Buffs rally late to avoid major upset

By B.G. Brooks, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 6, 2008 at 4:40 p.m.

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Photo by Cliff Grassmick © Daily Camera

CU freshman running back Darrell Scott hurdles an Eastern Washington defender en route to a 22-yard run.

BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday avoided what could have been another embarrassing dose of the Big Sky blues. Like Montana State, a dangerously ambitious member of the Big Sky Conference that ruined coach Dan Hawkins’ 2006 CU debut, Eastern Washington initially gave the Buffs more than they could digest.

But this time, CU outscored its lower-division visitor 24-3 in the second half and won 31-24 at Folsom Field, giving Hawkins his first home-opening win in three seasons. The victory, though, required a “don’t panic, just play” halftime message by a handful of Buffs seniors, then an interception return for a 27-yard touchdown by cornerback Cha’pelle Brown with 1:44 to play.

Asked to make an opening postgame statement to the media, Hawkins simply said, “Whew,” before adding, “I told you guys they were a good football team, and they are. We always try to tell our guys not to get caught up with the decal on the side of the helmet. (But) it’s hard a lot of the time when you have young guys.”

First-year Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin, whose team lost 39-24 last week at another Big 12 Conference stop, Texas Tech, said CU was “taking us seriously. We have a good team, and we were making more plays (in the first half).”

Brown’s score, the first of his college career, and Aric Goodman’s extra point gave the Buffs (2-0) their first lead of the afternoon and an anxious crowd of 46,417 a reason to exhale.

Finally.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Brown said, noting he read Eastern Washington quarterback Matt Nichols’ eyes and found himself in the right spot to make his game-turning pick.

“No doubt I was going to score,” Brown added. “Some way, some how, I was going to get it in.”

At halftime, with CU trailing 21-7, senior defensive tackle George Hypolite said, “I got excited . . . I’ve got passion for this program, I play to win.”

Essentially, that’s the message that Hypolite and fellow seniors such as safety Ryan Walters, a 2008 captain, delivered. Said Walters: “I told everybody, `Don’t worry, don’t panic. We need a sense of urgency, but we’ll be OK.’ ”

To be OK, though, the Buffs had to make defensive adjustments to slow Nichols (32-for-51, 303 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions). And they needed a smoother second half from their own quarterback, Cody Hawkins, whose first-half interception was returned for a touchdown and helped put CU in its early hole.

“Our guys are resilient,” said Cody Hawkins (28-38, 261 yards, three TDs, one interception). “That was impressive, but equally unimpressive was how we did in the first half . . . in the second half we did what we had to do.”

Unable to slow the Eagles’ hurry-up offense and passing attack, the Buffs found themselves in an early hole as Eastern Washington marched 84 yards on its opening possession and took a 7-0 lead.

After converting on two consecutive short third-down attempts, both on passes by Nichols and a sign of things to come, the Eagles faced another short third down and Nichols again delivered.

Only this time, it was for a 43-yard touchdown. He hit receiver Brynsen Brown with a 10-yard toss across the middle and he did the remaining work, carrying groping nickel back Jalil Brown into the end zone. No wonder CU fans were gulping: Nichols hit his first eight passes for 88 yards and the score.

Felipe Macias’ PAT gave the Eagles their 7-0 lead, and the Buffs quickly were on their heels – a position they would assume for most of the half.

On its second possession, CU gave its fans a shot of relief, driving 65 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. The march was highlighted by freshman Darrell Scott (13 carries, 39 yards) hurdling an Eagles tackler, then carrying a couple of other defenders on a 22-yard run to the Eastern Washington 9-yard line.

On the next play, Cody Hawkins found Scott’s uncle – sophomore receiver Josh Smith – in the left corner of the end zone, giving Smith the first touchdown reception of his career. Goodman’s extra point tied the score at 7.

Then, the Buffs imploded.

CU’s defense finally forced an Eastern Washington punt, but while trying to get extra yards, Smith had the ball stripped on the punt return – the second time in two games he’s fumbled on a kick or punt return.

Six plays after Eastern Washington linebacker Marcus Walker recovered at the CU 27-yard line, 240-pound fullback Toke Kefu rammed in from the 1-yard line, and with Macias’ extra point, the Eagles surged ahead 14-7.

A series later, Cody Hawkins was intercepted in the right flat by Eagles linebacker J.C. Sherritt, who returned the pick 48 yards for a touchdown. Macias again converted, and the Buffs suddenly were trailing 21-7.

After Walters forced an Eastern Washington fumble in the first half’s final minute and linebacker Jeff Smart recovered, the Buffs had a chance to cut the deficit to 21-10. But Goodman’s 37-yard field goal attempt slipped wide left, and the Buffs left the field in a silence broken by a smattering of boos from their home crowd.

Eastern Washington amassed 206 total yards (179 passing) to CU’s 163 (97 passing) in the first half. The Eagles’ most impressive first-half stat: 7-of-10 third-down conversions to the Buffs’ meager 3-of-8. The final third-down conversion ratio: Eastern Washington 11-of-19, CU 8-of-17.

The Buffs opened the second half unconvincingly, drawing a pair of penalties and punting, then having a similar lack of success – minus the penalties – on their second second-half possession.

But with the offense misfiring, Smith – aka, J-Fly – atoned for his first-half fumble. After he returned Fritz Brayton’s second punt of the half 51 yards to the Eastern Washington 4-yard line, Cody Hawkins hit freshman tight end Ryan Deehan for a 1-yard touchdown – the first of Deehan’s college career and the first by a CU freshman tight end in 25 years.

Goodman’s conversion pulled the Buffs to 21-14, and 5 ½ minutes later, the third quarter ended that way. But CU crept closer as Goodman’s 32-yard field goal on the fifth play of the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 21-17.

The Buffs drove to the Eagles’ 22-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, but instead of having Goodman attempt a field goal on fourth-and-3, Dan Hawkins elected to go for the first down.

Cody Hawkins’ pass was incomplete, and Eastern Washington marched to the CU 35-yard line, where Macias kicked a career-long 52-yard field goal to push the Eagles ahead 24-17.

After a 15-yard personal foul penalty was assessed on the kickoff, the Buffs took over on their own 43-yard line, with 3:48 left to avoid another Big Sky upset. Hawkins opened the drive with a pair of completions to Smith (13 yards) and Patrick Williams, whose 36-yard reception gave CU a first down at the Eastern Washington 9-yard line.

On third down, Hawkins hit fullback Jake Behrens with a 2-yard scoring pass, and Goodman’s PAT pulled the Buffs even at 24-24.

Eastern Washington had 1:57 to respond, but Cha’pelle Brown answered first. The Eagles marched as far as the Buffs’ 30-yard line before safety D.J. Dykes intercepted Nichols in the end zone with three seconds to play.

Dan Hawkins called winning despite afternoon-long adversity “a great sign. We’re seeing some of that over the last three or four games with this team, having resiliency, and we’re going to need that down the road.”

ETC.: With their next game not until Sept. 18 against West Virginia (6:30 p.m., Folsom Field, ESPN) the Buffs have altered this week’s practice schedule. They will take their usual off day on Monday, then practice Tuesday-Friday, taking next Saturday off . . . . CU's most serious injury was to linebacker Shaun Mohler, who suffered a bruised collarbone, which was not as serious as originally feared, but his status for the West Virginia game has not been determined. . . . Buffs freshman running back Rodney Stewart (9 carries, 38 yards) made his first start . . . . CU has three known verbal commitments for its Class of 2009, and one of them – receiver Jarrod Darden, of Keller, Texas – recently suffered a broken ankle in practice that required surgery. Central High School coach Bart Helsley told The Keller (Texas) Citizen that Darden, a 6-foot-4, 211-pounder, was out for the season . . . . CU unveiled what it hopes will become an appealing game-day tradition. A massive bell, measuring 4 feet in diameter and weighing 1,800 pounds, was rung twice before kickoff – the first time about 2 ½ prior to kickoff, the second 10 minutes prior to the traditional running of Ralphie, the buffalo mascot. The bell was donated by long-time CU supporter Barb Roberts Quinlan in memory of her late husband, Dwight Roberts.

• September 6, 2008

  4:53 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  The_Man writes:

  Why on earth was this game this close. There is no excuse for almost losing to this team. They need a better QB then Cody Hawkins.

• September 6, 2008

  5:08 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  WarrenJimmyBuffett writes:

  The_Man needs to be one. I think it is a 15 year-old girl.

• September 6, 2008

  6:10 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  street2 writes:

  Hawkins preaches Big 12 football, but still coaches 1-AA or whatever it's called

• September 6, 2008

  6:17 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  street2 writes:

  Father Hawkins must man-up

• September 6, 2008

  6:27 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  ProffBob writes:

  Hawk needs to coach those great superstars he has recruited. The offense plan needs help getting Scott free. They have the Line and the Backs they need, now they need a way for them to work together to produce the holes that will produce results. A great running game will free up the much improved receivers.

• September 6, 2008

  10:48 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  den2mke writes:

  Is anyone else watching games elsewhere in college football? In 2007 App. State crushed MI--who went on to win a bowl game-- at home; No. Dakota State--still moving up from D2--beat MN (who wasn't good, but still D1A) and La-Monroe tagged Alabama. And this weekend has already seen Eastern Carolina pound the 8th ranked team in the land and Ohio University give OSU all they wanted (at home).

  While some of these teams are D1A, it's certainly evident that the tide is changing and the traditional variance in talent/scheme that have always led to large school superiority is narrowing at the least.

  Eastern Washington is no patsy in the D1AA landscape, demonstrated by close play at CU and Tex Tech. Certainly would have been a tragic game to lose, but Hawk's right: EWU is a good team and these smaller programs can be dangerous for traditional powerhouses one and all.

• September 6, 2008

  11:12 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  DenverGold writes:

  The Buffs need a bigger QB...little Hawkins is ok but, he won't even play in the NFL...he's no Doug Flutie.

• September 7, 2008

  7:15 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  The_Man writes:

  I agree with DenverGold. Hawkins is too little. I see him only throwing towards the sidelines or rolling out when he throws, I can't think of one time where he stood in the pocket and threw a pass over the middle because the denfensive lineman will swat the ball.

• September 7, 2008

  7:53 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Milehighguy writes:

  It's going to be a long and disappointing season in Boulder. This isn't little league, where the coach's son is automatically the QB, regardless of ability. They need to get Cody to a school that he can excell at, and get a real QB for the Buffs.

• September 7, 2008

  10:39 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  LazyR writes:

  Calm down folks. Has it occurred to you "armchair quarterbacks" that the folks handling the Buffs just might know more about it than you do?

• September 7, 2008

  12:37 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  danjustin386 writes:

  I love how people say the Buffs need to get a new and better QB. Maybe we should trade Darrell Scott for Vince Young, or maybe we could trade Ryan Walters for Tom Brady. Wait a minute, I hear Dante Culpepper is a free agent. Oops my bad this isnt the NFL, you cant trade players or just sign who ever you want. Fact is Cody was a decent rated QB coming out of high school and fact is he is the best QB on the roster. We just cant go pick the QB off the flag football team, this is Div. 1 football brotha.

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