Nobody on the Colorado football roster smiles his way along the roller coaster of life more than B.J. Beatty. But after Saturday’s historic collapse at Kansas, the senior linebacker couldn’t hide his heartache.
“We can’t go nowhere but up,” Beatty said after Colorado blew a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter for what is thought to be the first time in the program’s 121 years of football.
Unlike the underclassmen, Beatty won’t have to worry about whom athletic director Mike Bohn selects as the new head coach. But Beatty and his veteran teammates can’t help but reflect on their college careers as the end nears. So many losses. So many disappointments.
Football players are optimistic by nature. Every Saturday brings another opportunity. But Colorado (3-6, 0-5 Big 12) must win its last three games to at least salvage a potential week of fun at a bowl game. The last of the remaining games is at ninth-ranked Nebraska. That’s not to say CU players don’t believe they can win in Lincoln. They do. But few teams can.
How in the world could Colorado let a 45-17 lead slip away in the final 11-plus minutes?
“Obviously we can’t do anything about this game now,” Beatty said. “We go home (for games against Iowa State and Kansas State). Hopefully that helps us. If we can get two wins at home, then we’ll see what happens from there.”
An inability to win close games, especially conference games, has buried the Buffs during the five-year Dan Hawkins era. With three league dates remaining, Colorado has won just six of 18 conference games decided by 10 points or fewer. For the past two seasons, when the roster should have come of age, the Buffaloes have dropped their last six closely contested Big 12 games.
That trend will get a coach fired every time.
Here are some issues to watch as the Buffs head into their final three games of the regular season:
Will Dan Hawkins resign?
Unless he is asked by Bohn to resign, it would come as a surprise if Hawkins does not finish out the season. Coaches preach to their players to never quit and complete the job, so it’s not in a coach’s DNA to bow out on his own. Also, coaches don’t want to lose a bargaining chip in negotiating a severance package.
What happens within a team during what in effect is a lame-duck situation?
In some cases, the ranks become divided, perhaps between upperclassmen peeking ahead to the future and young players confused about the present. Worse, sometimes players quit paying attention, knowing that the head coach and most, if not all, of his assistants won’t be back next year. Colorado has a strong core of senior leaders who will try to keep everybody together. The seniors will need to convince the underclassmen that video of their performances and effort in the next three games and during practices will be evaluated in slow motion by the next coaching staff and could determine whether the new regime includes those players in the long-term plans.
Would it be a good idea for quarterback Cody Hawkins to just go away?
Absolutely not. First, he is one of the team leaders and among the hardest workers. Assuming coaches won’t want to burn the redshirt of true freshman Nick Hirschman, replacing Cody would be a walk-on or a player converted from another position. That could result in disastrous scores. It does the program no good to get blown out in the last three games. It’s not fair to other players on the team. Potential recruits may cross CU off their list. And destroying team confidence heading into next season would only make it more difficult on the new coaching staff.
Will it get ugly at Folsom Field for the upcoming two home games?
Boos — and worse — are sure to rain down on Hawkins if CU fails to defeat Iowa State on Saturday and Kansas State the following weekend. But some fans may be concerned that their displeasure not be interpreted as a lack of support for the players and the team.
Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things whether Hawkins completes the season?
No. Rest assured that although there is no official job opening as of yet, Bohn already is working on finding a new coach.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
Losing a grip on the tight games
CU’s close Big 12 games under Dan Hawkins:
2006 (0-2)
L Baylor, 34-31
L Kansas, 20-15
2007 (2-2)
W Oklahoma, 27-24
L Kansas, 19-14
W Texas Tech, 31-26
L Iowa State, 31-28
2008 (2-2)
W Kansas State, 14-13
L Texas A&M, 24-17
W Iowa State, 28-24
L Nebraska, 40-31
2009 (2-3)
W Kansas, 34-30
W Texas A&M, 35-34
L Iowa State, 17-10
L Oklahoma St., 31-28
L Nebraska, 28-20
2010 (0-3)
L Baylor, 31-25
L Texas Tech, 27-24
L Kansas, 52-45
