LIVE BLOG: WVU-Colorado

11:56 p.m. – Aric Goodman boots the game-winning field goal to complete a stunner. This one has to be even more difficult to swallow than the East Carolina loss. 17-14, Buffaloes, in overtime.

It will be interesting to hear what the team has to say again this week in post-game.

11:53 p.m. – West Virginia fails to pick up a 3rd-and-1 as Jock Sanders has no running room out of the power I-formation.

Pat McAfee then doinks the field goal attempt off the left upright. This game is Colorado’s to lose.

11:48 p.m. – Two short runs (one from White, one from Devine) set up a 3rd-and-3, and White gets just enough for a first down.

Mullen has clearly decided to let the talented backfield duo carry the load here.

11:46 p.m. – This game goes into overtime after what was puzzling clock management to say the least on the final drive.

Stewart, with two timeouts in his pocket, neglected to call a timeout with the ball near midfield and a clock running with around 30 seconds to go. The team then failed to convert a 3rd-and-1 on a Devine run and let the clock run down to four seconds before calling a timeout to set up a desparate Hail Mary that fell short.

Colorado wins the toss for OT and goes on defense.

11:35 p.m. – Hawkins badly overthrows his receiver on a 3rd-and-8. The punt barely goes into the endzone, so White and company will have just over two minutes to work themselves into field goal range or the end zone, lest this game go into overtime.

11:31 p.m. – Great protection for Hawkins on a pivotal third-and-five, and the quarterback responds with a seven yard throw to Cody Crawford to keep the chains moving.

The defense has to come up with a stop soon, as CU is at midfield. A field goal here would likely prove to be the game winner.

11:26 p.m. – Someone should send Erin Andrews down to the WVU sideline to see if the Mountaineer handed his rifle to the offensive players. After all, someone must have given them a weapon to let them shoot themselves in the foot that many times.

Penalty after penalty backed the team up (2nd-and-31? is this a real game or NFL Blitz?) and stopped what had been a promising drive.

With six minutes to go, the WVU defense needs to come up big again. It avoids disaster as Rodney Stewart just barely steps out after a 19-yard run with open field in front of him.

11:19 p.m. – Wow. Mullen calls a fake reverse, receiver wheel route pattern on the first play from the one. The slow developing play risked a safety, and actually risked a Colorado TD when White threw a near interception. The second call was also slow developing — a belly zone run by Noel Devine, but the running back took that ball for a first down to create breathing room.

A Devine fumble was then called  back on a CU face mask penalty, and White hit Tito Gonzales for a first down near midfield. Mission accomplished for Stewart and company on flipping field position.

Devine then picks up West Virginia’s second third down conversion on nine tries with another zone read. A perfectly executed double-pass on a lateral thrown to converted quarterback turned receiver Bradley Starks then fails to convert what would have been a sure touchdown pass to Jock Sanders by badly underthrowing the pass.

Starks surely wishes he had that one back. He could have easily been the hero right there but threw a lame duck pass that never had a chance.

11:09 p.m. – Forget that whole line about field position being in the Mountaineers’ favor. Colorado downs a punt on the one-yard line to back up West Virginia.

This is certainly a dangerous situation, and one Stewart and company worked on in fall practice. The goal, the coach said then, is to get at least to the 25-yard line to give yourself room to work with if you have to punt and help turn field position back in your favor.

It will be interesting to see what sorts of plays offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen calls in this situation.

11:03 p.m. – With one quarter left, everything is still there to play for. It’s tied at 14 all.

West Virginia has to be encouraged by its play in the second half, but the offense still is inconsistent at best (and downright unimaginitive at worst). The defense will have to continue to play as well as it has in the the second and third quarters and carry this team to victory. It doesn’t seem likely that White and company will go on a three touchdown scoring spree in the final 15 minutes.

10:58 p.m. – Don’t look now, but West Virginia’s defense is starting to flat-out bring it. A three-and-out for the unit gave White and company, fresh off their quick-strike score, the ball near mid-field.

Colorado’s defense answered the bell though and earned the ball back for its offense, but field position is clearly in WVU’s favor this half.

10:49 p.m. — The first down-field strike of the game from White goes for 18 yards to Dorrell Jalloh, who  was wide open on the play. White follows it up with a 39-yard touchdown run, and Pat McAfee’s point after ties the game at 14 apiece.

For the first time since the Villanova game (which now feels like a season ago instead of only weeks), the offense looked truly explosive. Whether or not that was a two-play fluke or a sign of things to come remains to be seen, but this has to be a momentum-building moment for the Mountaineers.

10:41 p.m. – On fourth down and an inch from deep in CU territory, the WVU offensive line fails to get any push on a quarterback sneak attempt and the Buffs take over. Offensive line was supposed to be a position of strength for this team, but the Mountaineers are clearly losing the battle up front on both sides of the ball.

Fortunately the West Virginia defense has begun to make its presence known. If (and this is a big “if” at this point) the offense can get on track, this is WVU’s game to lose.

10:32 p.m. – As the second half starts, some interesting halftime stats:

WVU was outgained by over 100 yards, 249-144. The team went just 1-of-5 on third down conversions, while CU was 5-of-9.

The team did rush well, with 149 yards on 21 carries, for a 7.1 yards per carry average. White had 81 of those yards on only nine carries.

The second half starts rather inauspiciously for West Virginia’s offense with a three-and-out. The defense needed to continue the momentum it started to gain towards the end of the half, and it did just that. Getting off the field quickly to help put field position in the offense’s favor is significant.

10:01 p.m. – Pat White got bailed out.

Big. Time.

A terrible decision on a third-and-eight pass nearly leads to a pick-six for the Buffaloes. The ball bounced right off the defender’s hands before falling harmlessly to the turf.

Colorado runs out the clock after the ensuing punt and we’re at the half with the score 14-7 in the Buffaloes’ favor.

9:58 p.m. – John Holmes comes unabated on a blind-side blitz and slams Cody Hawkins to force a fumble to stop what was a promising Colorado drive into the red zone.

West Virginia ball in the closing minutes of the first half.

9:44 p.m. — The statistic of the game so far?

Pat White: 3-of-4 passing for NEGATIVE five yards.

That downfield passing game appears to be nonexistant so far in this game.

9:40 p.m. – Welcome back to the lineup, Reed Williams.

The senior leader at linebacker comes up with a big interception and return. Fifteen yards of the return comes back on a post-play personal foul flag on Doug Slavonic.

The possession goes for naught as the offense fails to convert on a third-and-short.

9:33 p.m. — West Virginia’s offense sputters on the ensuing possession. A screen pass to Jock Sanders on third-and-10 goes nowhere.

It’s clear both teams are settling in after the explosive start to this game.

WVU’s defense looks like it has a little (dare I say it) swagger back. A few big hits and a chance to actually stop the opposition on third down will do that to you.

9:23 p.m. — Make sure you’re sitting down before you read this, lest you faint in shock. Okay, sitting down now? Good.

WVU’s defense held Colorado on another third down. That’s two in a row.

9:16 p.m. – On a fourth and inches, West Virginia elects to punt near midfield. Perhaps sneaking early would have been risky, but perhaps taking a risk or two is what this team needs to truly get on track.

It’s the end of the first quarter, and while the shock of the opening five minutes is subsiding, things still don’t look great. It’s 14-7 in favor of Colorado.

9:08 p.m. — The offense’s answer seems to have energized a nervous West Virginia defense. Colorado barely converts on a third-and-short. The Buffaloes are now 4-of-5 on third-down conversions early. The defense doesn’t have to win the game for this team, it just has to get off the field and put the ball in White’s hands.

Finally, they do just that on a third-and-14. CU has to punt.

9:02 p.m. – Pat White basically just took the entire team on his shoulders on the ensuing drive, racing on  a 43-yard run to put the Mountaineers in position. White then ran in from six yards out for a touchdown on third-and-goal.

With that, West Virginia finally runs for its first touchdown on the ground of the season. In the third game.

The drive was set up by a 36-yard kick return by Mark Rodgers.

8:54 p.m. – The terrible start continues for West Virginia as Hawkins throws his second touchdown pass to Patrick Devenny. This one goes for 13 yards. It’s 14-0 Buffaloes very early.

To compound the misery, the Mountaineers have to call timeout on the point-after attempt as there was confusion on which unit should be on the field.

If it wasn’t already gut-check time for this team, it is now.

8:51 p.m. – Here I was ready to write a post about what a great start the WVU offense was having by using some old plays (zone read, bubble screen) — but Bradley Starks fumbled on the bubble to give CU the ball at the Mountaineers’ 30-yard line.

As I said before, early on, this is a frighteningly similar script to the ECU game early on.

8:44 p.m. – In the “more bad news” department, Hawkins uncorks a perfect deep ball to Josh Smith for a 38-yard touchdown. The secondary looks every bit as bad as it did against ECU, as does the defensive line.

The offense will need to show signs of a pulse early to avoid falling behind just like the team did in Greenville.

It’s 7-0 Buffaloes.

8:42 p.m. — While Thomas walking to the locker room is good news for West Virginia, a deep ball from Cody Hawkins to convert on third-and-11 is more bad news. This defense has struggled to get off the field all year, and that pattern continues early.

The Buffaloes then convert on a third-and-three. It’s a frighteningly similar script to the first two games for Mountaineer fans.

8:40 p.m. — J.T. Thomas is down for the Mountaineers with a scary looking injury. The linebacker led with his helmet on the tackle on that second down play and he appeared to go slightly limp after making contact. Trainers are trying to get him to stop moving, but he appears to be in considerable pain.

Hopefully this isn’t as serious as it looks like it could be. We’ve seen spinal injuries like what happened to Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills on plays that looked very similar to this one.

Thomas is up and moving though as the broadcast returns, to everyone’s relief.

8:35 p.m. – Colorado will take the ball first, setting up a display of one of the two most compelling position battles in this game: the Buffaloes passing attack against the WVU secondary.

Things are off to an inauspicious start early for CU, as they start with a false start penalty before even getting a play off. Then an incomplete pass and a short gain sets up an early third-and-11.

8:31 p.m. — We’re just about ready for this game to kick off. Ralphie is on the field, and both teams have joined her.

My prediction for this game is a simple one. West Virginia is hungry for redemption after 10 days of hearing about the East Carolina debacle, and Colorado is not exactly looking like a group of world beaters after needing a fourth quarter rally to beat Eastern Washington last week. West Virginia will find a rhythm offensively and do just enough defensively to keep Colorado out of reach.

Final score: West Virginia 34, Colorado 24

Comments (1) : Sep 18th, 2008 by Patrick Southern
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One Response to “LIVE BLOG: WVU-Colorado”

  1. Roy Says:
    September 19th, 2008 at 7:46 am

    Pathetic. It’s hard to try and place blame because so many of those situations, we should have never been in to begin with. Even if McAfee would have made that field goal in OT, I’m fairly confident CU would have managed to score a TD.

    Beautiful call by Stew and/or Mullen on the fake bubble-screen to Starks, but I can’t believe it was that short. He even took his time and reset the ball in his hands.

    I disagree with most people regarding the fourth-quarter timeouts though. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we didn’t convert that first down, and had we called timeouts with 30+ seconds on the game clock, we would have been forced to give CU the ball with plenty of time to try and get in field goal range. Stew made the right call by making sure either we won the game or forced it into overtime.

    Now, the timeouts at the end of the first half, a completely different story. A timeout as soon as they knelt on second down would have left us 20 some seconds with them 3rd and 20 some yards.

    But regardless, whether is was bad play calling or horrible execution or the fact that our O-line can’t seem to get us one yard, the game should have never been that close. One thing I didn’t understand was why on so many critical plays was the ball not given to the better player, Pat White. Devine is great, but White has more experience (Devine could have ran out of bounds and saved us 20 seconds…) and besides, the defense starts to catch on when Devine runs it every play he’s in the game! In my opinion, WVU is hurting for a full-back…

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