BOX SCORE
By ARNIE
STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
BOULDER,
Colo. (AP) -- Interim coach Brian Cabral won his debut for
Colorado on Saturday when Cody Hawkins threw three touchdown passes and
Rodney Stewart ran for 123 yards in the Buffaloes' 34-14 victory over
Iowa State.
Cabral took over the troubled program Tuesday when
Dan Hawkins was fired following an epic collapse at Kansas last week in
which the Buffaloes blew a 28-point lead in the final 11 minutes.
Cabral
has been on the Colorado coaching staff since 1989 after his
linebacking career at Boulder and in the NFL came to an end, but this
was his first game as a head coach at any level.
It was quite the
success as the Buffaloes (4-6, 1-5 Big 12) kept alive their hopes for a
bowl berth while denying the Cyclones (5-6, 3-4) bowl eligibility.
Although
names such as Mike Bellotti and Mark Richt have already been bandied
about as possible candidates to replace Dan Hawkins, who went 19-39 in
five seasons, Cabral wants to be considered for the full-time job, and
performances like this can only help his chances of convincing athletic
direct Mike Bohn.
With Dan Hawkins a spectator in sunglasses from
the Dal Ward Center in the north end zone, his quarterback son threw
for 266 yards and tossed TD passes of 9 yards to Ryan Deehan, 26 yards
to Toney Clemons and 25 yards to Scotty McKnight.
The last one
was the school record 13th TD connection between Hawkins and McKnight,
whose 20th touchdown reception tied a school mark.
Stewart became
the first Buffaloes running back to top 1,000 yards since 2004 but he
fumbled twice, losing one in the first half that snuffed a promising
drive.
The Buffaloes knocked Cyclones quarterback Austen Arnaud
out of the game in the fourth quarter when Patrick Mahnke sacked him and
forced a fumble that linebacker Michael Sipilo scooped up and returned
45 yards to make it 34-7.
Arnaud, who was sacked five times, was
replaced by Jerome Tiller on the Cyclones' next series, and Tiller, who
was sacked three times, hit Collin Franklin for a 24-yard score that
made it 34-14.
Cabral had his first big decision on the game's
opening drive when the Buffaloes faced fourth-and-3 from the Cyclones 7.
He initially kept his offense on the field but after conferring with
his coaches during a timeout, he sent Aric Goodman in for a 24-yard
field goal instead.
That score was set up by Paul Richardson's
55-yard reception in which he caught the pass in the flat and outraced
half a dozen defenders downfield.
His second big decision came in
the third quarter when he went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 40
and Hawkins reached the first-down marker by the nose of the football to
keep alive the drive that would end in his scoring strike to McKnight
that made it 27-7.
After Alexander Robinson rumbled in from 8
yards out to give Iowa State a 7-3 lead, Arthur Jaffee faked a pitch to
Clemons on the ensuing kickoff and reeled off an 89-yard return before
being dragged down at the Cyclones 9. Hawkins hit tight end Deehan from
there for a 10-7 Colorado lead.
Then, Colorado drove 80 yards in
11 plays with the payoff coming when Hawkins rolled right to avoid the
pass rush and lofted a pass into the back of the end zone, where Clemons
hauled it as he as tumbling, giving the Buffaloes a 17-7 halftime lead.
This
was the last matchup scheduled between the schools as the Buffaloes are
heading West to the Pac-12 next season. Iowa State's last win in
Boulder came in 2000.
The Cyclones, who were held to minus-6
yards on 26 rushing attempts, will have to beat Missouri at home next
week to become bowl eligible.
Updated November 13, 2010
