Countdown to Kickoff
September 17, 2008 06:45 PM | General
September 17, 2008
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia takes on Colorado in a Big East-Big 12 match up Thursday night at Folsom Field (53,750) in Boulder, Colo.
It will be the first time these two long-time college football stalwarts will meet on the gridiron. West Virginia’s last trip to Colorado to play a football game came in 1980 when the Mountaineers knocked off Colorado State 52-24.
West Virginia opted to travel out to Boulder a day early on Tuesday to get better acclimated to the two-hour time difference.
Thursday night’s game will be televised nationally on ESPN (Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Erin Andrews) and will kickoff at 8:30 pm.
Here is Thursday’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Sophomore Noel Devine has had TEN runs of 24 yards or longer in 94 career carries. Devine’s longest run of 76 yards came in last year’s Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.
9 – West Virginia has had NINE first-time starters through the first two games of the season: Boogie Allen (DB), Alric Arnett (WR), Zac Cooper (DE), Sidney Glover (S), Will Johnson (TE), Ellis Lankster (CB), Pat Lazear (LB), Eain Smith (S) and J.T. Thomas (LB).
8 – Pat White has accumulated 2,073 yards of offense in his last EIGHT games for an average of 259.1 yards per game.
7 – SEVEN first-time players have seen action so far this season: Josh Jenkins (OL), Ricky Kovatch (TE), Mark Rodgers (RB), Robert Sands (S), D.J. Shaw (DL), Courtney Stuart (DB) and Tyler Urban (TE). Six of the seven are true freshmen.
6 – The Mountaineer defense has only permitted SIX 100-yard rushers in its last 40 games dating back to 2005.
5 – FIVE West Virginia players have made 15 or more consecutive starts heading into the Colorado game. Leading the way is senior left tackle Ryan Stanchek with 36 consecutive starts.
4 – Heading into last weekend’s games, West Virginia’s FOUR-year record of 41-9 is tied for sixth-best in college football with Ohio State. Only USC, Texas, Boise State, LSU and Auburn have better six-year marks than the Mountaineers.
3 – Quarterback Pat White is currently tied for THIRD in the Big East in career touchdowns responsible for with 79.
2 – West Virginia has failed to record a rushing touchdown in its first TWO games of the 2008 campaign. The last time the Mountaineers failed to produce a rushing TD in back-to-back games came in 2005 against East Carolina and Virginia Tech.
1 – Thursday night’s game will be the FIRST-ever meeting between West Virginia and Colorado on the football field. The two schools have never played each other in any athletic event.
Enjoy the game and be sure to stop back afterward for complete post-game coverage.
