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Hansen, who supplanted Cody Hawkins - the coach's son - at halftime at Texas a week earlier, made the most of his first start Saturday night, leading the Buffs to a 34-30 win over previously unbeaten Kansas.
The Jayhawks (5-1, 1-1 Big 12) fell seven spots to 24th in the AP Top 25 poll Sunday.
This is the second straight season that Hansen burned a redshirt at midseason because of Hawkins' inconsistency and glut of interceptions. Last time, Hansen wasn't well-versed in the offense and quickly gave the starting job back to Hawkins.
He was a much different quarterback this time, throwing for 175 yards and a score and running for 34 yards - 64, not counting sack yardage - and a touchdown.
After his turnover helped spark Kansas' comeback from a three-touchdown deficit to take a 30-27 fourth-quarter lead, Hansen coolly directed a 10-play, 76-yard game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
"I play a little smarter than I did last year," Hansen said. "I took a little longer to go through my progressions, and I looked downfield a little more. I just didn't look to run. I was able to scramble around and look downfield. That's probably the biggest difference between this year and last year."
It was a dead-on imitation of Reesing, who led Kansas to a 20-15 win over Colorado in 2006, when he burned his redshirt at halftime after standing on the sideline for the first eight games.
He's gone on to lead Kansas to a 24-8 record since then.
"The quarterback for CU, he was the difference-maker today," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said after Reesing's rally in the final minute came up short with two batted down passes in the end zone. "It's unfortunate that they picked this week to take his redshirt off. I think they found their quarterback, that's for sure."
Mangino dismissed the notion that the Buffs (2-4, 1-1) had a decided advantage because there was precious little film of Hansen to study, and certainly none of him this proficient in the passing game.
"A scrambling quarterback is a scrambling quarterback," Mangino said.
And his own scrambler nearly pulled out another comeback to crush Colorado again.
Reesing got the ball back in the final minute and quickly moved his team downfield, spiking the ball with 7 seconds left after reaching the Colorado 19.
Cornerback Jalil Brown tipped away a pass intended for Kerry Meier with 3 seconds left. Then, Reesing went to Dezmon Briscoe, and this time, cornerback Cha'pelle Brown batted it down as time expired.
"It seemed like he rose an elevator to get that ball," Meier said. "But that is a tough ball to make with that many guys around you."
Briscoe couldn't believe it.
"It's the most shocking loss I've been a part of here," Briscoe said. "Their record doesn't show how good they played today."
The Jayhawks will watch film of the loss and surely see some of Reesing in Hansen's play.
"We are going to get better and move forward," Reesing said. "Every team in the North has a loss at this point. There is no reason to hang our heads."
For the Buffs, there's plenty of reason to hold their heads high.
"The win gave us confidence," said running back Rodney Stewart, who scored the game-winning touchdown on a 12-yard run. "To finally get a win against a great team does a lot for that. If we do that, I think we can beat a lot of great teams."
With Hansen under center, the Buffs feel they can turn their season around.
"He brings a whole new type of quarterback to our offense with his speed," said tight end Ryar Geer, who caught a 29-yard strike on third-and-15 on the winning drive after the play broke down. "We can count on him to get out of pressure and then we can open up some more options."
And plenty of possibilities.
