BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Cody Hawkins resigned himself to a day spent on the sideline, watching the new kid command Colorado.

After all, the displaced quarterback didn’t take any reps the last two days of practice, coaching up freshman Tyler Hansen instead.

Hawkins was summoned into the game in the second half to bail out an anemic offense and led the Buffaloes to a 28-24 win over Iowa State on Saturday, throwing a career-high four touchdown passes.

“I just went in, in the second half to see if we could get some things going,” Hawkins said. “Luckily, my guys were making a lot of plays for me.”

The defense of Colorado (5-5, 2-4 Big 12)did its part, too, keeping the Cyclones out of the end zone from inches away as time expired.

Iowa State (2-8, 0-6) simply went to its bread-and-butter play — the option pitch — once too often.

With 3 seconds remaining, the Cyclones tossed it out wide to Alexander Robinson, but he was stuffed by Daniel Dykes and Jimmy Smith for a loss as time ran out.

“Had the ball in my hands, just got to make a play,” said Robinson, who finished with 101 yards and two touchdowns.

Receiver Darius Darks had a chance to score moments before on a fourth down play, but fell down inches from the end zone as he reached low to catch a pass.

“I guess I’ve got to get a little bit better with my awareness, see where I am on the field,” he said. “I was just concentrating on not dropping the ball. I thought I was in.”

The Cyclones’ dropped their eighth straight contest. They’ve also lost 16 in a row on the road.

“It was basically a fourth quarter meltdown,” Cyclones coach Gene Chizik said. “Cody did a nice job in leading his team, there’s no doubt about that. Defensively, we didn’t slow him down.”

Hansen struggled to move the Buffaloes in the first half, completing just 4-of-12 passes for 48 yards and one interception as Colorado tumbled into a 10-0 hole.

Enter Hawkins, who energized the offense, leading the Buffaloes to two quick scores to start the second half.

His favorite target was Scotty McKnight, who caught two touchdown passes.