Did anyone see that sort of passing performance coming from this offense — especially after West Virginia averaged only 14 points in its final two regular season games and crossed the 30 point mark only three times all season against FBS competition? 

“Knowing this is the last time I was going to put on this uniform, I definitely wanted to go out on top,” White said. “We accomplished that.” 

The way the White and his offensive teammates did so was as headline-worthy as the victory itself. 

The offensive play calls made clear that WVU head coach Bill Stewart has, despite early struggles, remained committed to developing an offense capable of being equally explosive in the passing game as it has been on the ground in recent years. 

Nearly three-fourths of the Mountaineers’ 455 total yards of offense came through the air. 

Read the full story at: http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?story_id=40902

3:54 p.m. – With a chance to get off the field, the defense fails to take advantage once more, as Nicks grabs yet another ball, this time for seven yards and a key first down.

3:47 p.m. – White delivers a strike to Arnett for a 20-yard touchdown, as each atones for their respective turnovers. The drive began quickly, with a 41-yard toss from White to Jock Sanders. White then ran for nine yards on the second play. The touchdown came on the next snap.

Three plays, 70 yards on the drive. After dinking and dunking for most of the last two quarters, the vertical passing attack returned on that drive and White excelled once more. It’s 31-30 West Virginia with 7:14 to go.

3:44 p.m. – A big replay review about to happen here, as Robert Sands apparently forced a fumble recovered by J.T. Thomas. Replay appears to show the ball is out and the call should stand.

It does, and West Virginia gets the ball back at a time it truly needed it.

3:42 p.m. – An odd play call on the fourth down results in a turnover on downs.

3:40 p.m. – A critical fourth-and-1 decision for Stewart to make after a no gain on a White sneak. Personally, I’d kick it away here because of bad field position (on your own 40-yard line) and because your offensive line has struggled to get these short gains all year.

Stewart disagrees and the offense comes back on the field after a time out.

3:35 p.m. – A Will Johnson sighting, ladies and gentlemen. And here I thought he only existed in legend, song, and early season press conferences.

Johnson catches and runs for a key first down on a nifty third-and-short play.

3:31 p.m. – A second down fumble on a bad handoff is recovered by Yates, but backs up the Heels. Then Julian Miller applies pressure and forces Yates to throw early on the ensuing third down, and UNC punts.

3:27 p.m. — The third quarter ends and only 15 minutes remain in this season and the careers of the Mountaineer seniors. That period was by far the fastest in the game thus far, and WVU may have limited opportunities with the ball in this final quarter. White will have to have a fourth quarter nearly as magical as his first quarter if he wants to become the first quarterback in FBS history to go 4-0 as a starter in bowl games.

3:24 p.m. – Arnett fumbles after catching a short pass and North Carolina recovers at its 41-yard line. The play is under review to determine if the receiver ever had possession. Replays seem to show he did. It should be UNC’s ball.

3:22 p.m. – Yates’ pass for Greg Little was perfectly thrown, and the receiver had nothing but green turf between himself and the end zone. The ball hit his hands, then the field. The defense thus dodges a bullet on that third-and-10 play and gives the ball back to its offense at the WVU 48.

3:19 p.m. – A third-and-seven rush by Shaun Draughn from the UNC 4-yard line goes for 12 critical yards and a first down. The offensive line of the Tar Heels absolutely dominated on that play.

3:15 p.m. – North Carolina finds itself pinned back at its own 1-yard line after a McAfee pooch punt is downed deep.

The final series of downs on that West Virginia possession were probably the worst three plays of the day for the Mountaineer offense — a bad route (or confusion on White’s part) on a first down pass, an odd play that involved the left-handed White rolling right and throwing a lateral after crossing the line of scrimmage, and a throw on a rollout that was nowhere near any receiver.

3:08 p.m. – T.J. Yates runs it in himself from four yards out and gives North Carolina a 30-24 lead. The WVU defense is just being absolutely shredded at this point.

3:06 p.m. – Nicks is playing absolutely out of his mind at this point. He just caught a ball under his rear end, switching hands and fooling Pat Lazear into thinking it was an incomplete pass. Nicks converted a first down on the circus catch.

He then gains 21 more two plays later. With plenty of time left, Nicks is already has 210 yards receiving.

2:58 p.m. – On back-to-back possessions, the WVU offense has driven inside the Carolina 10-yard line. The Mountaineers have a total of three points on those two drives after McAfee boots a 25-yard field goal to give West Virginia a tenuous 24-23 lead.

2:56 p.m. – White is sacked for a loss of eight yards on second-and-6, but North Carolina’s secondary looks like West Virginia’s did in 2006. White hits a wide open Urban again on the next play, this time for 23 yards and yet another third down conversion.

2:53 p.m. – The 2008 edition of Pat White continues to be on display, as the quarterback looks down the field while running and finds Starks for a third-and-5 conversion. The very next play, White hits Tyler Urban for a 19-yard gain.

2:49 p.m. – A breakdown of the halftime statistics, which may not bode well for West Virginia:

WVU has 253 total yards of offense. The Mountaineers have committed only one penalty, lead time of posession by more than four minutes, have converted on eight of their 10 third down plays, and have only been forced to punt once. And they are losing.

Nicks is having a field day thus far, and the secondary clearly misses Sidney Glover and Brandon Hogan. Lankster, who stumbled on the 25-yard Hicks TD on third-and-11, will need to pick up his play significantly. Robert Sands, who has seen a lot of time at safety, may need to favor Hicks’ side of the field a bit more and provide help over the top. At this point, the goal should be to make someone other than Hicks make a big catch. Sands has the pure height to help stop Nicks, but clearly can’t match his physicality. Lankster lacks the necessary size to compete for the jump ball. It will take the best of both players to stop him.

The second half kick is away.

2:28 p.m. – White makes his first error of the game, throwing into double coverage in the corner of the end zone and getting the ball picked off. North Carolina takes a 23-21 lead into the locker room. If this game stays close to the end, that play may end up coming back to haunt West Virginia.

2:25 p.m. – It will be interesting to see the play call here on third-and-goal from the UNC 9-yard line. Obviously, you want to at least get a field goal out of this drive to take the lead into the locker room, but you’re going to have to take a shot into the end zone. How safe a call this is (or is not) may be an indication of what the coaching staff is thinking.

2:17 p.m. – The offense manages to get the first down, as White checked to a quick hitter to Starks on a third-and-2. After such an explosive first quarter, it seems the teams are settling into a more typical rhythm. WVU seems content to dink-and-dunk down the field on this possession, perhaps trying to give its defense a much-needed break.

2:15 p.m. – Starks commits a largely unneccessary holding penalty on a quick hitter to Dorrell Jalloh that gained seven yards. WVU has first-and-13 instead of second-and-3.

2:13 p.m. – White’s first incomplete pass comes with 7:01 to go in the half, as Arnett drops a ball he probably should have caught, delivered on target by the quarterback, who was rolling left.

2:09 p.m. — It’s a defensive struggle now, right? Yates is pressured and throws poorly on a third-and-long play. UNC is forced to punt and WVU gets the ball back on its own 36-yard line.

2:06 p.m. – West Virginia is forced to punt for the first time. McAfee boots a 42-yard punt to pin North Carolina back at its own 10-yard line.

2:00 p.m. – A third-and-six becomes a third-and-11 for UNC after a delay penalty. Butch Davis has to burn a time out as the play clock wound down again following the penalty. 

While Davis may be displeased with his unit’s clock management, he can’t be upset with its quality of play. Yates finds a wide open Hicks for a 25-yard touchdown on a flag route. Ellis Lankster was absolutely burnt on the play and is really struggling early.

Hicks looks like easily the best receiver WVU has faced since Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl two years ago. He already has five catches for 181 yards and three touchdowns , setting UNC records for receiving yardage and receiving touchdowns in a bowl game And there’s 10 minutes to go. In the first half.

UNC has its first lead at 23-21.

1:54 p.m. – Mark it down: the game’s first incomplete pass comes at the 13:09 mark of the second quarter, as Yates overthrows an open tight end.

1:51 p.m. – The defenses apparently decided to play in the second period.

West Virginia’s unit makes a great goal line stand, stonewalling North Carolina on four runs after the first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. WVU is backed up on its own goal line as a result, and a Devine run on the next play apparently failed to get out of the end zone and North Carolina gets a safety.

It’s 21-16 and North Carolina returns the ensuing free kick to the WVU 40-yard line.

1:47 p.m. – Mercifully, the first quarter comes to an end just before North Carolina snapped on a play from WVU’s 2-yard line. We’re given a brief reprieve from the offensive explosion the first 15 minutes have provided.

A quick statistical breakdown:

White is 8-of-8 passing for 116 yards and two touchdowns. However, North Carolina is 5-of-5 passing as well. Quarterback T.J. Yates is 4-of-4 for 89 yards and a touchdown, and halfback Cooter Arnold’s pass was complete for a 66-yard touchdown. As good as WVU has looked offensively, UNC has the edge in total offense, 207-180.

WVU is 4-of-4 on third down conversion attempts; North Carolina is 0-of-1.

1:40 p.m. – White is making a habit of just getting things done in this game, as he often has through his career. The quarterback gains six yards on a third-and-four to keep the chains moving.

Devine follows up with another highlight-reel run, gaining 18 yards and another first down. And White, yet again, makes a phenomenal play, with a perfect throw to Bradley Starks for a 35-yard touchdown. It was a play that demonstrated what the “new” White has been about in his senior year, as he stood in the pocket as it collapsed and delivered the ball instead of running.

Almost as if we needed to be reminded this is the same WVU team we watched all season long, the kickoff coverage team allows a big return into Mountaineer territory on the ensuing kick.

1:32 p.m. – Every analyst thought the Meineke Car Care Bowl was going to be an offensive shootout, right?

North Carolina pulls one out of the bag of tricks with a halfback pass from Cooter Arnold to Hicks, who shows impressive athleticism yet again, throwing Robert Sands away on an attempted tackle like he was little more than a rag doll. It’s 14-14 in an early scoring fest that might even make Big 12 teams blush.

1:28 p.m. — North Carolina’s lucky break could have taken the air out of West Virginia’s proverbial balloon, but White made sure that didn’t happen.

First and second down plays failed to gain anything, but White made another big play, running 16 yads on a third-and-10. He follows it up with an absolutely perfect throw to Alric Arnett, who makes an outstanding one-handed grab for a 44-yard touchdown. It’s 14-7.

1:21 p.m. — So much for all the luck being on the Mountaineers’ sideline today. A sure interception by Ellis Lankster bounces off the corner’s hands on a deep ball and Hakeem Nicks is there for UNC to haul it in and run in for the 73-yard touchdown. It’s 7-7 barely halfway through the opening quarter.

1:18 p.m. – At the risk of sounding like a broken record, something else goes West Virginia’s way, as the ensuing kickoff return is called back on a holding penalty. Field position is in WVU’s favor right now, and if the defense can continue to force Carolina off the field quickly, it will stay that way.

1:13 p.m. – Noel Devine takes a third-and-4 carry for 18 yards for a touchdown on the classic WVU zone-read play. Carolina had hands on him several times, but Devine kept his balance, made a nice move and fought through to reach the end zone.

It’s a near-perfect start for the Mountaineers, with a 7-0 score on an eight play, 55-yard drive in 4:05.

1:10 p.m. – White carries for seven yards on the second play and gains a first down. Perhaps the coaching staff will let its best player carry the load in his final game.

White has trouble corralling a bad, high snap and it results in a sack, setting up third-and-12. However, the quarterback then follows up with a near-perfect throw to Jock Sanders along the sideline for 22 yards and a key first down.

1:08 p.m. – WVU’s offense enters with good field position, at its own 45-yard line, after the three and out. The first play is a Pat White run, but North Carolina’s defense strings out well and contains the fleet-footed senior.

1:05 p.m. – The jokes in the press box have already begun, as a pooch kick results in a NC fair catch at the 23-yard line; perhaps the worst field position a WVU opponent has had post-kickoff in some time.

North Carolina runs up the gut on the game’s first two plays with mixed results; for seven yards on the first play and a short gain on the second. A short run around left end that would have resulted in a first down is called back on a holding penalty — let the record show the game’s first break goes West Virginia’s way.

1:00 p.m. — West Virginia entered about five minutes ago to the same video that greets the team in Morgantown. Players hoisted the jersey of Brandon Hogan into the air as they took the field, as the standout cornerback will not play today.

The team’s recently-elected season captains are representing them in the coin toss. Tito Gonzales, Ryan Stanchek, Mortty Ivy and Pat White are at midfield for the toss. North Carolina wins the toss and elects to receive.

12:35 p.m. — Pregame warmups are winding down at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. It’s a cooler day in the Queen City than was originally anticipated, but it’s still a rather comfortable 49 degrees as kickoff approaches. A light fog lingers in the upper rim of the Carolina Panthers’ bowl-style stadium.

There’s certainly a notable presence of West Virginia fans in attendance. While the vast majority of the crowd has yet to file into its seats, one side of the stadium is clearly going to be dominated by Mountaineer backers. The Carolina fans are a bit tougher to discern, particularly because the majority of the seats are the Panthers’ signature blue, which blends with the Tar Heels’ colors. For that reason, it may appear as though the stands are dominated by UNC fans. 

However, walking around the city last night and walking to the stadium this morning, WVU fans have made their presence known both visually and vocally. As I just typed that sentence, a brief “Let’s Go…Mountaineers” chant was audible even in the press box. And as Carolina’s team begins to huddle at the end of its warmup period, the boos from one end of the stadium were nearly as audible as the UNC fans’ cheers. The traditional pre-game “circle up” just ended and West Virginia is headed back to the locker room.

While everyone will look to one person or one reason to point a clear finger at for these early struggles, it just isn’t that simple.

Part of the problem is the new coaching staff. 

Part of it is the loss of last year’s key players. 

And another part falls on this year’s players and an inability to execute the fundamentals at critical times.

As former coach Rich Rodriguez often reminded us, the children’s movie “The Lion King” teaches us that what’s in the past no longer matters.

That’s one lesson this year’s team would be well-served to learn if it hopes to find its stride quickly enough to even be competitive in a weak Big East Conference.

In the end, a situation this bad can’t be blamed on just Bill Stewart and the coaching staff. As the column points out, players made plenty of mistakes that a coach can’t do anything about. That surely will only compound the misery for Mountaineer fans, who just are looking for someone, anyone to blame right now. 

The rest of the season looks bleak right now, but the good news is that the Big East has been so weak early this season, anything is possible. No one will want to look at the good news today, but the defense held Colorado scoreless for the final 55 minutes of regulation. It wasn’t a great performance by that unit either, but it was good enough to win a lot of games with even a competent effort on offense.

There are a lot of questions about the offense at this point, but I’m going to save a lot of those to be addressed in the coming days (hey, I’ve got to have some content, right?).

I do have to say, that 9-3 prediction I gloated about making last week is now looking far too optimistic. This team might not convert a single third-down against Auburn. Marshall has been battle tested early and could very well compete with this team. Ditto for essentially every Big East team not named “Syracuse”. I would have to say 8-4 or 7-5 is looking more likely every day.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

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

I’ll do my level best to make up for it today, on a WVU game day. Look for another post previewing the game with my prediction later, and then, I’ll be live blogging the game (while also trying to write a column for tomorrow’s DA). All the while, I should be studying for a massive test I have tomorrow and finishing a project for another class, but I make sacrifices on game days.

For our first post of the day, I present to you a picture of perhaps the most interesting coach I’ve ever read about in any sport. Of course, almost everyone knows Dan Hawkins for his ubiquitous rant. But the Colorado coach is apparently more complex than just one tirade over players’ parents.

Check out this exceptional feature story on Hawkins from 5280, a local Denver-area magazine. Kudos to Mike Casazza of the Charleston Daily Mail for finding this. I would provide a run-down of the highlights of the story, but there are just too many interesting bits to even try to pin down the best ones. Read the story and come up with your own conclusions, then post some comments on the story here.

Enjoy the games, and we’ll be back stronger than ever next week.

I promise, though, that this will be my last reference to the ECU debacle. Henceforth, we’re going to look forward to the rest of the season.

I would have to say Bill Stewart and his players wish they were playing Colorado tomorrow instead of having to wait through another five days of hearing questions or comments on last week’s game. Alas, that is not the case — and truly, the team knows the extra preparation time to focus on making West Virginia better is pivotal.

This retrospective on West Virginia’s 41-27 victory in 1982 over the Sooners in Norman is part of the weekly series I’ve been doing on significant events, people, places, etc. in WVU’s football history.

Check it out at this link.

You’ll note I have East Carolina lower in my poll than most, largely because I think that while the Pirates have looked impressive, they have done so against two highly overrated teams in Virginia Tech and WVU.

Disagree with me on something here? Leave a comment.

1. USC
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Ohio State
6. Missouri
7. Florida
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. Auburn
11. Kansas
12. Arizona State
13. Texas Tech
14. Penn State
15. Oregon
16. Alabama
17. East Carolina
18. South Florida
19. Wake Forest
20. California
21. Fresno State
22. Clemson
23. UCLA
24. Illinois
25. Utah

I’m posting this just to justify his two minutes of hard work. You think we could get some readers from it?

P.S. Don’t blame me for today’s headline claiming a WVU loss to the “Greenville Pirates”. I had nothing to do with it. I swear.