Before last season, University of Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins told boosters and reporters that his team would win 10 games and compete for the Big 12 title. Then the Buffs posted a 3-9 record and became the butt of jokes on a near-weekly basis. It has been widely speculated that the only reason Hawkins didn't get canned after the season was the $3 million the university would have to pay to buy him out, so CU fans have at least one more year of Hawk Mania. Expectations for this season are low, but not for Hawkins, who is telling media---during a statewide tour of CU athletic coaches and players yesterday---that the team is on the precipice of greatness. "Guys, trust me. We are that far away," Hawkins tells reporters, including The Denver Post, holding his fingers less than an inch apart. "Nobody wants to be close to having a good marriage, and nobody wants to be close to winning football games. We've just got to build a little confidence, build a little momentum." A wardrobe change could help: The Buffs will wear replicas of the uniforms worn during the 1990 championship season during home games this season. Hawkins has a woeful 16-33 overall record over the last four years, but he remains optimistic. "It's like taking out pavement; you've just got to keep pounding and pounding," Hawkins says, according to the Post. "(Sometimes) nothing happens and nothing happens, and pretty soon there's a little crack and it falls away."