Texas Rolls In Second Half; Hansen New QB

AUSTIN, Texas - Those steely eyes of Texas don't blink that often, especially at home. But for a while Saturday night, not only were the Longhorns blinking they were rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

So were ESPN's national audience and 101,152 watching in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Colorado Buffaloes - 32-point underdogs to the nation's second-ranked team - had moved ahead 14-3 and appeared on the verge of a shock-the-world upset.

Unfortunately for the Buffs, the Longhorns don't shock that easily. Or stay shocked that long.

Rallying with a blocked punt, a 92-yard interception return and a 74-yard punt return - all for touchdowns - the unbeaten Longhorns righted themselves with 28 second-half points and routed the Buffs 38-14.

And in the process of dropping its Big 12 Conference opener and losing for the fourth time in five games, CU pulled sophomore quarterback Tyler Hansen's redshirt for the second consecutive season.

Afterwards, he was proclaimed the Buffs' QB-to-be, succeeding third-year starter Cody Hawkins.

Said offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Eric Kiesau: "Cody has had his chances, but we've got to produce . . . Tyler is our guy.

"If we're going to do this, I want it to be worth his while. I don't want to go back and forth (with quarterbacks) and be wishy-washy."

Hawkins said he would back his friend Hansen to the hilt: "If we burn Tyler's redshirt, it's for a good reason. I'll fully support him. The best way to learn is to teach."

Dan Hawkins, CU's head coach and Cody's father, called Hansen "a trouper . . . he's so awesome." He echoed Kiesau in saying the Buffs now have a new starter: "We're just going to go with him . . . he's earned it, he paid his dues last year and this year. We're going to ride him."

A sophomore whose 2008 redshirt was pulled in Game 7, Hansen said Kiesau approached him during the week with the possibility of him being used against Texas. Hansen consulted his parents, as well as his high school coach, and all agreed he should do whatever CU asked of him.

"I guess I'm getting used to burning redshirt years," Hansen said, grinning.

He entered Saturday's game with 14:13 remaining after Cody Hawkins suffered interceptions Nos. 9-10 of the 2009 season on consecutive possessions in the third quarter.

Throwing a pair of first-half touchdown passes, he set a school career record for scoring passes (45, surpassing Joel Klatt's 44). But his pair of second-half picks also moved him past Klatt and Steve Vogel in career interceptions (34), with the first interception producing the Longhorns' game-turning return.

The Buffs appeared to be in position to take a third-quarter lead or at least tie the game at 17-17 when safety Earl Thomas stepped in front of Hawkins' pass at the Longhorns 8-yard line and ran 92 yards - prancing directly in front of the Buffs bench - for a touchdown.

"It was just a terrible pass," Hawkins said. "You can't do that in the red zone . . . it was a huge momentum swing for them."

Texas loped in front 24-14, and what appeared to be a monumental upset in the making instead shifted towards a routine burnt orange blowout.

The Buffs had gained optimal field position when a Colt McCoy pass caromed off receiver Jordan Shipley and was intercepted by CU nickel back Jalil Brown, who also intercepted McCoy last season in Boulder.

After Brown's theft Saturday night, the Buffs faced third-and-five at the Longhorns' 12. But Hawkins' pass intended for Scotty McKnight reached Thomas instead, and Texas had the break it needed to remain unbeaten (5-0, 2-0) heading into its Oct. 17 Red River rivalry game with Oklahoma in Dallas.

Preceding Thomas' long return was a 3-yarder with a blocked punt by safety Ben Wells. And following Thomas' lengthy run was a 74-yard punt return for a score by Shipley, who also caught a 39-yard TD pass from McCoy late in the first half.

CU special teams coach Kent Riddle his unit's miscues "cost us the game . . . it was an unacceptable performance. It takes only one play (on special teams) to kill you, and that's what happened to us. We'll make damn sure it doesn't again."

The interceptions and special teams snafus negated a stellar night by the CU defense, which held Texas to 46 yards rushing - or 161.2 below its average.

The Longhorns surely weren't expecting that; CU was ranked No. 111 in rushing defense, allowing 201.5 yards a game, and Texas was coming off a 300-yard plus ground outing in a 64-7 flogging of Texas-El Paso.

"We have to look at the positives and use them to our advantage," CU safety Ben Burney said. "I want to see Texas again."

That's possible if the Buffs win the Big 12 North. A step in that direction - towards the conference championship game in December in Dallas - could be taken when Kansas visits Folsom Field next Saturday.

On the flip side, Texas was second nationally against the run, allowing 47 yards a game and 1.7 yards per rush. CU managed 42 yards, or 1.2 per attempt.

But with CU's defense crippling Texas' ground game, the Longhorns turned to McCoy for their offense - and he delivered. He completed 32 of 39 passes for 265 yards and the late first-half score to Shipley that pulled the Longhorns to within four points (14-10) of the Buffs at intermission.

McCoy entered the game averaging 286.2 yards passing per game (fourth in the Big 12) and 301.5 yards in total offense (fifth). He had accounted for 10 touchdowns (nine passing, one rushing) in an offense that lead the nation in scoring (49.5 points a game) and was second in total yardage (545.2 a game).

CU's defense held McCoy and UT below all those numbers, limiting him to 262 yards in total offense and his team to 313.

"We were pretty good," linebacker Marcus Burton said. "But we've got to get better - and we will."

The Buffs momentarily silenced, perhaps stunned, the Longhorns throng by driving 66 yards on the game's opening possession and taking a 7-0 lead.

On the march's eighth play, Hawkins hit tight end Patrick Devenny with a 25-yard touchdown pass, and Aric Goodman's PAT put CU ahead 7-0.

Texas pulled to 7-3 on a 32-yard Hunter Lawrence field goal, but the Buffs blocked a 29-yard Lawrence attempt two series later that would have made it a one-point game. That block marked the first time this season the Longhorns had been stopped in the red zone.

CU's defense continued to befuddle McCoy and his offense, not allowing Texas to sustain a drive until the final 2:46 of the first half.

But before then, the Buffs defense provided the half's biggest play, with Burton forcing McCoy to fumble at his own 6-yard line and cornerback Jimmy Smith recovering.

After a false start penalty on first down, Hawkins flipped an 11-yard scoring pass to an amazingly open Riar Geer. Goodman's extra point shot CU ahead 14-3, and that early silence enveloping Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium was magnified.

The Buffs' 14-10 halftime lead marked their first over the Longhorns since the 2001 Big 12 title game (29-17). In the four games since, Texas had outscored CU 112-20 in those first halves.

The Buffs held the Longhorns to 20 yards rushing in the first half, but McCoy completed 21 of 24 passes for 195 yards and the late TD.

CU sacked him twice in the first half, a considerable feat considering Texas had allowed just four sacks in the previous four games. McCoy wasn't sacked again after intermission.

Given the Longhorns' surge to close to the first half, their possession to open the second half might have been the most pivotal of the game.

The Buffs were up to forcing a three-and-out, and they duplicated that on the Longhorns' second series after the half as well.

But if Texas' offense was being stalled out, its special teams were not. The Longhorns overwhelmed the Buffs on a middle rush, with Marquise Goodwin blocking Matt DiLallo's punt and Wells taking the ball three yards for Texas' first advantage of the night.

Lawrence's PAT gave the Longhorns a 17-14 lead with 8:49 left in the third quarter, and their faithful roared in approval.

Just under 4 minutes later they were roaring again after Thomas' interception, which was followed by a second Hawkins pick on the next series - this one by safety Blake Gideon, who wrestled the ball away from Anthony Wright.

Texas fans got louder still when Shipley returned a DiLallo punt 74 yards with 12:29 to play to give the Longhorns a comfortable 31-14 lead.

Texas tailback "Fozzy" Whitaker ran 12 yards to send the Horns ahead 38-14 with 6:12 to play, and the Longhorns' second-half game of takeaway and runaway was complete.

BUFF BITS: CU's 20 penalties (140 yards) set a school record. The old mark: 18 against Kansas State on Sept. 30, 1950. The 140 penalty yards were the second-most in CU history, trailing 153 vs. Arizona in 1958 . . . . The Longhorns blanketed McKnight, the Buffs' leading receiver. He finished with just one reception -- a 12-yarder from Hansen in the fourth quarter -- to keep his streak (29) intact of consecutive games with at least one reception . . . . Dan Hawkins' road record at CU slipped to 2-16 . . . . Keenan Stevens opened at center for CU in place of Mike Iltis, who is still bothered by concussion symptoms . . . . The Buffs' opening touchdown drive was only their second of the season, with the first coming in the 24-0 win against Wyoming . . . . Thomas' interception return tied for the second-longest in UT history and was the longest since 1936.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU

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Team Stats

Cody Hawkins

Tyler Hansen