Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: "Finishing Strong" Only Option Now
September 07, 2009 | Football, B.G. Brooks
What nobody in Boulder wanted to see happen happened anyway: The victorious Rams and their fans wildly celebrating at mid-field, amassed atop the CU logo, after defeating the Buffs for the first time in eight tries at Folsom Field.
And here's your Labor Day weekend history lesson: CSU's previous victory in Folsom came in 1986 on the same day (Sept. 6, 23-7). It was a dark way for the Buffs to send this game back to Denver, where it's likely to be played until 2020 or so.
Rams coach Steve Fairchild likened the victory, the first over the Buffs in his two years on the job, to CSU's postseason win in December in the New Mexico Bowl: "It's a big win; it felt like that bowl game. I don't know, I feel like we want to keep going in this way."
Not so for CU coach Dan Hawkins, now 2-2 against CSU. In maybe the shortest turnaround in Buffs history, he takes his team to Toledo to play the Rockets Friday night (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN).
And he knows the season must take a turn for the better - and fast. "We have to move on matter what happens (Sunday)," he said. "Even if we had won the football game, we don't have any time. We just have to throw it away and keep moving."
But had the Buffs won the opener, two games in six days might have been much more palatable. As it is, there's scant time to fix what's wrong before they trip east.
And as for making the journey with momentum propelling them, there's not that luxury.
"Obviously, we want to get this bad taste out of our mouths," guard Ryan Miller said. "I don't really think win or lose (Sunday) it would have added any more importance (to the Toledo trip), because we've got to play week to week. But definitely, we've got to have a little bit more enthusiasm."
Falling behind 20-3 by halftime, the Buffs opened the second half with starting quarterback Cody Hawkins directing a 66-yard scoring drive that featured four of his completions for 57 yards.
Brian Lockridge's 9-yard touchdown and Aric Goodman's PAT pulled CU to 20-10 with the bulk of the third quarter still ahead.
After forcing the Rams to punt on their first series of the second half, Cody Hawkins again found his passing touch, completing three passes for 40 yards - the last to Scotty McKnight to the CSU 16.
But as McKnight caught the ball, Rams safety Elijah-Blu Smith caught McKnight with his shoulder pads. McKnight stayed motionless on the ground for almost a minute before being helped to the sidelines.
As for the football, it bounced free before CSU linebacker Alex Williams gathered it in. The ruling on the field was a reception, but Fairchild wisely challenged the call - and what might have been the Buffs' biggest chance at recovering the momentum lost in the first half evaporated.
Fairchild's challenge was rewarded, giving the Rams possession of McKnight's fumble and stopping what might have been a second Buffs touchdown drive on consecutive possessions.
CU didn't score again until the game's final 1:57 - and by then it was too late.
"It was tough, because we really came out of the gates (strong) in the second half," said Cody Hawkins, who was 24-of-40 passing for 222 yards and one touchdown (one interception).
"I think that fumble was more on me, not Scotty. I mean, the guy got knocked out cold . . . It was definitely a bummer that the call didn't go our way, but that's why they have instant replay.
"I'm not here to judge or say what should have happened. Obviously, I would have liked the call to stay the way it did on the field.
"But it doesn't always go that way. If I would have thrown it to Scotty a little earlier, we wouldn't have that problem. They were bringing a boundary blitz, and if I could have thrown it a little earlier or kept it a little lower . . . ."
McKnight remembered little about the play, but recovered enough to finish out the game. He finished with four catches for 36 yards and Hawkins' TD toss - the late 2-yard catch that ended CU's scoring.
Lockridge said he and his teammates were baffled by the reversed call: "We really didn't know what happened. We knew he caught it, then we were told he fumbled it. But that's a situation that's not in our control.
"Yeah, it did change the momentum of the game. But we have to grow up and bounce back from adversity. That's one thing we have to learn.
In the second half, we were better; we just started too late. We just gave them too much in the first half."
Dan Hawkins agreed the McKnight play/Fairchild challenge could have been a turning point, but said it still didn't doom the Buffs like their lack of execution: "There is not a big problem, it just comes down to the really little things.
"It ended up being a relatively close game in the end, but we have to clean up a lot of those issues. I think we will be all right."
Cody Hawkins believed his team should never have been forced to attempt a comeback: "It shouldn't have come to that; we should have taken advantage in the first half. That's why the game is 60 minutes, not 62 or 63. Hats off to Colorado State, they did a nice job."
The Buffs were outgained 376 to 251 in total offense, with CU getting only 63 of its total in the first half while CSU accounted for 265.
But CU defensive coordinator Ron Collins' halftime adjustments limited the Rams in the final two quarters, said Dan Hawkins. Yet the Buffs' offense couldn't take advantage.
Cody Hawkins was sacked four times, but Miller contended he and his line mates entered the game with "great film on them and we knew what they were going to bring. We just didn't execute . . . . it was nothing unexpected (by CSU). They just played harder than us."
CU opened the opener minus starting safety Patrick Mahnke (sprained ankle) and finished minus starting center Mike Iltis (sprained ankle). Primarily subbing for Mahnke was converted tailback Ray Polk, while Keenan Stevens took Iltis' place.
The status of both players is unknown for the Toledo trip, but whether they play or not, Lockridge said the second game's importance is magnified by Sunday's loss.
"It puts a lot more importance on it," he said. "When you get your first loss, your mindset changes. You don't go into any games big-headed . . . and I'm not saying we went into this one big-headed.
"But (a loss) makes your whole mindset change. I know we don't want the same kind of feeling (at Toledo) that we've got today. I really hate losing; I'm pretty sure everybody does. We just can't have this feeling again."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
