Colorado will play their final home game on Nov. 20 against Kansas State. The parents of all the graduating players usually attend the “Senior Day” festivities. “I think it will be cool,” Cody Hawkins said. “We haven’t figured out what sort of funky costume my dad should wear. Because I know my mom’s going to make him be there. Chewbacca was an option, maybe Inspector Gadget. … “He’s going to be there, it’s going to be great, regardless of who the title of head coach goes to.” — Daily Camera

The University of Colorado Buffaloes must go back to the future with Bill McCartney AND Dave Logan. But, first, Dan Hawkins has to do the right thing this week: announce his resignation, effective at the end of the season. Undeservedly, Hawkins was given a fifth season in Boulder, and it has been proved beyond all reasonable doubt that he cannot recruit satisfactorily; cannot get the best out of the players he does have; cannot make sound judgments in the hiring of assistants (and is too loyal to those even he knows are not qualified, and admits it privately); cannot coach on game day adequately; cannot win on the road and in the conference — anywhere; cannot interact suitably with alumni, students, parents of players, the coaches in the other sports at CU, the administrators and the media; and cannot continue to represent this state or this school in football. Hawkins will be fired. However, if he agrees to resign — and take a reduced payoff from the approximate $1.8 due (since he got a lottery-like million bucks for this season) — Hawkins and his son should be permitted to finish what they started. Then, they can go off and coach together at some small college. If Hawkins has any respect for the university that gave him an opportunity, he will gracefully, and gratefully, end this messy madness. — Denver Post

The Colorado football program could be one play away from a full-blown emergency at quarterback. Senior Cody Hawkins is now the starter after Tyler Hansen suffered a season-ending injury Saturday against Texas Tech, but Hawkins is the only other quarterback on the roster with any college game experience. The two players behind him on the depth chart — Nick Hirschman and Justin Gorman — are true freshmen who are more than halfway through redshirt seasons. What happens if Hawkins gets hurt at any point in the final five games of the regular season? If it`s a significant injury, it`s likely that Hirschman would be called on to finish out the season regardless of his redshirt status. Hey, that`s part of college football. But if Hawkins suffered a minor injury at some point in the next five games that requires him to be out for a couple plays or a couple series or even half a game, coaches don`t want to waste another player`s redshirt year in that situation. Offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau said coaches were evaluating all their options Sunday night and will come up with plans for multiple scenarios, but he didn`t have all the answers just yet. Kiesau said wide receivers Kyle Cefalo and Scotty McKnight might be the best options as emergency quarterbacks. — Daily Camera

Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn has not commented on Dan Hawkins’ job security.
In his fifth year in Boulder, Hawkins stands 19-36, including 10-24 in conference games. But players can’t afford to be concerned about any coaching “hot seat” talk in the middle of the season, junior quarterback Tyler Hansen said. “We just focus on what we’ve got (in practice) and this weekend,” Hansen said Tuesday. “We still have a lot ahead of us. We have half of the year left. We still have a lot of winnable games. We still have a lot of goals left to accomplish. “We’re just taking it one day at a time and kind of dealing what we have to deal with as a team. We’ve got a lot going on as college students.” When asked Tuesday during his weekly media luncheon about whether this weekend’s game has a heightened sense of urgency, Hawkins replied: “There always is. It always continues to be that way.” – Denver Post