Week 7: Colorado at Kansas

The North Division appears to be Missouri’s to lose.

These two teams, once with high hopes of challenging the Tigers, have wobbled a bit of late. Now one gets the chance to reestablish itself as at least the No. 2 team in the North.

The Buffaloes may be feeling the affects of a rugged early schedule. A big home win over West Virginia was followed with losses to Florida State and Texas.

A quarterback controversy may be brewing in Boulder, where coach’s son Cody Hawkins owns the league’s lowest passer efficiency rating and backup Matt Ballenger pushing for time.

Dan Hawkins isn’t ready to pull the plug on his boy yet.

“I don’t think it’s a one-man thing, I think it’s a whole group thing,” Hawkins said this week. “In and of itself, has he played well? No he hasn’t. But we haven’t played well as an offense either.”

Kansas found itself down 20-0 at Iowa State, but rallied and survived the upset bid. Still, a KU defense that was pegged as a strength is creating concerns.

The Cyclones scored 33 points, after Sam Houston State rolled up yards against the Jayhawks the game before.

Give KU credit for its comeback.

But if the Jayhawks want to come back to contender status in the North, they’ll have to play better.

“On the positive side, we were able to fight back from a 20-point deficit and that shows a lot about our team and the makeup we have,” said quarterback Todd Reesing. “On the other side, we can’t start games like that.”

Notes:

Ballenger tossed a touchdown pass in his first career appearance against Texas, making him the first non-starting Buffs QB to have a touchdown in a game since 2004.

The Colorado-Texas game produced the first sellout (53,927) at Folsom Field since the 2005 Nebraska game.

KU’s win at Iowa State was its fifth straight road victory in Big 12 play, dating back to last season.

Reesing moved to No. 2 in career passing yards at KU, pushing his total to 5,414 yards.

Player to Watch (Buffaloes) – Cody Hawkins, QB

The sophomore is slumping and CU’s spread offense is suffering, ranking 11th in the league in total offense and scoring offense. Hawkins must become more efficient in the Buffs’ controlled passing game, or risk getting bumped out of the job.

Player to Watch (Jayhawks) – Joe Mortensen, LB

The senior linebacker can be a disruptive force. He was against Iowa State, totaling eight tackles, including two for losses and a sack and forcing a fumble. Mortensen will need to be active against a Buffs offense that is trying to force balance.

Kansas by 13