BOULDER — Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins removed quarterback Tyler Hansen’s redshirt with about a minute left in the first quarter Saturday night against Kansas State.
With Hansen at the helm, the Buffaloes (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) ended a three-game losing streak by topping the Wildcats 14-13 before 52,099 at Folsom Field.
About a minute into his debut, Hansen removed the Colorado offensive logjam, turning three keepers into 49 yards and leading the Buffaloes to Rodney Stewart’s 4-yard touchdown run and a 7-6 lead with 12:25 to go in the second quarter. One series later, Hansen connected with Scotty McKnight on a 21-yard touchdown pass for a 14-6 advantage.
“The first couple of plays were a little shocking,” said the 18-year-old Hansen, who was not on the pregame depth chart. “I just went in and tried to do my job. Then I settled down.”
Hansen finished with 86 yards on 19 carries and completed 7-of-14 passes for 71 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
“The most important thing is being smart with the football,” Hansen said. “We are playing pretty well and we just have to keep going. We need to play consistently.”
Sophomore starter Cody Hawkins was pulled after the second series. He returned for one play in the middle of Hansen’s first drive and appeared during scattered series in the second half, including Colorado’s final possession.
“You have to do what you have to do,” coach Dan Hawkins said of the move. He had planned to give Hansen 10-15 snaps. Instead it was closer to 40.
“Tyler is such a doggone athletic player. He’s doing a good job of running around and making plays with his feet,” Dan Hawkins said.
Hansen is listed at 4.69 in the 40-yard dash, but even the quickest Kansas State players had trouble keeping up Saturday. Breaking through on play-action run after play-action run, Hansen averaged 4.5 yards per carry.
The finished with 353 yards of offense, including 141 yards rushing from Stewart on 29 carries. Hawkins finished 6-of-11 passing for 35 yards.
Hansen hails from Temecula, Calif. and Chapparal High School, where he completed 153-of-263 passes for 2,248 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2007. He was named MVP of the SoCal Bowl following his senior year.
Hansen becomes just the 10th true freshman to take snaps in a game since 1973, but not the first to see action after the season opener.
In 2000, Craig Ochs came in halfway through the Buffs’ fourth game of the season — also against Kansas State. Before Ochs, Koy Detmer rallied Colorado to a victory over Minnesota in 1992.
