@ West Virginia – “Best Effort by Far”
// Oct 1 -
2009 Season
October 1, 2009 – at West Virginia
West Virginia 35, Colorado 24
West Virginia running back Noel Devine rushed for a career-high 220 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown on the Mountaineers’ second play from scrimmage, leading West Virginia to a 35-24 win over Colorado in Morgantown. Cody Hawkins had 292 yards passing and two touchdowns for Colorado, but also threw three inteceptions. Running back Rodney Stewart had 105 yards rushing for the Buffs, and tight end Riar Geer had a career-best 113 yards receiving, but a combination of missed opportunities and missed assignments doomed Colorado to a 1-3 record in non-conference play.
The game, played in good weather before a crowd of 60,055 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, started ominously for Colorado.
The Buffs took the opening kickoff and strung together a 10-play, 45-yard drive, stalling at the WVU 23 yard line. Aric Goodman, the hero of the 2008 game against West Virginia, failed in this instance, missing a 40-yard field goal attempt. It took the Mountaineers only two plays to take the lead, with running back Noel Devine slicing through the middle of the Colorado defensive line, then outracing the Buff secondary for a 77-yard touchdown.
Two plays, 77 yards, 18 seconds.…
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National television audience on ESPN - Thursday night game - Buffs an underdog …
Sound familar?
It was the same scenario the Buffs faced last September 18th. West Virginia came to Boulder ranked 21st in the nation. The Buffs were 2-0, but were coming off a disturbingly close come-from-behind win over Eastern Washington.
Few were giving Colorado much chance to win.
The result? Colorado 17, West Virginia 14 (OT). (Note: this game is the Archive game of the Week, found at the bottom of the front page of the website, if you need a quick feel good Buff fix).
What will it take for the Buffs to pull off a similar upset in 2009? Let’s check out this week’s “T.I.P.S.” …
T – Talent
For the first time in 2009 (but certainly not the last), the Buffs come up short when it comes to comparing talent on the roster. It may have been expected (hoped) that there would have been a drop off in talent when West Virginia quarterback Pat White, along with four of his offensive linemen, left for the NFL, but West Virginia’s offense is just as potent in 2009 … if not more so.
In 2008, under the leadership of…
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West Virginia – Trivia you need to Know
- So far in 2009, West Virginia is a completely different team than when Pat White was the offensive leader. Through three games in 2009, with Jarrett Brown at quarterback, the Mountaineers are ranked 15th in the nation in passing offense. In 2008, West Virginia was ranked 104th in passing offense. Overall, the offense has moved up from 59th in the nation last season in total yards per game to 12th in the nation (485 yds/game to date).
- The major negative difference for WVU, at least so far in 2009, is the 116th ranking in turnover margin. In 2008, the Mountaineers were ranked 100 spots higher – 16th – in that category.
- Even with explosive quarterback Pat White in the lineup, the 2008 Mountaineers were statistically significantly worse in the first season under head coach Bill Stewart than in the last season under Rich Rodriguez. Total points fell over two touchdowns per game (39.1 ppg to 24.5 ppg), while total offense fell almost 100 yards per game (456.2 yards/game to 360.4).
- Before heading off to Florida State to resurrect that program, Bobby Bowden was the head coach at West Virginia for…
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Colorado on October 1st – 13-3 – 1900 – W State Prep School 23-5; 1904 – W Utah 33-6; 1907 – W State Prep School 40-0; 1910 – W State Prep School 20-0; 1927 – W Western State 25-6; 1932 – W Colorado Mines 31-0; 1938 – L Missouri 14-7; 1949 – L Kansas State 27-13; 1955 – W Kansas 12-0; 1960 – W Kansas State 27-7; 1966 – W Kansas State 10-0; 1977 – W Army 31-0; 1983 – L Notre Dame 23-7; 1988 – W Colorado State 27-23; 1994 – W Texas 34-31; 2005 – W Oklahoma State 34-0
October 1st – Colorado – best game on this date
#5 Colorado at #16 Texas – October 1, 1994
No rest for the weary.
With the “Miracle in Michigan” in the record books, CU was 3-0, up to #5 in the polls, and the talk of the nation. But the Texas Longhorns, 3-0 and ranked 16th, wanted their own share of the nation’s attention. The Buffs only had seven days to celebrate, recuperate, and prepare for the showdown in Austin.
October 1st – @ Texas #5 Colorado 34, #16 Texas 31
Texas was more than anxious to take…
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September 30th
Injury/Depth Chart updates
Last season, much of the Buffs’ woes were blamed on injuries. You remember the numbers – 121 player games were lost to injury or illness. Well, the 2009 Buffs do not have the luxury of that excuse. Colorado continues to remain in good health, with the injury update for the West Virginia game as short as it has been in recent memory. Defensive lineman Nick Kasa and offensive lineman Max Tuioti-Mariner remain on the list, but their conditions continue to improve. Both are now practicing with the team, and both have been upgraded to “day-to-day”. The issue for both now is the issue of what is better for the player – and the team. Would Kasa and MTM be better served by being a hobbled freshman for half a season in 2009, or by being a solid senior for a full season in 2013?
The near term cries out to get as much talent on the field as possible, as the lines are proven weak spots at CU. The long term benefit to the program would be to have these talented players for a full season four years from now.
The decision for each player will…
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Channel Surfing
There is almost always a way for a Colorado fan to have a rooting interest in a college football game. While not exactly the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, you should be able to find any number of games on Saturday to keep an eye on.
The Obvious
Southern Mississippi at Kansas. Quick, name the team with the second longest winning streak in Division 1-A. Hard to believe, but after Florida, no team currently has a better run that of Southern Mississippi. The Eagles take an eight-game winning streak into Lawrence, where the Jayhawks have not lost a non-conference game since 2003. Kansas has the third-ranked offense in the nation, but the Eagles have the 17th-best defense. It will be interesting to see if the 2009 Kansas Jayhawks are for real – this is the first test.
Missouri at Nevada (Friday night). Nevada has been a disappointment so far this season – a shut out by Notre Dame followed by a loss to Colorado State last weekend, but the Wolfpack should still be a decent test for the Tigers. Nevada went 7-6 last season, and will be looking to avenge a 69-17 thumping by Missouri last season. It’s…
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