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Luke Graham

Luke Graham's column appears Mondays in the Steamboat Today. Contact him at 970-871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@SteamboatToday.com.

Steamboat Springs — I - as much as anyone else - would love to declare that the University of Colorado football team is back.

After years of being in the dumps due to scandals, questionable coaching decisions and poor performance, Colorado picked up its second biggest win in the Dan Hawkins era Thursday.

The 17-14 overtime win against No. 21 West Virginia ranks behind last year's 27-24 win against then No. 3 Oklahoma.

Thursday's game wasn't pretty. Colorado scored twice in the first five minutes, then they didn't get anything for the next 55.

It then took a clang (Mountaineers kicker Pat McAfee clanging his 23-yard attempt off the left upright) and a bang (Buffaloes kicker Aric Goodman banging home a 25-yard attempt for the win).

But are the Buffs back?

No, they're not. Not yet, at least. Certainly a 3-0 record to start off the 2008 season shows that things are on their way back, but Colorado certainly has a lot of questions.

The young Buffs haven't played on the road, unless you count the season-opening win against Colorado State in Denver.

That changes this week when the team travels to Jacksonville to play Florida State and coach Bobby Bowden. Win there and set up a home showdown with Texas the following weekend, and then we might be able to talk about the Buffs being back.

The book still also is out on Hawkins. The man can recruit, no doubt. Evidence is in his last class - rated 15th in the nation by www.rivals.com. The big catch of that class was running back Darrell Scott, whom most had pegged as the No. 1 running back recruit in the nation. But it's Hawkins' ability to find the guys that slipped through the cracks, such as freshman running back Rodney Stewart. Stewart - who played right in Ohio State's backyard - had offers only from the Mid-American Conference before Colorado offered. On Thursday, he had 28 carries and 166 yards against West Virginia.

Think Ohio State would like a do-over with Beanie Wells still hurt?

But as paramount as recruiting is in college football, it's only half the battle. Before Colorado, Hawkins never was in a big-time program. He walked on at the University of California-Davis. He coached there before moving on to Christian Brothers High School in California. Other stops have included College of Siskiyous, Sonoma State University and Willamette University before getting on the staff at Boise State.

None of those programs scream out big-time.

In his three years at Colorado, Hawkins has been outcoached on several occasions. After scoring twice in the first five minutes by spreading the formation and throwing the ball on Thursday, Colorado never really attempted to go back to it.

But if Hawkins can win at Florida State against Bowden - one of the top five all-time college coaches - he'll prove he's on the right track.

Facing a five-game stretch that includes battles at Florida State, Kansas and Missouri and home dates with Texas and Kansas State, it's tough to say the Buffs are back.

If Colorado can go 3-2 in that stretch, things will have changed.

That would be when we all finally can declare that Colorado football is back.

- To reach Luke Graham, call 871-4229

or e-mail lgraham@steamboatpilot.com