columbia, mo.
Making his first college start, Tyler Hansen should remember the date and burn the tape. The Colorado freshman quarterback never had a chance Saturday night, running for cover in a 58-0 massacre by No. 16 Missouri at Faurot Field.
“They’re ranked the way they are for a reason,” Hansen said of the Tigers afterward. “They came out with a fire, and we didn’t.”
The float contest in Missouri’s homecoming parade had to be more competitive. Down 34-0 at halftime, CU was blanked for the first time since a 7-0 loss at Nebraska on Nov. 12, 1988, in the Big Eight Conference. This was Colorado’s most lopsided loss since falling 70-3 to Texas in the 2005 Big 12 championship game, the widest margin of defeat in coach Dan Hawkins’ three seasons in Boulder.
“We came out flat from the get-go,” Colorado senior safety Ryan Walters said. “We’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”
A sellout crowd of 68,349 watched Missouri (6-2, 2-2 Big 12) snap a two-game losing streak, apparently taking it out on a young Buffaloes team that couldn’t match Missouri’s talent or speed. The visitors were in a two-touchdown hole before anybody could work up a sweat.
After Missouri needed just four plays to go 56 yards for its first touchdown, Colorado punter Tom Suazo dropped a long snap and was buried at the CU 5. Three plays later, Missouri’s savvy senior quarterback, Chase Daniel, flipped a 1-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Chase Coffman and the rout was on.
While Missouri played a game of Chase, Colorado (4-4, 1-3) looked almost lost at times.
“You always feel you’re prepared,” Hawkins said. “We’re kind of fragile, in a sense. When they got up big early, that kind of hurt our confidence.
“Missouri was good up front (defensively) and got pressure on us. We had a hard time (pass) protecting. We had a hard time running the football.”
It has come to this: Colorado must at least split its last four regular-season games to reach six victories and become eligible for a bowl game. The Buffs play next weekend at Texas A&M and then have home games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State before finishing with the annual day-after-Thanksgiving battle against Nebraska, this time in Lincoln.
Considering that Colorado is averaging just 10 1/2 points in four Big 12 games, every week figures to be a challenge. The Buffs have not scored more than 14 points in a game since the league schedule began.
“It starts with everybody looking themselves in the mirror,” CU senior defensive tackle George Hypolite said.
Hansen finished 12-for-16 passing, but for just 72 yards. Cody Hawkins threw for 86 yards on 17 attempts. Neither was intercepted, but struggled to move the chains. Only one completion went for more than 20 yards.
“(Hansen’s) mentality was great,” Dan Hawkins said of the freshman’s first start. “But obviously we weren’t moving the ball.”
Daniel, considered a top Heisman Trophy candidate before Missouri lost to Oklahoma State and Texas, made things look pitch-and-catch easy. He hit 24-of-28 passes in the first half, converting third-and-long situations as if only a yard was required.
Daniel took a seat on the bench midway through the fourth quarter. He finished 31-of-37 for 302 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. He set a Missouri school record for completion percentage (.838) and tied his school mark for TD passes.
“We wanted to go out there and make a statement,” Daniel said of rebounding from two straight losses.
CU cornerbacks gave speedy Missouri wideout Jeremy Maclin (11 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns) too much cushion on out-patterns. Then again, who wants to get beat on a bomb?
How bad did it get for Colorado? The Buffs’ defense was flagged for an illegal-participation penalty in the second quarter for having 12 players on the field — and Missouri running back Derrick Washington still gained 6 yards.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
