Shortly before Saturday’s game against Colorado, a group of athletic officials from the University of Kansas chatted amiably at Folsom Field about some of the possibilities out there for the Jayhawks if they could go on a big run in Big 12 play.
Those scenarios, of course, began with a victory over the Buffs. However, several hours — and a 34-30 Colorado upset win — later, it was CU that had started daring to think big thoughts.
“I think we could win out from here,” running back Rodney Stewart said of a squad whose overall record improved to 2-4 with the stirring triumph, a game that wasn’t decided until the final play.
Stewart, who rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including a game-winning 13-yard run with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter, insisted the only thing preventing a turnaround has been a win against a quality opponent. The then-17th-ranked Jayhawks, who entered with seven straight wins (5-0 this season) and an offense that ranked fourth in the NCAA, certainly qualified.
Also impressive was that the Buffs, after squandering a 27-10 third-quarter lead and falling behind 30-27 early in the final quarter, not only came back to score the go-ahead points, but also managed to keep Kansas, which amassed 423 yards total offense, from scoring.
Those were the pluses, factors mitigated by uglier considerations. Kansas was able to come back in part because of a series of turnovers and careless penalties by the Buffs. And things probably wouldn’t have gotten so interesting down the stretch if the CU defense hadn’t allowed the visitors to complete a 41-yard pass on a third-and-29.
Such concerns may be why Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, after a win that might have sent everyone associated with his recently beleaguered program over the moon, was instead looking like he had barely staggered out of the ring after a 12-round heavyweight fight.
“I’m happy for the guys, but it’s about digging in on the process,” he said. “You have to learn how to handle victory too. After (today), it’s over and you move on to the next one — that’s just how it has to be.”
Indeed, a team two games under .500 really doesn’t have a right to go peeking at the schedule beyond the foe immediately in front of it, but one can see why Stewart might have been so heady about what awaits his team.
The only current top-25 squad remaining for the Buffs is No. 14 Oklahoma State. And what shapes up as the team’s two biggest North Division contests, against Missouri and Nebraska — both of whom lost on Saturday — are at Folsom.
But Hawkins realizes that for a team still trying to gain a foothold on solid ground, every game has to be considered huge. Which is why, not long after the doom and gloom that permeated Boulder entering the Kansas game, the coach was intent on making sure that emotions didn’t swing too far the other way.
“For sure,” he said. “They say you always want to stay off the top of the mountain and out of the valleys. A lot of teams I’ve seen beat an undefeated team, and everybody wants to have a parade. What you want to do is try and stay in the middle.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
EYE ON . . .
The Wildcats
Colorado at Kansas State, 10:30 a.m. Saturday, FCS
For the record: The Wildcats thumped Texas A&M 62-14 on Saturday to improve to 4-3 overall, 2-1 Big 12 and move atop the North Division.
Streaking: It was the Wildcats’ most lopsided conference win since beating Iowa State 58-7 in 2002.
Who’s hot: Daniel Thomas became the sixth Kansas State player to run for four touchdowns in a game, and he did it in the first half.
Who’s not: The defense is 11th in Big 12 conference games in total defense (470.3 yards allowed per game) and 10th in scoring defense (34.3).
Key stat: KSU lost 66-14 at Texas Tech a week before Saturday’s rout of Texas A&M, marking a 100-point turnaround in one week.
FYI: The winner of this game is guaranteed to be no worse than tied for first place in the North Division. . . . Kansas State needs three more victories to become bowl-eligible because it can count only one victory over a Division I-AA (Football Championship Series) program toward qualification.
Coachspeak: “It’s meaningful, for obvious reasons, after last week’s loss and the way we played last week. Were we going to play that way again or were we going to play better? We did play better.” — Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, after his team responded to a 52-point loss with a 48-point victory.
