Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Countdown to Kickoff: Coach Prime, Military Personnel and Hall of Famer Steve Slaton Part of Today’s Colorado Clash
November 08, 2025 09:00 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia, fresh off its 45-35 win at then-22nd-ranked Houston last Saturday, is confronted with a new dynamic today when it faces struggling Colorado – preparing for a football game as the favored team.
Coach Deion Sanders' Buffaloes dropped to 3-6 overall following last Saturday's 52-17 home loss to Arizona and have lost their last two games by a combined 105-24 margin, prompting Sanders to make changes.
He used three different quarterbacks against the Wildcats and plans on starting standout true freshman Julian Lewis, who threw a 59-yard touchdown pass in the loss, this afternoon against West Virginia. For the season, the former five-star recruit has completed 11 of 21 passes for 129 yards, a small sample size for Mountaineer defensive coaches to study.
Coach Prime imposed an embargo on players and assistant coaches being made available to the media this week leading up today's game, which hasn't happened during Colorado beat writer Brian Howell's time covering the team, he posted earlier this week on X.
Another report from USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer indicated that changes have been made to Colorado's coaching staff.
Schrotenboer wrote that offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur lost his play-calling responsibilities after the Buffs lost 53-7 at Utah on Oct. 25 and was demoted to quarterbacks coach. According to Schrotenboer's reporting, tight ends coach Brett Bartolone called the plays last Saturday.
Sanders indicated during his visit with media earlier this week that staff tweaking was already underway.
"I might have already changed it, and you don't know," he said. "I don't do stuff and blow the whistles and make major announcements."
If this report is accurate, it will be the second time in three seasons that Sanders has changed play-calling responsibilities at Colorado, continuing a pattern that goes back to his coaching tenure at Jackson State.
On the field, what West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez sees is talent and athleticism across the board from the Buffaloes.
"They are really athletic," he said. "If you look at their roster in the last couple of years as opposed to before, at every position they are way more athletic. They're really big and athletic up front on offense.
"I know one of their linebackers because he played for us at Jax State, Reggie Hughes, a really good athlete, and we tried to get him, too, so they've really upgraded their talent level," Rodriguez said. "When you lose a couple of games, you lose some confidence, but I'm sure their coaches are getting them right."
Everyone's focus will be on "JuJu" Lewis, considered one of the nation's top pocket passers last year who decommitted from USC to sign with Colorado. Lewis passed for more than 11,000 yards and 144 touchdowns in three seasons at Carrollton High in Carrollton, Georgia, and was considered a unanimous top 10 quarterback prospect in the class of 2025.
West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley and his staff have been studying the Arizona tape as well as the eight passes Lewis threw in the Delaware game earlier this season.
"They've played all three, so at least we have reps of him in a game getting to see him play," Alley said. "My biggest thing is we've got to be able to execute our defense versus what they do. I don't think they are going to all of a sudden come out and run a triple-option; they might, but I doubt it.
"They're probably going to be similar to what they've done," he continued. "All three quarterbacks are fairly similar. They're good athletes, they can throw the ball down the field, and I know the reps (Lewis has) gotten in the games, he's been a good player. You see why they want to turn to him to create a spark for the team."
Junior Omarion Miller, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Vivian, Louisiana, leads the Buffs with 28 catches for 521 yards and six touchdowns and will be a player West Virginia must try and contain.
Another is sophomore Joseph Williams, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder who shows 27 receptions for 386 yards and three touchdowns.
Sophomore Micah Welch is the team's top ground gainer with 313 yards and two touchdowns. He's a 5-foot-9, 215-pounder from Milledgeville, Georgia.
Defensively, sophomore safety Tawfiq Byard leads the team with 63 total tackles, including 46 solos, but he was ejected in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's game against Arizona for targeting and must sit out the first half of Saturday's game against West Virginia.
Among Colorado's three victories this year is a 24-17 home triumph against Iowa State on Oct. 11 prior to the recent two-game skid.
Some of what Colorado is experiencing right now West Virginia also endured during a 35-day stretch that included using multiple quarterbacks in consecutive conference losses to Kansas, Utah, BYU, UCF and TCU.
Rodriguez has now settled on true freshman Scotty Fox Jr., who has started and finished the last two games. He passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns in a competitive loss two weeks ago against TCU, and last week accounted for 222 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against Houston.
His play has finally stabilized a Mountaineer offense that generated 401 total yards and a season-high 45 points last Saturday against Houston, although six of those points came via Jordan Scruggs' 80-yard interception return.
For Rodriguez, his hope is to see his 3-6 football team have a repeat performance today against Colorado.
"Most of the year everybody's like, 'What's wrong with you? You guys are terrible. You stink.' Maybe this week they're getting what coach Saban calls 'rat poison' because everybody's telling them how great they are," he said. "Hell, we won one game on the road and that's it. It's not like we've put a 10-game winning streak up, and we can play better than what we did, so we better realize that.
"Let's do what we did last week in practice, let's stay with the same approach when we get in the game, let's play as hard as we can and after 60 minutes look up and see what happens," Rodriguez concluded.
Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – The Big 12 has TEN different teams with a win over an AP Top 25 opponent this season, which is tied for the most of any FBS conference. WVU's victory last Saturday at 22nd-ranked Houston made it 10.
9 – Of Kade Hensley's NINE field goal attempts this year, he's successfully made seven, including a career long 50-yarder last Saturday against Houston.
8 – West Virginia has surpassed 140 yards in rushing in all but EIGHT of its last 47 games, including 246 in last Saturday's 45-35 win at Houston.
7 – There are now SEVEN Big 12 teams that have become bowl eligible and just one, Oklahoma State, has already been eliminated with three weeks remaining.
6 – The Mountaineers rank SIXTH in the Big 12 this week with 52 rushing plays of more than 10 yards.
5 – Rich Rodriguez got his FIFTH career road win over a ranked opponent last Saturday at 22nd-ranked Houston, moving him into a tie with Don Nehlen for the most road wins over a ranked opponent in school history.
4 – West Virginia's defense has registered at least FOUR tackles for loss in 36 of its last 43 games.
3 – Rich Rodriguez's 193 career victories now rank him THIRD among active Power Four coaches.
2 – Scotty Fox Jr.'s TWO rushing touchdowns last Saturday against Houston matched Fred Wyant's school record for true freshman quarterbacks he established in 1952 against George Washington and Virginia Tech.
1 – The Mountaineers have scored at least ONE rushing touchdown in 54 of their last 60 games.
The game has been dubbed Military Appreciation Day and active and retired military personnel, first responders and healthcare workers will be recognized throughout the afternoon.
Also, at the end of the first quarter, Mountaineer legend Steve Slaton will be recognized by the National Football Foundation for his induction into the College Football Fame this coming December. Slaton's 2005 Sugar Bowl teammates will be in town to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 38-35 upset victory over SEC champion Georgia in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
Returning Sugar Bowl players will be recognized during the first time out of the second quarter.
TNT, TruTV and HBO Max (J.B. Long, Mike Golic Jr. and Jared Greenberg) is televising the contest nationally.
Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning gets things underway at 10 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps leading into regular network coverage at 11.
A noon kickoff time has been assigned for the game.
Coach Deion Sanders' Buffaloes dropped to 3-6 overall following last Saturday's 52-17 home loss to Arizona and have lost their last two games by a combined 105-24 margin, prompting Sanders to make changes.
He used three different quarterbacks against the Wildcats and plans on starting standout true freshman Julian Lewis, who threw a 59-yard touchdown pass in the loss, this afternoon against West Virginia. For the season, the former five-star recruit has completed 11 of 21 passes for 129 yards, a small sample size for Mountaineer defensive coaches to study.
Coach Prime imposed an embargo on players and assistant coaches being made available to the media this week leading up today's game, which hasn't happened during Colorado beat writer Brian Howell's time covering the team, he posted earlier this week on X.
Another report from USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer indicated that changes have been made to Colorado's coaching staff.
Schrotenboer wrote that offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur lost his play-calling responsibilities after the Buffs lost 53-7 at Utah on Oct. 25 and was demoted to quarterbacks coach. According to Schrotenboer's reporting, tight ends coach Brett Bartolone called the plays last Saturday.
Sanders indicated during his visit with media earlier this week that staff tweaking was already underway.
"I might have already changed it, and you don't know," he said. "I don't do stuff and blow the whistles and make major announcements."
If this report is accurate, it will be the second time in three seasons that Sanders has changed play-calling responsibilities at Colorado, continuing a pattern that goes back to his coaching tenure at Jackson State.
On the field, what West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez sees is talent and athleticism across the board from the Buffaloes.
"They are really athletic," he said. "If you look at their roster in the last couple of years as opposed to before, at every position they are way more athletic. They're really big and athletic up front on offense.
"I know one of their linebackers because he played for us at Jax State, Reggie Hughes, a really good athlete, and we tried to get him, too, so they've really upgraded their talent level," Rodriguez said. "When you lose a couple of games, you lose some confidence, but I'm sure their coaches are getting them right."
Everyone's focus will be on "JuJu" Lewis, considered one of the nation's top pocket passers last year who decommitted from USC to sign with Colorado. Lewis passed for more than 11,000 yards and 144 touchdowns in three seasons at Carrollton High in Carrollton, Georgia, and was considered a unanimous top 10 quarterback prospect in the class of 2025.
West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley and his staff have been studying the Arizona tape as well as the eight passes Lewis threw in the Delaware game earlier this season.
"They've played all three, so at least we have reps of him in a game getting to see him play," Alley said. "My biggest thing is we've got to be able to execute our defense versus what they do. I don't think they are going to all of a sudden come out and run a triple-option; they might, but I doubt it.
"They're probably going to be similar to what they've done," he continued. "All three quarterbacks are fairly similar. They're good athletes, they can throw the ball down the field, and I know the reps (Lewis has) gotten in the games, he's been a good player. You see why they want to turn to him to create a spark for the team."
Junior Omarion Miller, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Vivian, Louisiana, leads the Buffs with 28 catches for 521 yards and six touchdowns and will be a player West Virginia must try and contain.
Another is sophomore Joseph Williams, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder who shows 27 receptions for 386 yards and three touchdowns.
Sophomore Micah Welch is the team's top ground gainer with 313 yards and two touchdowns. He's a 5-foot-9, 215-pounder from Milledgeville, Georgia.
Defensively, sophomore safety Tawfiq Byard leads the team with 63 total tackles, including 46 solos, but he was ejected in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's game against Arizona for targeting and must sit out the first half of Saturday's game against West Virginia.
Among Colorado's three victories this year is a 24-17 home triumph against Iowa State on Oct. 11 prior to the recent two-game skid.
Some of what Colorado is experiencing right now West Virginia also endured during a 35-day stretch that included using multiple quarterbacks in consecutive conference losses to Kansas, Utah, BYU, UCF and TCU.
Rodriguez has now settled on true freshman Scotty Fox Jr., who has started and finished the last two games. He passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns in a competitive loss two weeks ago against TCU, and last week accounted for 222 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns against Houston.
His play has finally stabilized a Mountaineer offense that generated 401 total yards and a season-high 45 points last Saturday against Houston, although six of those points came via Jordan Scruggs' 80-yard interception return.
For Rodriguez, his hope is to see his 3-6 football team have a repeat performance today against Colorado.
"Most of the year everybody's like, 'What's wrong with you? You guys are terrible. You stink.' Maybe this week they're getting what coach Saban calls 'rat poison' because everybody's telling them how great they are," he said. "Hell, we won one game on the road and that's it. It's not like we've put a 10-game winning streak up, and we can play better than what we did, so we better realize that.
"Let's do what we did last week in practice, let's stay with the same approach when we get in the game, let's play as hard as we can and after 60 minutes look up and see what happens," Rodriguez concluded.
Here is today's Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – The Big 12 has TEN different teams with a win over an AP Top 25 opponent this season, which is tied for the most of any FBS conference. WVU's victory last Saturday at 22nd-ranked Houston made it 10.
9 – Of Kade Hensley's NINE field goal attempts this year, he's successfully made seven, including a career long 50-yarder last Saturday against Houston.
8 – West Virginia has surpassed 140 yards in rushing in all but EIGHT of its last 47 games, including 246 in last Saturday's 45-35 win at Houston.
7 – There are now SEVEN Big 12 teams that have become bowl eligible and just one, Oklahoma State, has already been eliminated with three weeks remaining.
6 – The Mountaineers rank SIXTH in the Big 12 this week with 52 rushing plays of more than 10 yards.
5 – Rich Rodriguez got his FIFTH career road win over a ranked opponent last Saturday at 22nd-ranked Houston, moving him into a tie with Don Nehlen for the most road wins over a ranked opponent in school history.
4 – West Virginia's defense has registered at least FOUR tackles for loss in 36 of its last 43 games.
3 – Rich Rodriguez's 193 career victories now rank him THIRD among active Power Four coaches.
2 – Scotty Fox Jr.'s TWO rushing touchdowns last Saturday against Houston matched Fred Wyant's school record for true freshman quarterbacks he established in 1952 against George Washington and Virginia Tech.
1 – The Mountaineers have scored at least ONE rushing touchdown in 54 of their last 60 games.
The game has been dubbed Military Appreciation Day and active and retired military personnel, first responders and healthcare workers will be recognized throughout the afternoon.
Also, at the end of the first quarter, Mountaineer legend Steve Slaton will be recognized by the National Football Foundation for his induction into the College Football Fame this coming December. Slaton's 2005 Sugar Bowl teammates will be in town to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 38-35 upset victory over SEC champion Georgia in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
Returning Sugar Bowl players will be recognized during the first time out of the second quarter.
TNT, TruTV and HBO Max (J.B. Long, Mike Golic Jr. and Jared Greenberg) is televising the contest nationally.
Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning gets things underway at 10 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps leading into regular network coverage at 11.
A noon kickoff time has been assigned for the game.
Players Mentioned
Brandon Siders | Nov. 11
Tuesday, November 11
Jeff Weimer | Nov. 11
Tuesday, November 11
Braden Siders | Nov. 11
Tuesday, November 11
Michael Coats Jr. | Nov. 11
Tuesday, November 11
