Posted Tuesday, September 16, 2008 (2:44 pm)
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This is hard to believe but West Virginia does not have a rushing touchdown through its first two games of the 2008 season. When was the last time the Mountaineers went two consecutive games without a rushing TD?
According to WVU stat-man extraordinaire Mark Devault, it happened in 2005 in consecutive games against East Carolina and Virginia Tech.
Hopefully this won’t apply but the last time the Mountaineers went three straight games without a rushing touchdown spanned the 1993-94 seasons when West Virginia rushers were held out of the end zone against Florida in the Nokia Sugar Bowl, and the first two games of the 1994 campaign against Ball State and Nebraska.
In its game notes Colorado pits Thursday night’s Colorado-West Virginia match up as Rocky Mountain High vs. Take Me Home Country Roads.
The advantage for this one goes to West Virginia. John Denver’s Take Me Home Country Roads actually fared better in the music charts placing eighth in 1971, while Rocky Mountain High reached 29th two years later in 1973.
It will be an emotional Thursday night for University of Colorado athletic department employees who worked for Eddie Crowder. It will be their first home football game without the long-time football coach and athletic director, who died Sept. 9 due to complications of leukemia. Crowder was 67-49-2 during 11 seasons at Colorado from 1963-73 and was the school’s athletic director from 1965-84.
A full biography of Crowder appears on page three of Colorado’s game notes.
Bill Stewart believes Colorado’s Josh Smith could be the best return man in the country. Smith is averaging 50 yards per kickoff return and has also taken one punt back 51 yards so far this year. The Mountaineers have spent extra time preparing for Smith.
“Our special teams really have to strain and work to keep him in check and I’m very much aware of him,” said Stewart, who also doubles as the team’s special teams coach.
Smith is probably the most dangerous returner West Virginia has faced since Maryland’s Steve Suter, Miami’s Roscoe Parrish or Virginia Tech’s Andre Davis.
Take your pick.
Stewart said Tuesday that he wants to see a more relaxed team and coaching staff. He wants his players flying around and having fun and he wants his coaches to be just as loose.
“I’ve called plays in high school, college and professional football,” Stewart explained. “I know what pressure is when it comes to calling plays. I would sometimes get tight and you can’t do that. If you start coaching the “I have to’ then that’s not good. You have to call the game, let your players play and not worry about the pressure.”
The Mountaineers’ offensive line is going to be tested once again on Thursday night. Colorado is very similar to East Carolina up front, according to Stewart.
“They have three seniors up front with a senior linebacker and two junior linebackers,” Stewart said. “They have three seniors in the secondary with one All-American candidate in No. 29 Cha’pelle Brown.”
Colorado has not allowed a 100-yard rusher at home since 2004.
According to the Colorado Ticket Office, as of Tuesday there are still about 2,000 tickets remaining for the game. Most of those are returns from West Virginia. Folsom Field seats 53,750.
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins has coached 91 career NCAA Division I-A games but only 15 of them have come against nationally ranked foes. Hawkins shows a 3-12 career mark against ranked teams including a 1-7 record at Colorado. Hawkins’ lone win against a ranked team at Colorado came last year when the Buffs knocked off No. 3 Oklahoma in Boulder, 27-24.
Dan and Cody Hawkins are one of 56 known father-son combinations in college football history. West Virginia had two father-son combos: Bobby and Tommy Bowden (1973-75) and Bobby and Terry Bowden (1975).
Despite what happens on Thursday night, West Virginia will remain 15th in NCAA history in all-time victories. That’s because the 16th place team is five wins behind the Mountaineers. That 16th place team also happens to be Colorado.
Whatever you do, don’t leave your TV set when the quarters change from the first to the second, and from the third to the fourth. Fifty five of Colorado’s 69 points this year have been scored in those two quarters.
“These guys will fight you for four quarters,” said Stewart. “That is pretty impressive.”
Junior wide receiver Wes Lyons, hobbled all preseason camp, is going to get a lot of reps on Thursday night against Colorado. Lyons, a 6-foot-7-inch 223-pounder, shows 10 career catches in two varsity seasons.
“He’s ready to play this week and he’ll play,” Stewart said. “I told him that when he showed me he could go two hard weeks that we’d get him in there and play. He went two hard weeks and he is going to play this week.”
West Virginia’s razor-thin depth at running back took another hit with the recent shoulder injury to JC transfer Zach Hulce. Stewart said Hulce won’t dress for Thursday’s game.
“He wants to play but he’s just nicked up,” Stewart said. “I’m not going to let him run the ball when he’s nicked up. You can’t run the ball, you can’t pass protect or put your hands up to catch it if your shoulder is nicked up and he’s struggling.”
Stewart said earlier this month that freshman Terence Kerns is not ready to help the team and will most likely redshirt, leaving the Mountaineers with just two tailbacks available for Colorado in Noel Devine and Mark Rodgers. Slot receiver Jock Sanders can also play tailback.
West Virginia’s travel itinerary calls for a 6 am return to Morgantown. Ouch.
The show must go on. Because normal taping for Mountaineer Magazine takes place on Thursday, the MSN production crew will have to assemble the weekly television show early Friday morning as soon as they return to Morgantown. If Tony Caridi appears a little sleepy on the set Friday morning now you’ll know why.
ESPN Thursday night play-by-play man Chris Fowler will be making his return to Colorado. Fowler is a 1985 graduate of Colorado where he spent three years working in the Buffaloes sports information office.
However, don’t expect the always professional Fowler to give a Colorado slant on the telecast Thursday night. He will play it right down the line.
In addition to being televised on ESPN, the West Virginia-Colorado game will also be carried on ESPN360.com.
