No. 1 Texas is joined in this week’s Associated Press poll by No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Missouri and No. 16 Kansas.
“I think they should be the NFC West,” Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said. “Every week you just have to make sure your team and yourself are at the peak of your game. That’s the reality of it. You’re seeing fantastic players and coaches and teams.”
Hawkins was asked on the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference about his team’s morale in light of a three-game losing streak.
“Good, really good,” Hawkins said. “I think our coaches are very mature about it. We handle those guys in an appropriate manner.
“Like I’ve said many times, you’ve got to keep plugging. Whether you get on a winning streak or a losing streak, I just don’t think you can get too caught up (in that).”
This week’s assignment for Colorado’s defense is Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior who threw for 234 yards without an interception Saturday in a 44-30 win at Texas A&M.
“My impression of Josh Freeman is that he is a big-time quarterback,” A&M coach Mike Sherman said Monday on the conference call. “When he elects to make that decision to be an NFL quarterback, there is going to be a lot of people beating his door down.”
Freeman rushed for four touchdowns against the Aggies.
“He had some great plays in leadership in our game. I was very impressed with him,” said Sherman, a former Green Bay Packers coach. “We were surprised with the frequency that he ran the ball. He is very durable.”
Kansas State (4-2, 1-1 Big 12) plays Colorado (3-3, 0-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Boulder.
Said Hawkins: “He’s another in a long line of guys (in the Big 12) that are awesome. He is the biggest of the bunch. But he can run like all of them. He’s very good at getting the ball out. But even when he does hang on to it, he’s hard to sack because he’s so big.”
Footnote.
Fox Sports Net picked up the rights for a national telecast of the Oct. 25 Colorado at Missouri game. Kickoff will be 4:30 p.m. MDT.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
