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Friday Fast Facts – West Virginia Week
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Leading off …
— Your “T.I.P.S” for Colorado at West Virginia, my weekly written preview, along with my prediction for CU’s attempt at redemption after the Utah/Arizona debacles, can be found here.
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The Big Picture …
— Let the sun shine? … Showers are forecast for Morgantown for Friday night, and for Sunday. In between? The current forecast for noon ET this Saturday is for 60-degree temperatures with a 14% chance of rain. We’ll see …
— Another road sell out? … West Virginia is expecting a sell out crowd for Colorado on Saturday (10:00 a.m., MT, TNT). Only one of West Virginia’s four home games to date has been sold out, and that was the “Backyard Brawl” rivalry game against Pitt in September (62,108).
Milan Puskar Stadium has a capacity of 60,000, the fourth-largest stadium in the Big 12 (BYU, Iowa State, and Texas Tech are also above 60,000). CU’s Folsom Field, with a capacity of 50,183, is the ninth-largest in the 16-team conference;
— The ESPN Power Index … Last weekend, CU was a 4.5-point underdog to Arizona, with the ESPN Power Index giving the Wildcats an 57.9% chance at victory. This weekend, the Buffs are 5.5-point road underdogs, with the ESPN Power Index giving the Mountaineers a 54.9% chance at winning;
— Broadcast info … The 10:00 a.m., MT, game is slated to be telecast on TNT, with J.B. Long on the play-by-play, Mike Golic, Jr. on color, and Jared Greenberg on the sidelines … 850 KOA radio will have Mark Johnson with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett as the analyst.
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CU & West Virginia … on the field …
— Colorado and West Virginia have played only twice in history, a home-and-home series in 2008 and 2009, with both teams winning at home;
— The 2008 game was played in Boulder, with the Buffs defeating No. 21 West Virginia, 17-14 (Game story here, which includes Mountaineer kicker Pat McAfee – yes, that Pat McAfee – missing a 23-yard field goal attempt in overtime).
— In 2009, West Virginia got its revenge with a 35-24 win, to date CU’s only visit to Morgantown (Game story here).
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Colorado & West Virginia … historical …
You could make a good deal of money on the following bet: Name the two teams in the current 16-team Big 12 with the most all-time victories.
In may come as a surprise, but West Virginia (790; 16th) and Colorado (735; 31st) are the top two teams in the Big 12 in terms of all-time victories (though Utah, with 731 wins, is quickly gaining on the Buffs).
Otherwise, In the 11 other categories tracked by Winsipedia, Colorado leads West Virginia in eight. On the Mountaineers side of the ledger, in addition to all-time wins, is all-time winning percentage:
- West Virginia has an all-time winning percentage of .591 (790-539-45; 31st nationally)
- Colorado has an all-time winning percentage of .568 (735-554-36; 45th nationally)
Colorado, meanwhile, has the lead in most other categories – and by a wide margin:
- Consensus All-Americans: 33-to-14;
- All-time NFL draft picks: 293-to-201;
- First round NFL draft picks: 25-to-12
One category in which the two programs is close is Weeks in the AP poll. Colorado has a slim lead, with 317 weeks ranked in the poll (28th nationally) to West Virginia’s 306 weeks (31st nationally).
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— Getting to Know West Virginia … Notes and Numbers …
– Rich Rod has been around a long time … This is the first year for West Virginia head coach in Morgantown … in his second stint. Rodriguez was the West Virginia head coach from 2001-07, winning the Big East four times in seven seasons. Rich Rod then headed off for less successful stints at Michigan (15-22 in three seasons) and Arizona (43-35 in six seasons). After gaining redemption in three seasons at Jacksonville State, Rodriguez returned to Morgantown this fall.
Overall, Rodriguez, in 28 seasons as a head coach, has a record of 193-135-2, ranking Rich Rod third in victories among active Power Four coaches, trailing only Kirk Ferentz at Iowa (220) and Willie Fritz at Houston (217);
— New faces in new places … While Colorado and Coach Prime remain the poster child for flushing a roster and starting over, the practice has become common. Out of 85 players on the West Virginia, 69 have seen their first action as Mountaineers this fall in the first year of Rich Rod Part II;
– Sack Attack (please?) … The good news? West Virginia is 105th in the nation in sacks allowed, giving up about 2.5 per game. The bad news? Colorado is 125th in sacks, getting to the quarterback just over once per game.
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Stats Worth Noting …
— Not that great … While West Virginia is receiving praise for winning its last game against Houston, it hasn’t been all peaches and cream for the 3-6 Mountaineers this fall. The West Virginia offense is 131st nationally (out of 134 teams) in third down conversions, gaining first downs only 28.6% of the time. On the defensive side of the ball, West Virginia is 106th in total defense, giving up over 400 yards a game;
— CU has faced the nation’s second toughest schedule … Colorado has faced the nation’s second-toughest schedule through Week 10, with its opponents to date combining for a 48-20 record (.706). Only Florida has played a tougher slate (42-17, .712), as they are the only two teams whose opponents have won at least 70 percent of their games.
— Stop the run, and get the “W” … In the battle of true freshman quarterbacks, it may not be the one with the most impressive passing stats who wins on Saturday. Scotty Fox Jr. has been praised for his role in defeating No. 22 Houston last weekend, but Fox didn’t lead with his arm, throwing for only 157 yards in 22 attempts. In fact, on the season West Virginia quarterbacks are 115th in the nation in passing offense. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers are 113th in pass defense. If Julian Lewis can run … and pass … it would be advantage, Colorado.
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Player Notes …
— Preston Hodge … has made his presence felt over the past two games. After recording five pass breakups at Utah, he followed up with two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery against Arizona. On the season, he leads the Big 12 with 12 passes defended, along with three QB hurries and 34 tackles, including three for loss;
— Omarion Miller … has turned his recent surge into steady production. Over the last four games, he’s caught 17 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns. He’s closing in on 1,000 career receiving yards and now ranks 38th in CU history with 971 yards and tied for 65th with 49 receptions;
— Tawfiq Byard … Despite missing most of the first two games, the CU safety leads the Big 12 and ranks 17th nationally in solo tackles at 5.0 per game. He’s also seventh in the Big 12 and among the top 70 in the FBS with 7.7 total tackles per game;
— Julian Lewis … will make his first career start at West Virginia. He’ll become just the sixth true freshman to start at QB for CU since 2000.
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Big 12 Notes …
— Three Big 12 teams ranked in first CFP rankings … The Big 12 has three programs ranked in the top 13 of the initial College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday with No. 7 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 13 Utah.
— Big 12 This-and-That …
- For a second consecutive week, ESPN’s College GameDay visits a Big 12 campus as it travels for the top-10 matchup between BYU and Texas Tech in Lubbock;
- Saturday’s showdown between No. 8 BYU and No. 9 Texas Tech on ABC marks the Big 12’s first Conference game between two top-10 teams since 2021;
- Arizona, Cincinnati, Houston and Utah give the Conference four programs that have already exceeded their win totals from last season.
— Big 12 lines …
From DraftKings …
Big 12 schedule …
Friday, November 7th
- Houston at UCF … 6:00 p.m., FS1 … UCF is a 1.5-point home underdog …
Saturday, November 8th
- BYU at Texas Tech … 10:00 a.m., MT, ABC … Texas Tech is a 9.5-point home favorite …
- Colorado at West Virginia … 10:00 a.m., MT, TNT … West Virginia is a 5.5-point home favorite …
- Kansas at Arizona … 1:30 p.m., MT, ESPN2 … Arizona is a 3.5-point home favorite …
- Iowa State at TCU … 1:30 p.m., MT, Fox … TCU is a 5.5-point home favorite …
- Idle … Utah … Arizona State … Oklahoma State … Baylor … Cincinnati … UCF …
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One Reply to “Friday Fast Facts”
I would be shocked if the WV stadium wasn’t sold out. They must as starved for wins as the Buffs and smell one coming up.