Rallying Buffs

It’s not every day that a team can give up 610 yards of offense and 51 points to a rival in its regular-season finale and still credit the defense for the victory.

But that’s what the University of Colorado football team did after defeating Nebraska 65-51 on Thanksgiving weekend to become bowl eligible, and yes, the praise was fitting.

“We just wanted to win,” Buffaloes coach Dan Hawkins said after the victory. “The most redeeming thing for me was that we were down at halftime and struggling a little bit to stop them, and then coming out in the second half and showing incredible resolve.”

Three plays in particular sparked Colorado, which went on a 34-point run in the second half. Redshirt freshman cornerback Jimmy Smith’s 31-yard interception return scored one touchdown, senior safety Lionel Harris’ pickoff set up another, and senior defensive end Alonzo Barrett’s blocked punt recovered by senior linebacker Jordan Dizon resulted in another six points in the 20-0 third quarter.

Dizon also made 18 tackles, including 14 by himself, which is why any Colorado scouting report has to begin with him, and the defense despite yielding an average of 29.4 points per game.

For his career, Dizon is third in all-time tackles at Colorado with 442, and has already been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by the conference coaches.

“The guy has a relentless motor,” Hawkins said. “We always talk about playing hard, playing smart and having fun and he does that. It is always one of those intangibles, and it is kind of hard to figure out exactly why some guys are going to work harder, whether you are a writer or a football player. Generally at the end of the day, the guys who can grind and grind hard every day are usually pretty successful.”

Other honors for the Hawaiian native include the Buffalo Heart Award, which goes to the senior whom fans believe exhibited the most grit, determination and desire, and he’s a finalist along with Dan Connor of Penn State and James Laurinaitis of Ohio State for the Butkus Award for linebacker of the year, which will be announced Friday.

“No, it isn’t really important to me,” Dizon said last week. “It is a lot more important to me to get to go to a bowl and spend another three or four weeks with these guys than it is to win the Butkus. It is on December 7, in Orlando, so I’ll fly down there and be there for a few days. Pearl Harbor day, December 7, 1941, just a little Hawaiian history.”

Dizon was joined on the all-conference team by senior cornerback Terrence Wheatley and junior defensive tackle George Hypolite — with senior offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus second-team — but they’ve also had key injuries for the Buffaloes.

Wheatley missed Nebraska with a fractured bone in his foot, but should be ready to play Alabama. Hypolite, expected to be a top NFL prospect, played despite a torn hamstring and is not expected to be available for the Independence Bowl.

Barrett — who lived in Denver through his freshman year in high school and grew up a Colorado fan, but after his father moved graduated from Thompson in Alabaster — is expected to be ready for the Dec. 30 game despite having minor knee surgery.

As for the offense, which likes to use multiple formations and spread defenders, turnovers were a problem during the first half of the season, but Hawkins’ son, Cody, a redshirt freshman quarterback, steadily improved and had just one interception in the final four games. He threw for 2,693 yards and 19 touchdowns, with his 424 attempts setting a school record and the 239 completions second.

Although senior Dusty Sprague was initially considered Colorado’s biggest receiving threat this season, he’s had only 27 receptions for 336 yards and two touchdowns, and against Nebraska was limited to one catch for 22 yards.

Instead, Scotty McKnight became Cody Hawkins’ favorite target, setting a freshman school record with 43 catches for 488 yards, and became the first freshman to ever lead the Buffaloes in receiving.

Senior running back Hugh Charles had 169 rushing yards and three touchdowns against the Cornhuskers.

“This win really boosts the program, it boosts next year and gives the fans and the community something to look forward to,” Charles said.

He’s sixth in Colorado all-tome rushing with 2,659 yards, and second in all-purpose yards at 3,622.

But despite the offensive gains, the defense, which employs a 4-3 base scheme and numerous kinds of zone coverage, figures to be the key against the Crimson Tide in the matchup of 6-6 teams.

After limiting Florida State to 16 points, shutting out Miami of Ohio, and defeating No. 3 Oklahoma 27-24 in the first half of the season, Colorado closed out by yielding 137 points in the final three games (Missouri, Iowa State and Nebraska).

“It was just a combination of the quality of the teams we were playing and being nicked up a little,” Dan Hawkins said.

Reach Christopher Walsh at christopher.walsh@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0196.