LAWRENCE, Kan. — Colorado freshman tailback Darrell Scott, who has been hobbled by a tender ankle that limited him to one carry Saturday afternoon, revealed more in one sentence following the 30-14 loss to No. 16 Kansas than all of those pages of ugly statistics combined.
“I just hope we can win three more games and get to a bowl game,” Scott said.
Colorado (3-3, 0-2 Big 12) is limping into the season’s second half, hitched to a three-game losing streak. The Buffaloes can’t seem to find their way into the end zone, averaging 16.5 points their past four games. That won’t hang with the pass-happy teams of this conference unless the opponent gets to play only the first half.
CU managed just 14 points for the second straight week and yielded at least 30 points for the third game in a row. Not a good combination.
“If you look at our team, we’re depending on some freshmen,” running backs coach Darian Hagan said afterward. “You can’t win all the time when you’re depending on freshmen.
“We just have to coach them up and take our losses. When we get it together, everybody will be happy.”
A Memorial Stadium crowd of 49,566 watched Kansas (5-1, 2-0) break open a tight game with two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter by Jake Sharp. Colorado had pulled to within 16-14 on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by sophomore Cody Hawkins with six seconds remaining in the third quarter. Despite what the scoreboard showed at the time, Kansas had the upper hand throughout the afternoon.
With junior quarterback Todd Reesing throwing for 256 yards, the Jayhawks produced 407 yards of total offense. That compared to a season-low 233 for Colorado.
When Kansas got mad and had to answer, the Jayhawks made an emphatic statement with a quick score. Two of their four touchdown drives required just seven plays. Only six snaps were needed for another.
Struggling for the third straight week, Cody Hawkins connected on 8-for-22 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, a sack and a safety. Kansas, which had not trailed in three previous home games, finally took its first lead, 9-7, with 8:07 left in the second quarter when Hawkins was tackled in the end zone by Kansas defensive end Jake Laptad for a loss of 16 yards and two points.
“Cody just lost concentration and did something he shouldn’t have done,” coach Dan Hawkins said of his son’s ill-advised retreat from a pass rush.
It seems like ages ago when CU fans stormed Folsom Field following the Sept. 18 victory over then-No. 21 West Virginia.
“Our guys aren’t any more downtrodden than they should be,” CU offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. “We just have to keep building.”
Up next is a home game Saturday against Kansas State, fresh off a 44-30 victory at Texas A&M. Then comes a trip to third-ranked Missouri. Ouch.
“Life throws curveballs at you a lot,” Cody Hawkins said. “We talked (Friday night) about ‘defeating the beast.’ Every single bit of adversity that comes your way, you have to bounce back.”
Hawkins’ stats would have been better had CU senior receiver Cody Crawford not allowed Jayhawks corner Kendrick Harper to swipe the ball from him at the KU 4-yard line after an on-target pass midway through the first quarter. Rather than an apparent 14-yard gain for the Buffs, the turnover was recorded as an interception (instead of a fumble) because the leaping Crawford had not yet come down when the ball was yanked away.
It didn’t help when CU’s top deep threat, sophomore receiver Josh Smith, missed some minutes after injuring a shoulder. He returned to the lineup but finished with just one catch. CU lacks enough playmakers to keep up with Big 12 powerhouses.
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Matt Ballenger played the final three series but could not move the team into scoring territory. Meanwhile, CU’s defense appeared worn down in the second half.
“We did what we had to do,” Kansas coach Mark Mangino said.
It’s been weeks since Colorado could say the same.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
Key stat
166: The difference in passing yards between the starting quarterbacks. Kansas junior Todd Reesing threw for 256 yards; CU sophomore Cody Hawkins had another tough day. Hawkins completed 8-of-22 passes for 90 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions before he was relieved in the fourth quarter by Matt Ballenger. Reesing guided KU to three second-half touchdowns.
Key play
Rarely does a punt contribute as much as the 77-yarder by Kansas’ Alonso Rojas did early in the third quarter. Colorado’s defense had backed up the Jayhawks to their 13-yard line. But the booming spiral by Rojas sailed over CU returner Josh Smith and then bounced out of bounds at the 10.
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
