Hawkins faces critics, fires up Colorado for Mizzou

After last week’s miserable game between Kansas State and Colorado, where both teams couldn’t score or move the ball at all in the second half, each coach took a different approach. KSU’s Bill Snyder got heated in his comments after the game, so much so he had to apologize this week on the Big 12 conference call.

Colorado’s Dan Hawkins let himself collect his thoughts over the weekend before delivering a 20-minute-plus riff on life, coaching and this season at Tuesday’s media luncheon. Instead of sitting down and getting right into questions as he usually does, Hawkins sat down with two sheets of talking points and put on his reading glasses.

It was nice to see the coach go on the offensive for a change. He started by covering the questions many have been asking each week. Hawkins tried the best he could to keep the controversy tag off the quarterback issue, saying that he wants Tyler Hansen to play a full 60 minutes. He also covered the status of Darrell Scott, something he’s not always keen on talking about. Scott’s surgery went well, according to the medical staff, and he should be available for the Iowa State game.

But the best part came near the end. What Hawkins said resonated in the room.

“Guys, if i had to start this thing all over again, would I do a few things different? I probably would. The base culture of it? Not at all. Not at all. If you look at our values, our principles, what we’re demanding out of people as men — as workers, as students, as football players — that’s the stuff of championships,” explained the coach, who finished strong: “We’re! Right! There! We are right there, and there are a lot of pieces in place.”

It was the most emotion seen all year from Hawkins, who conceded he takes a lot of flack for being stone-faced. While it was exactly what people needed to hear, the problem with Hawkins’ approach was timing. It’s about three weeks late. Where was this speech after Toledo, West Virginia or Texas? Sure, there were statements like, “We’re hurting just as much as our fans,” but none with the kind of passion displayed Tuesday.

That’s been the feel this year from the coaching staff: the right moves, just not soon enough. The switch to a simpler defensive scheme came after the thrashing at Toledo. Couldn’t coaches have seen their young players badly out of position before the season and pared the playbook then? The change at quarterback took an offensive meltdown against Texas, but to be honest, Hansen looked like the right fit in August.

This is what has supporters so frustrated. They’re left to wonder whether the staff is too cautious, too stubborn to admit mistakes right away or just not making the right calls? Instead of speaking about youth, academic limitations and “the little things” after each bad loss (and those topics were sprinkled in with each positive laid out Tuesday), a speech like this early could have curbed some of the vitriol.

Perhaps this get-up-and-go talk was coming regardless, with Missouri visiting Boulder on Saturday. When you throw out the season record thus far, along with the fact that the Big 12 North race is still anyone’s guess, Missouri stands as “the game” emotionally for the Buffs. At the start of the year, Colorado put beating the Tigers as a top team goal. That’s usually a place reserved for beating Nebraska.

Missouri’s earned it by scoring 113 points in the past two meetings, compared with Colorado’s 10. Getting revenge on the Tigers would soften the “sinking ship” terminology being thrown around, at least for another week. If there were ever a game to draw on emotion, this is it.

Three keys for the Buffs:

EYE SPY

Kansas State found a way to limit Hansen’s running style by often playing a quarterback spy. By doing so, Hansen lost 8 yards on 11 carries. Missouri is expected to do the same with its linebackers, so Colorado must be ready to counter.

That doesn’t mean giving up on Hansen scrambling but just running more passing plays across the middle to occupy or confuse the defender watching the backfield. Colorado loves the quick out and can use its tight ends effectively up the middle, but using shallow crossing routes and reverses early will be what’s needed to keep the option open for Hansen to keep it himself.

FINISH

Against Kansas, Colorado’s defense had trouble stopping a comeback in the second half. At Kansas State, it was the offense that fell apart after halftime. The Buffaloes need a complete game, with the fast scoring starts they’ve had recently and the strong finishes on defense, such as the one against Wyoming.

Missouri proved against Nebraska a few weeks ago it can give up a lead, even late in the fourth quarter. The Tigers lost after leading most of the game by double digits.

STAY COLD

All the sexy nurses, sexy policewomen, sexy angels or devils and their admirers may be upset if they have to modify or cover up their costumes for the Halloween game, but cold weather carrying over from this week’s snowstorms could be beneficial. Nebraska came back against Missouri in the pouring rain, which also accounted for an ankle injury to quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

Gabbert has been in a walking boot for the past three weeks and is said to still be somewhat tender. He has a big-time arm but also scrambled similar to Hansen before his injury. The forecast calls for a high of 57 degrees Saturday, but kickoff is at 11:30 in the morning. A good chill in the air could tighten up Gabbert’s ankle and restrict him to the pocket.

Colder temperatures also force teams to run the ball more, something Missouri does far worse than pass. The Tigers are slightly better at their ground game than Colorado is but are still ranked 10th in the Big 12.

Editor’s note: Comments have been turned off on football stories involving CU to meet the university’s requirement for giving media credentials to Web site reporters and photographers.