yard touchdown run with 13:26 remaining, but K-State answered again less than two minutes later with Freeman’s 74- yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson. That big play gave the Wildcats a 27-14 lead.
“I knew this was not going to be an easy rodeo when I got into it,” Hawkins said.
“I came in with my spurs on. So, I might be getting a little longer ride than I thought I was going to get, but I knew there was going to be some bucking going on.”
THE GRADES
Offense
B: A slow start by the Buffs gave way to a more productive second half at Folsom Field. Consistency has been a season-long issue, and Saturday was no different. Overall, however, the Buffs’ numbers (225 yards rushing, 145 passing) were solid. For one of the few times this season, CU’s offense wasn’t the reason for its loss.
Defense
F: The unit played arguably its worst game in a 1-9 season. The Buffs’ tackling was poor. That led to numerous big gains and allowed Kansas State to average 6.9 yards per play.
Special teams
F: Punter Matt DiLallo continued his bout with inconsistency and was replaced by Isaac Garden. Neither fared well, and CU averaged just 39.0 yards per punt. All-America kicker Mason Crosby missed another field goal, his seventh miss of the season.
Overall
D: Getting the offense, defense and special teams to play well in the same game has turned into an impossible mission for this team. It’s a beaten-down bunch in a long, lost season.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
