Colorado vs West Virginia

Colorado vs. West Virginia

Welcome October, and all the horrors it will bring to teams that are struggling to maintain an identity of success.

Such is the cloak that both Colorado and West Virginia wears, and tonight one shall have it snatched off their back in a national spotlight. Now although there are two games tonight, the other being Southern Miss vs. UAB, more eyes are in this Big 12/ Big East showdown than the Conference USA game.

Speaking of Big 12 and Big East…what’s up with the Yankee Bowl?

Err.. Another time for another blog…

So tonight we have two teams that, in the past, were once considered some of the best in the NCAA…and now, not so much. But tonight could be the first step for one of these teams to take an important step forward, especially in a year where many top 25 teams have been knocked off…there could be room on this bus for one of the teams.

Let’s examine both teams, looking last year, and what they have done so far this year.

Colorado comes in this game 1-2, and if the Big 12 had to rank all their teams from best to worst, this team might well at the basement. Long gone are the glory days when Colorado ran the Big 12 alongside Nebraska, and there may well be people wondering how a head coach can put his son as the quarterback, and not be effective at all.

Last year Colorado went 5-7 under Coach Hawkins after starting out 3-0, which included a win over West Virginia. Two of those three games were at home, the exception being the first game of the year vs. Colorado State. With a decent start, some thought maybe Colorado might be re-emerging in the powerful conference.

But a loss on the road to Florida State, followed by a Texas and Kansas quickly brought the team back down to earth. Winning three straight, losing 3 straight. The Buffaloes would rebound with a one point win over Kansas State, but would get shut out by Missouri, and losing to Texas A&M dropped Colorado to 4-5. They would win one more game over Iowa State before losing the final two games to Oklahoma State and Nebraska.

With West Virginia being their only credible win, few see much more hope this year, and mind you, West Virginia was coming off the year before when they had Slaton, their excellent back, so one could argue that they were in transition. But there are big questions about how this team may not be maximizing the talent when the coach’s son has been the starter, and last year threw 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Running the ball does not compute to Colorado, which is odd since they had some great backs in the day. Losing to Colorado State and Toledo is very embarrassing, and the lone win over Wyoming does not please the fans. Colorado NEEDS this win in a desperate way.

West Virginia seems fixed to only score about 30 points a game, whether they win or lose. Their 2-1 record looks decent, but they have much to prove. Last year’s 9-4 record is indeed respectable if you look at the numbers, but some criticize the Big East as being kinda soft.

There were big hopes for West Virginia, thought to possibly contend for a BCS bowl, and possibly the National Championship last year…that ended pretty quickly on the second game, losing to ECU 24-3. The road to redemption was blocked when they traveled to Colorado and lost there 17-14. At 1-2, the hopes for any National Championship was lost.

And perhaps with that pressure of their backs, the Mountaineers were able to focus, stringing up 5 straight wins over Marshall, Rutgers, Syracuse, Auburn and Connecticut. They would lose by a field goal to Cincinnati at home before beating Louisville on the road. But they would suffer their 3rd road game loss of the year, losing to Pittsburgh, before cleaning up the season by defeating South Florida and UNC.

Outside of the ECU loss, every other loss had been very close, close enough that maybe they could have won. This easily could have been a team that should have been 12-1 or 11-2. Was it possible that they were too overconfident when they played ECU on the road? Sometimes being cocky can be a detriment.

This year beating Liberty and ECU at home does not mean nearly as much as the greater picture. The Mountaineers need to establish dominance in the small realm of the Big East, even before conference play begins. A BCS bowl is still on the line for West Virginia if the can be the best Big East team. Losing to Auburn hurt their credibility, which seems to fall in line with how they play on the road. Three of their 4 losses last year were on the road, so they tend to like home cooking, and losing to Cincinnati at home is nothing to be ashamed of.

What West Virginia has going for it is a strong running game, with Noel Devine (how cool a name is that) in the backfield. He may well be one of the best backs in the nation, and we might get to see his powers tonight.

Having said that, West Virginia ranks about 54th in rushing in the nation, while Colorado ranks 115th out of 120. I say again, when a coach puts his son as the starting quarterback of a team that is not winning, something does not seem quite fair to the rest of the team.

If Colorado can’t defend the run, they are in trouble, and with the fear of a 1-3 record, this is a game they cannot afford to lose before stepping into the Big 12 conference games. I see West Virginia winning this at home, but maybe by 7 points. But if Colorado loses this game, their chances of going to a bowl may be almost as extinct as the Buffaloes they are…or were…or soon not to be, or something like that.