Thursday Spotlight: West Virginia at Colorado

Jonathan Lee AccuScore Analyst
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Bill Stewart just signed his six-year contract to be head football coach at West Virginia, but he might not want to get too comfortable just yet The Mountaineers are coming off its worst offensive performance in seven years, and tonight must travel to Boulder to take on a young, improving Colorado squad.

AccuScore simulations have West Virginia winning over 65 percent of simulations by a touchdown margin on average The Mountaineers were physically manhandled in their last game by East Carolina however, and were shockingly held without a touchdown for the first time since 2001 Stewart has said he wanted to have quarterback Pat White throw more in order to keep him healthy, but the signal-caller is such a dynamic talent he may need to loosen the reins White is projected for just over 180 yards passing, but with more than 75 yards rushing Running back Noel Devine is contributing more than 120 yards in simulations, but he needs White to be a constant threat to run or pass to divert attention and focus.

Time will tell if Bill Stewart
was the right man for the job.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins has managed to put together some impressive talent in Boulder His quarterback, top two running backs, and three of his top four receivers are all either freshmen or sophomores The biggest talent looks to be last year’s number one running back recruit Darrell Scott The California native is already the team’s leading rusher and is topping 50 yards in simulationsHe is an exciting talent that should receive a larger role in the offense as the year wears on The coach’s son, quarterback Cody Hawkins, is projected for 215 yards passing The West Virginia defense has a big edge in sacks (over 2.5) and interceptions so the play of Hawkins and the offensive line will be key If Hawkins can avoid careless turnovers and make quick throws he could negate much of the advantage the Mountaineers are creating in simulations.

Many pundits thought the hiring of Stewart was a poor move in the wake of Rich Rodriguez’s departure from Morgantown Sure Stewart led the team to a Fiesta Bowl victory, but was that enough to hand a life-time assistant to the keys to a Big East program? A loss to Colorado would make those whispers grow, and put more pressure on Stewart in just his first season as a head coach

The parallel I keep coming back to is that of Larry Coker at Miami Coker won a national championship in his first season in 2001, and then reached another BCS title game in 2002 It was all down-hill from there as the Hurricanes sputtered on the field and in recruiting until Coker was finally fired in 2006 Randy Shannon is now trying to pick up the pieces Whether or not Stewart will be a success with West Virginia remains to be seen, but I can’t imagine the fanbase being satisfied if the team does not stay at the top of the Big East in next couple of years Stewart will have an extremely short grace period, and I would be surprised if he ends up fulfilling all six years of his recently consummated contract.

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