BOULDER, Colo.—The turning point that began the Colorado Buffaloes’ spiral came when Nebraska kicker Alex Henery just cleared the crossbar with a 57-yard field goal in Lincoln last year with the Cornhuskers trailing by a point in the closing minutes.
“If he doesn’t make the kick, we beat Nebraska, in Lincoln, and we go to a bowl game,” Colorado coach Dan Hawkins lamented. “And—voila!—everything is magically different.”
No calls for his job during this year’s 3-8 debacle? No fan protests at games? No incessant chatter on message boards and call-in shows about shipping “Hawk Love” out of town?
Hawkins learned Thursday that he’ll get a fifth season in Boulder despite four straight losing seasons and a 16-32 record, including 2-20 on the road and 10-21 in the Big 12.
That made for a happy Thanksgiving at the Hawkins household on the eve of the season finale against Big 12 North champion Nebraska (8-3, 5-2 Big 12) at Folsom Field.
In the offseason, Hawkins talked a big game, suggesting this team should get “10 wins, no excuses.”
Many alumni and fans figured the failure to come anywhere close to that double-digit goal would cost the embattled coach his job. But athletic director Mike Bohn decided to give him another year rather than a pink slip and a $3.1 million buyout.
Hawkins acknowledged this week that he was an optimist but the reality was he had inexperienced offensive and defensive lines and an overabundance of underclassmen that made that 10-win vision unrealistic.
The Buffaloes also lost wide receiver Josh Smith to UCLA in the summer, then saw blue chip running back Darrell Scott bolt the program last month and quarterback Cody Hawkins lose his starting job to Tyler Hansen midseason.
The elder Hawkins also said this week that he regrets recruiting his son to play for him at CU because his kid has been an unfair lightning rod for CU’s many critics.
The Cornhuskers have already wrapped up the Big 12 North, so they’re hoping to use this game as a tuneup for the conference championship against No. 3 Texas on Dec. 5.
But they are coming off a short week after beating Kansas State while the Buffs have had a full week since losing at Oklahoma State last Thursday night, and they don’t like hearing that they’re OK even if they have a slip-up in Boulder.
“We do need to win this, that’s the way we approach it,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “I don’t want anybody to talk about the Big 12 title game around me. It’s Colorado and that’s all our focus is on. We have to have even greater focus. Hopefully, a short week enhances our guys’ preparation.
“I told our guys there’s no patting yourself on the back. It’s time to play football. It’s a rivalry game. It’s a big football game for this team.”
Pelini also doesn’t want his team talking about Texas until they take care of business Friday.
“Texas? That means nothing to me right now. The only thing that matters to this team is Colorado,” Pelini said. “I told our people in the offices, the coaching staff, I don’t want to hear about plans, travel plans, about tickets or anything else about the Big 12 title game. That time will come. Our full focus is on Colorado.”
Cornhuskers center Jacob Hickman said it wasn’t hard to put off thoughts of the Longhorns until Friday night “based on the fact it is Colorado. We want to beat Colorado every chance we get. Even though we have a championship, we still want to win this weekend. It very well could give us good momentum going into next week with a good win here.”
Of course, a Colorado upset would make the winter a little more palatable in Boulder as Hawkins prepares for a make-or-break season that many look at as a gift from Bohn.
“It’s a rivalry game,” Buffs offensive lineman Ryan Miller said. “The last game of the season gives you a chance to forget about what has gone on before and you can focus in and kind of end on a good note or a bad note.
“It’s Nebraska, and if you’re from Colorado you don’t like Nebraska.”
