BOULDER, Colo.—Texas Tech’s first win ever at Folsom Field provided embattled Red Raiders coach Tommy Tuberville with a brief respite from fans calling for his job.
“It’s huge,” Tuberville said of the Red Raiders’ 27-24 win over Colorado on Saturday. “We’ve got some big ones coming up, some tough ones. But you need to win like this to get some confidence.”
The Red Raiders (4-3, 2-3 Big 12) had been 0-4 in Boulder since 1981. But they left the Rockies knowing their streak of 10 straight bowl appearances seems a little bit less in jeopardy—just like Tuberville’s job.
The heat, on the other hand, only will get turned up on Colorado coach Dan Hawkins.
The Buffaloes (3-4) are winless in three games on their Big 12 farewell tour, and they have to travel to top-ranked Oklahoma next week riding a three-game skid and a 13-game road losing streak that dates to 2007.
His son, Cody Hawkins, replaced injured starter Tyler Hansen (ribs) and threw two TD passes to freshman Paul Richardson as the Buffs built a 24-14 lead.
Then, the Buffaloes’ errant ways returned. Dropped passes. Missed assignments. Bad calls.
Buffs kicker Aric Goodman missed a big 35-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter that proved the difference and Colorado punter Zach Grossnickle’s rugby punt backfired when Austin Zouzalik grabbed the line-drive at his 47, giving the Red Raiders a short field for their game-winning drive.
Matt Williams capped Texas Tech’s comeback with a 36-yard field goal with 2:09 left to break a 24-24 tie.
Cody Hawkins lost his starting job to Hansen in 2008 but has played sporadically ever since, often to the chagrin of fans who want his father fired.
“The same bad things you say about our football team, I’m saying the same bad things about you guys. So, I guess it works both ways,” Cody Hawkins said about the criticism of his dad. “You obviously don’t like it when somebody near and dear to you is getting criticized, but the bottom line is it’s college football and you’ve got to win football games.”
And the Buffs haven’t won enough under Dan Hawkins, who is 19-37 since bolting Boise State in 2006.
“In the last two losses, if a couple of things go our way, we’re 5-2 and everybody’s happy,” Hansen said. “But those plays didn’t go our way, so everyone’s down and disappointed. That’s football.”
Williams’ 40-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter made it 24-17, and after Goodman’s missed field goal, the Red Raiders tied it on Taylor Potts’ 7-yard touchdown pass to Lyle Leong with 11 minutes left.
“We really just did the same things, when it mattered guys stepped up and made plays,” said Potts, who overcame a slow start to complete 24 of 38 passes for 286 yards and two TDs. He and Alex Torres hooked up six times for 133 yards, including a 15-yard frozen-rope touchdown throw.
Hawkins finished 22 of 43 for 276 yards and two TDs.
“He did OK coming off the bench,” Dan Hawkins said. “But … it’s about winning the game. It’s not about stats. He certainly made some good throws and some guys made some plays for him, but down the stretch I would have liked him to get something in there.”
Cody Hawkins hooked up with Richardson for TD passes of 3 and 60 yards as Richardson became the first freshman in school history to catch two touchdown throws in a game.
Hansen was having a good game when he got hurt, completing all but one of his 10 passes and running for the game’s first score. But he was blasted by linebacker Tyrone Sonier just as he pitched the ball to tailback Rodney Stewart on an option play late in the first half.
“I was having trouble breathing and had a sharp pain in my chest,” said Hansen, who added that at this point he doubts he’ll be able to play against the Sooners next weekend.
If he can, he’ll start, his coach said.
Hansen’s 1-yard keeper put Colorado ahead 7-0, and the Red Raiders, who came in averaging 315 yards passing, had trouble getting going in Boulder’s thin air.
Finally, Potts hit Torres for a 17-yard gain and Eric Stephens reeled off a 25-yard run after he decked out freshman safety Terrel Smith at the line of scrimmage. Smith was making his debut after discarding his redshirt in the face of an injury epidemic in the Buffs’ defensive backfield, where five players have suffered serious injuries.
Smith made up for his miscue with 14 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
But the Buffs know they have to win their last two home games and steal one on the road to get to a bowl game now.
“It’s definitely discouraging,” said cornerback Jalil Brown, who figured his interception in the end zone with six minutes left would turn the tide only to watch from the sideline as Colorado’s offense managed just 13 yards on its final 10 plays.
