Boulder — Colorado’s 16-6 loss to Florida State late Saturday night before a packed Folsom Field and a national television audience proved to the Buffaloes that they can play with a marquee team.
It also showed the Buffaloes’ offense continues to need work. Colorado (1-2) didn’t score until there was just 3:38 left in the game, and the Buffs finished with minus-27 yards rushing.
“(Anybody) can say, ‘We should have won,’ ” CU coach Dan Hawkins said. “But our defense played great. Offensively we were just not able to seize the moment.”
Cody Hawkins, a redshirt freshman continuing to gain confidence, completed 34-of-53 passes for 306 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyson DeVree. But he also threw two interception and was sacked three times.
For the second straight game, CU failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities.
“We have to work on that,” Cody Hawkins said. “We were moving the chains all right. But we’d get down to their territory and kind of shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Florida State (2-1) struggled to move the ball consistently and was outgained by the hosts in total offensive yards, 279-221. But the Seminoles’ speed, especially on defense, proved troublesome for Colorado.
“It was a good football game,” FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. “Colorado just wouldn’t quit, they kept coming back.”
The all-time winningest major college football coach, Bowden earned No. 368 and stayed two games against of Penn State’s Joe Paterno.
Florida State put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter when Gary Cismesia connected on his third field goal to make it 16-0.
The Seminoles, accustomed to playing in the limelight, apparently were not intimidated by Colorado’s all-black uniforms and the “Black Out” campaign that enticed most spectators to wear black.
Bowden would be the first to admit this is not one of his vintage teams, certainly not on par with those 1987-2000 powerhouses that finished 14 consecutive years in the top five of the national polls. But while the current Seminoles may lack superstars, they still possess that signature athleticism.
Colorado’s offensive woes continued. The fourth-quarter score snapped a streak of six consecutive quarters without a touchdown, including the final three quarters a week earlier in the 33-14 loss at Arizona State.
None of CU’s wasted opportunities was more frustrating than coming up empty in the third quarter after a 38-yard pass from Hawkins to freshman wide receiver Josh Smith gave the Buffs first down at the FSU 26.
But after a pass to Hugh Charles gained a first down at the 13, Colorado went backward on three consecutive plays. Hawkins was sacked for a 7-yard loss, Charles lost 4 yards on a draw and a delayed handoff to Brian Lockridge didn’t fool Seminole defenders who smothered the freshman tailback for a 5-yard loss.
To make matters worse, CU’s Kevin Eberhart missed the field goal attempt, wide left from 46 yards.
“You can’t score if you don’t take advantage of opportunities,” Cody Hawkins said.
Colorado’s defense kept FSU off the board in the first quarter by putting pressure on Seminoles quarterback Drew Weatherford each time he dropped back to pass.
“Colorado’s defense was excellent and better than we expected,” FSU running back Antone Smith, who scored the Seminole’s lone touchdown on a 36-yard run in the second quarter. He finished with 66 yards on 19 carries.
Florida State gained good field position in the second quarter when cornerback Tony Carter intercepted a Hawkins pass and returned it to midfield.
Three plays later, Smith raced untouched to the end zone with 10:45 left before halftime. Bursting off left guard and then cutting right into the open field, Smith blew by CU strong safety Daniel Dykes, who was the only defender playing deep.
Colorado lacked the sharpness it showed in the overtime victory over Colorado State. But the lack of a running attack made it difficult to sustain drives.
“You have to run the football to win consistently,” Dan Hawkins said. “You can’t drop back and throw it 65 times and win games.”
CU’s Josh Smith, finally seeing action after missing the first two games with a bruised kidney, was in the starting lineup and immediately put his name in the statistics. But it was not as he would have liked it. Getting a handoff from Hawkins, Smith was stopped for a 2-yard loss on a rushing play.
Hoping an infusion of speed would spark the offense, CU also used another true freshman, tailback Brian Lockridge, for the first time.
Colorado will complete its nonconference schedule Saturday against Miami (Ohio), a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at Folsom Field. The RedHawks fell to 1-2 after a 47-10 home loss to Cincinnati on Saturday.
Scoring helps
CU narrowly kept alive the nation’s fifth-longest streak of not getting shut out since losing 7-0 at Nebraska on Nov. 12, 1988:
Michigan 278 games
Washington State 264
Oregon 260
Florida 233
Colorado 225
– Note: BYU holds the record at 361 (1975-2003)
The Grades | By Tom Kensler
Offense
D: For the second straight week, Colorado couldn’t convert scoring threats into points and at times looked sloppy. At least the arrival of freshman wideout Josh Smith gave the Buffaloes somebody to stretch the defense.
Defense
B: If CU coach Dan Hawkins had known before the game that his defense would hold FSU to 16 points, he probably would have jumped for joy.
Special teams
D: Matt DiLallo punted well. But Florida State had a 44-yard punt return and two missed field-goal attempts by Kevin Eberhart contributed to the night’s frustration.
Overall
C: Colorado still has a way to go before making national headlines. But nobody can say the Buffs didn’t belong on the same field with the Seminoles.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
