BOULDER — Nobody on a football team feels like joking after a loss, so Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen stopped short of telling reporters that it only hurts when he breathes.
But that’s how Hansen felt Saturday night on the way to the training room to get some “rehab” on bruised ribs. Hansen took a shot to his chest from a Texas Tech defender with 5:50 remaining in the second quarter and a split second after Hansen flipped the ball to tailback Rodney Stewart on an option play, leaving him vulnerable.
Senior Cody Hawkins took the remainder of CU’s snaps, so the question on everybody’s mind concerned whether Hansen will be ready for the Buffaloes’ upcoming game at Oklahoma.
“Right now, no,” Hansen said when asked if the odds favored him playing next Saturday. “But we’ll see how I feel later (in the) week. I need to go in and do rehab. Hopefully, I’ll feel better.
“I got hit pretty hard. I tried to throw at halftime, but I couldn’t. I was having trouble breathing and had a sharp pain in my chest.”
CU coach Dan Hawkins said X-rays on Hansen “were negative in terms of something being cracked.”
Before Hansen went out, Colorado concentrated on ball control. Hansen completed 9-of-10 passes but for only 62 yards. CU held the lead and kept the ball away from Texas Tech’s offense.
Cody Hawkins extended Colorado’s advantage to 17-7 early in the third quarter with the first of his two TD passes to freshman Paul Richardson. But after Texas Tech’s offense got some rhythm, Hawkins had to air it out. He finished 22-of-43 for 274 yards, with two touchdowns.
Not getting any help from the running game (Stewart netted 34 yards on 20 carries), the two Colorado quarterbacks did not throw an interception. Hansen said he thought Hawkins played “real well, good enough to win.”
Texas Tech senior quarterback Taylor Potts had other ideas. He threw for 155 of his 286 passing yards in the fourth quarter, rallying the Red Raiders to 13 points in the game’s final 15 minutes.
After back-to-back losses at home, games that might turn out to be crucial to Colorado’s bowl chances and to the coaching future of Dan Hawkins, Hansen was asked Saturday what keeps the team believing in itself.
“The last two losses, if a couple of plays go our way, we’re 5-2 and everyone’s happy,” Hansen said. “But those plays didn’t go our way. So everyone’s down. That’s football. Sometimes the ball is going to bounce your way, and sometimes it’s not. (But) it’s tough. Sometimes you feel you’re against the world a little bit.”
Cody Hawkins said he will do his part to keep everybody on the team as upbeat as possible.
“As a captain and a leader on this football team, when everybody is trying to drink that negative Kool-Aid, man, you have to keep them hydrated with the right stuff,” the coach’s son said.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
