(CU Independent illustration/Adam Milner)
Now without two of their leading members, a wounded group of Buffs migrate to Norman, Okla., to meet the Sooners on the day before Halloween.
Head coach Dan Hawkins will look to his bench for players on Saturday to disguise the losses of junior quarterback Tyler Hansen and sophomore inside linebacker Jon Major.
Hansen is gone for the season with a ruptured spleen suffered during the home loss to Texas Tech. Fifth-year senior Cody Hawkins reclaims the offense just in time to face an angry No. 11 Oklahoma, fresh off a road loss against Big 12 foe Missouri.
One team is looking for retribution after an unsettling loss, while the other is looking for a reason to stay motivated.
“As a captain and a leader on this football team [I] have to go out when everybody’s drinking that negative kool-aid, [I] have to hydrate them with the right stuff,” Cody Hawkins said following the most recent loss.
CU is now 3-4 (0-3 in Big 12) heading into Memorial Stadium, where Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) has won 34 consecutive games.
After giving up more than 1,300 yards of total offense in all three conference games, the Buffs defense is struggling. It does not help that linebacker Major, the team’s leading tackler with 57, is out for a while with a torn MCL.
Redshirt freshman Liloa Nobriga, second on the depth charts, will most likely take over at the weak-side linebacker spot, joining safety Terrel Smith as one of two freshman starters on the defense.
Coach Hawkins said he plans to give four or five freshmen meaningful playing time come Saturday.
“Ron (Collins) and (the defensive coaches) have done a nice job prepping them and getting them ready so that mentally they can handle what they need to handle,” Coach Hawkins said.
Oklahoma’s offense, which boasts tailback Demarco Murray and receiver Ryan Broyles, ranks 18th nationally. They have not scored less than 27 points in a game this entire season.
That spells bad news for an offense that averages 20.0 points per game. The Buffs have only eclipsed 27 points twice, both in home wins.
Coach Hawkins said he sees the quarterback situation, injured starter and all in an optimistic light.
“The good news – bad news is that we have two good quarterbacks,” he said. “This is the good news part of it. [Cody’s] played against these guys before.”
Cody Hawkins has played—and won—against Oklahoma once before.
It was his freshman year when a CU upset then No. 3 Oklahoma at Folsom Field. He finished completing 22 of 36 with 220 yards passing and two touchdowns in the 27-24 win.
“We did watch a couple of highlights of the OU game this morning just to fire the guys up,” said Cody Hawkins after Tuesday’s practice. “If you’re not fired up when you’re going to play OU then you’re playing the wrong sport.”
Anybody who gets tackled by Sooner defenders like Jeremy Beal or Travis Lewis probably wishes they played another sport. If Cody Hawkins goes down, the elder Hawkins said they would take the redshirt off freshman Nick Hirschman.
A freshman taking his first ever college snaps against an angry Oklahoma defense would probably be bad.
That is why the Buffs are fortunate to be able to fall back on one of the most experienced quarterbacks in today’s college football.
“If you had to throw Hirschman in against the Sooners the emotions that kid would be feeling is crazy,” Cody Hawkins said. “I’ve played against the big dogs before and I’ve played in the fire so I think that helps.”
Saturday will mark Cody Hawkins’ 29th career start. The game also signals the last time CU will play a member of the Big 12 South before they move on to the Pac-12.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. in Norman, Okla., on Saturday. The game will be televised live on ESPN 2.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Michael Krumholtz at Michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu.
