"It was there for the taking."

Tack on, "but the Buffs politely refused," and you have four years of Colorado football wrapped in disappointment and knotted with a bow of frustration.

Saturday afternoon`s 17-10 loss at Iowa State played the tune that has become all too familiar to CU fans since Hawkins took the reins. The Buffs had their chances at a win -- all kinds of chances -- but didn`t take advantage.

Penalties, turnovers, missed assignments -- name your favorite mistake and the Buffs committed it.

Four trips inside the Iowa State 10-yard line on Saturday produced just three CU points. CU fell short on fourth-and-goal from the 1, fumbled at the 8 and the missed a 42-yard field goal on the other three trips.

Did we mention penalties? There were plenty -- again -- on Saturday. A total of 11 yellow flags on the Buffs, worth 110 yards. Two killed a great CU scoring opportunity. Another two kept an Iowa State scoring drive alive, and a half-dozen more kept CU in a hole for much of the afternoon.

There was also a CU fumble at the 8-yard line to kill one scoring chance, an interception in ISU territory, and another fumble that set up an Iowa State touchdown.

And that`s how the Buffs frittered away another opportunity. Penalties, turnovers, an inability to take advantage of two turnovers produced by their defense, and a host of other mistakes cued up the latest version of, "It was there for the taking."It`s not what fans expect in the 10th game of the fourth year of a head coach -- and make no mistake, those miscues are at the coach`s doorstep this morning.

Sadly, Saturday`s story line is nothing new. There was a three-overtime loss to Baylor at home in Hawkins` first year. A 9-0 halftime lead over Kansas that same year that disintegrated into a 20-15 loss. A 21-0 lead at Iowa State two years ago that turned into a 31-28 defeat. Last year`s heartbreaking loss at Nebraska and this year`s loss at Texas.

Somehow, the act of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has become a trademark of this program, particularly on the road.

Saturday`s loss was Hawkins` 18th in 20 tries on the road during his tenure at CU. It also ended the Buffs` faint bowl eligibility hopes and clinched Hawkins` fourth consecutive losing season. In his three-plus years at CU, he is 16-31. He has not won back-to-back games since early in the 2008 season, and barring a miracle finish this year, he`ll finish with a losing conference record for the third time in four years.

No doubt, the drumbeats for dismissal are sure to reach a crescendo in the coming days.

Saturday afternoon, one football Web site was already reporting that Hawkins would be given a buyout and not retained at season`s end. While the veracity of such reports can be questioned, it is clear that Hawkins future in Boulder is tenuous at best.

It means that very soon, athletic director Mike Bohn and chancellor Phil DiStefano must come to a decision.

Clearly, the program is nowhere close to where Bohn envisioned it being when he hired Hawkins. When Bohn managed to land one of the nation`s hottest young coaching prospects in December of 2005, he certainly never thought he`d be contemplating another change just four years later.

Now such a decision is a distinct possibility.

Today, I`m still not ready to say a change would be in the best interest of the program and the university. But, whatever decision is reached, it must be reached soon. After Saturday`s effort at Iowa State, waiting for the outcome of the last two games makes absolutely no sense.

Bohn and DiStefano must sit down as soon as possible and examine the situation from every angle. Economics. Possible fallout from all sides. Recruiting. Next year`s schedule. Returning players.

Then make a decision and move on. Let Hawkins know whether he`ll be here next year or not.

If he`s going to be the head coach, make it known so he can begin to reassure recruits, contemplate staff changes and move on with business.

If not, give him and his staff the opportunity to assess their futures.

But whatever the decision, make it soon. Waiting will only increase the questions hanging over the program while doing nothing in terms of moving forward.

Simply, a quick resolution is the only sensible solution.