Boulder — While the 16-6 loss to Florida State on Saturday night wouldn’t qualify as one of those “breakthroughs” that Colorado’s Dan Hawkins envisions, it did mark a first.
For the first time, the second-year CU coach told his players in the locker room afterward that he was disappointed.
“And they were, too,” Hawkins said this afternoon during his weekly media luncheon.
That could become a significant step in the development of the program, the coach said.
“People asked me so many times last year if I was frustrated or disappointed, and I really wasn’t,” Hawkins explained, referring to going 2-10 in 2006. “That’s because last year we did what we could do. That was some of the realities of it.
“But this game we certainly could have won it. Our guys very much felt that.”
As the minutes ticked away in the fourth quarter against Florida State, Hawkins told the team that he has seen a team score 16 points in 20 seconds. Everybody, he said, nodded his head in agreement.
“They were very much right there,” Hawkins recalled. “I really think they thought, ‘Just a play or two away’ and the outcome would be different.
“Coming out of the Georgia game last year, it was a more a feeling of being despondent. Coming out of this game, it more of an energizing feeling of, ‘We can play with anybody on the schedule.’ ”
Junior center Daniel Sanders agreed.
“Last year, we were, like, ‘I can’t believe we stayed that close,’ ” Sanders said. “This year it’s, ‘I can’t believe we lost that game.’ ”
Staff Writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
