Colorado
1-3
West Virginia
3-1
Lost Opportunities Haunt Buffs In 35-24 Setback
October 02, 2009 | Football, B.G. Brooks
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Squandered first-half opportunities and West Virginia's speed - start your list with tailback Noel Devine, then add any number of his teammates - doomed the Colorado Buffaloes here Thursday night.
The Mountaineers outran, outscored and ultimately outlasted the Buffs 35-24 in Milan Puskar Stadium, dropping CU to 1-3 this season and fourth-year coach Dan Hawkins to 14-27 overall, including 2-14 on the road.
Nonetheless, Hawkins insisted he was buoyed by his team's effort: "Could we have won the football game? Sure. And you've got to leave it at that.
"We didn't make enough plays to win . . . that's one side of it. The other side of it is, I was proud of the way they battled, they competed. That's our best effort by far. That's a very good football team.
"Athletically, I think (West Virginia) can match up with a lot of teams on our schedule. I think our guys are starting to figure out what it takes to compete on that level and understand that it's got to be a little bit cleaner."
But whether they tidy things up or not, October doesn't get any easier for the Buffs; they open Big 12 Conference play on Oct. 10 at No. 2 Texas.
Yet Hawkins and his players insist CU's improvement will continue and they will be competitive in their league.
"That's the beauty of our league . . . we'll play against some great teams, great players and great coaches," Hawkins said. "I've said this before: Life asks your best, the Big 12 demands it. We'll bring it."
Here's most of what you need to know about CU's misspent first half and perhaps Thursday's game: West Virginia, a 17-point favorite, lost four first-half fumbles and CU managed to convert just one into points - those coming on Aric Goodman's only successful field goal.
He finished the game one-for-four, making a 39-yarder while missing from 40, 45 and 57 yards.
CU linebacker Marcus Burton called the meager return from the four first-half turnovers "tremendously frustrating for a defensive player, but you've got to roll with the punches. We can't get down about things like that."
After Goodman, the hero of the Buffs' 17-14 overtime win last season in Boulder, missed his 40-yard attempt on the game's opening possession, the Mountaineers answered with no hesitation.
Quarterback Jarrett Brown (12-of-19, 148 yards, 2 touchdowns) badly overthrew wide open receiver Alric Arnett on West Virginia's first play, but it didn't matter. On the second play, Brown handed off to Devine, who transformed a routine off-tackle play into a 77-yard scoring run.
No big deal. The Mountaineers entered the game with a penchant for "explosion plays," having rushed or passed for 20 or more yards on 19 plays from scrimmage in their first three games. Add nine more when punt or kickoff returns of the same yardage are added.
Add two more, courtesy of Devine, who later in the half ran 56 yards to set up his team's second TD. Devine, who rushed for 133 yards last season in Boulder, finished with 220 yards on 22 carries and his one score.
Said CU linebacker Marcus Burton: "We didn't do a good job of staying in our lanes and filling our gaps, and (Devine) did a good job of cutting back and exposing that."
"I told him (after the game) I hoped I'd never see him again," Dan Hawkins joked. "Nah, I shouldn't say that; he's a great player and great competitor. He's the reason you coach.
"He's much like 'Speedy' (Rodney Stewart) . . . I don't know how many stars he was (in recruiting rankings) coming out of high school, but probably not a whole bunch because they probably thought he was undersized. But he's fast and not only that, he's a tremendous competitor."
Stewart apparently likes running against the Mountaineers' 3-3-5 stack defense. Last season, he set a freshman single-game rushing record with 166 yards (two TDs), and Thursday night he carried 21 times for 105 yards and CU's first touchdown on a 36-yard run.
After that score and an exchange of punts, CU forced the game's first break. Outside linebacker B.J. Beatty tackled and stripped Brown, then recovered the fumble at the West Virginia 34-yard line.
The Buffs advanced only six yards further, and on fourth down, Goodman missed his second field goal of the night - this 45-yard attempt clanking off the left upright.
West Virginia appeared ready to capitalize, with Brown marching the Mountaineers as far as the Buffs 15-yard line. But after a first-down completion there, receiver Brad Starks fumbled and CU nickel back Jalil Brown recovered, enabling the Buffs to escape the first quarter with a 7-7 tie.
For the rest of the half, the lost ball scenario continued to benefit the Buffs and haunt the Mountaineers. They drove to the CU 21 before Jock Sanders bobbled a pass reception and linebacker Jeff Smart covered it to snuff that march.
The last of the Mountaineers' four first-half fumbles nullified an interception by linebacker J.T. Thomas, who picked off Cody Hawkins' pass but fumbled it away to Scotty McKnight.
That allowed the Buffs to complete a 10-play, 32-yard march capped by Goodman's 39-yard field goal, giving CU a 10-7 lead.
But the Mountaineers got a grip on themselves (the ball, too) and answered with a first-down hand off to Devine, who sprinted 56 yards to the CU 24. Four plays later, Jarrett Brown and Jock Sanders teamed for a 6-yard scoring pass and a 14-10 halftime lead.
West Virginia opened the second half fumble-free and seemingly intent on pulling away. A swift (1:50) score on a 48-yard catch-and-run by Starks and Tyler Bitancurt's PAT gave the Mountaineers a 21-10 cushion, but the Buffs responded with Cody Hawkins' 29-yard scoring pass to McKnight on fourth-and-seven.
Goodman kicked the extra point and CU crept to 21-17 with 10:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, leaving the Buffs defense to try and quell Devine & Co. for a series - which they did, forcing a punt.
But CU botched the ensuing series, being penalized twice (illegal formation, a jump by tackle Bryce Givens) and safety Robert Sands intercepting Cody Hawkins on the West Virginia 37.
Neither team threatened for the remainder of the third, leaving the Buffs trailing by four points (21-17) and still believing with a quarter to play.
But that belief might have begun a slow fade as the Mountaineers opened the fourth quarter by using Devine to bludgeon the Buffs defense. In a 14-play, 69-yard scoring drive, he carried nine times for 50 yards, leaving the final step into the end zone for 228-pound redshirt freshman Ryan Clarke.
Bitancurt's extra point restored West Virginia's 11-point advantage (28-17), and with 9:17 to play, time was running out on the Buffs.
When CU failed to convert on fourth down at its 15-yard line, Clarke scored his second touchdown two plays later with 2:00 to play to send the Mountaineers safely up 35-17.
The Buffs got their final points on a 20-yard pass from Cody Hawkins to Marques Simas, whose grab in the end zone with :03 left was his first career reception.
Simas said he hopes he and CU's other young receivers can relieve some of the pressure from McKnight, and that he was grateful to make a touchdown catch.
"But under the circumstances," he added, "I'm not happy with it."
RETURN DELAYED: The Buffs' charter flight to Denver International Airport was delayed about 45 minutes early Friday morning when one of the three buses carrying the traveling party lost a tire.
The mishap occurred about 15 minutes south of Pittsburgh's airport while the buses were returning from Morgantown. The bus involved exited Interstate 79 without incident, allowing passengers and luggage to be off-loaded.
The first of the three CU buses proceeded to the Pittsburgh airport, dropped its passengers, then returned to pick up the stranded Buffs from the disabled bus.
When the travelling party reassembled, the charter left for Colorado a little after 3 a.m. EDT and arrived at DIA about 4:10 a.m.
SCOTT WATCH: Sophomore tailback Darrell Scott had four carries for five yards and wasn't used to return kickoffs.
Dan Hawkins said although Scott "started practicing a little more this week" after suffering a knee sprain two games ago, Stewart simply was the more effective back Thursday.
"You've got to look at the flow of the game and how that goes," Dan Hawkins said. "Rodney was so doggone effective, it was hard to get him out of the game."
McKNIGHT SETS MARK: On CU's first play from scrimmage, Cody Hawkins found McKnight, giving McKnight the reception he needed to set a school record for catches in consecutive games (28).
McKnight caught nine passes for 98 yards and one score.
"He's such a workhorse and so tough," Dan Hawkins said. "And really, the touchdown pass (McKnight caught) wasn't necessarily a route.
"I said, 'Scotty, why did you convert that?' And he goes, 'Coach I just broke him down off the line of scrimmage. I threw my hand up and went deep.'
"He's tough, smart and got good hands. I think he's faster than most people think getting in and out of his breaks; he's a great football player."
MOOD CHECK: With the start of conference play looming, the Buffs say their focus now must be forward.
"Get over it . . . we can stay with anybody, but just a couple of big plays separate us and we might have come out of (West Virginia with a win," Simas said.
"We need to get over this, come in (on Friday) and get ready to play Texas."
Stewart believes the Buffs "could beat every team we play; it's not going to change.
"It's frustrating, but we've got to finish this season out. There's no telling what's going to happen. We could win every game from here out."
Added McKnight: "We've got a good team; we've just got to keep working. Sometimes things don't go the way you wanted. It's adversity and you've got to move on."
BUFF BITS: Tight end Riar Geer went over 100 yards receiving (113 on eight receptions) for the first time in his career . . . . Keenan Stevens opened at center for CU in place of Mike Iltis (Achilles injury), but no new injuries were reported after the game . . . . Freshman defensive end Nick Kasa, who missed the first three games with a MCL injury, made his CU debut and finished with one assisted tackle . . . . Watching Thursday night's game was West Mifflin (Pa.) High School coach Tim Brennan, who coached Cody Hawkins at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho. Hawkins completed 27 of 52 passes for 292 yards and two TDs, but was intercepted three times and sacked twice . . . . West Virginia is 29-1 in night games since 2000 . . . . The Mountaineers were coming off back-to-back 509 total offense outputs against East Carolina and Auburn - one win, one loss. The Buffs held them to 405 total yards (CU had 392) . . . . Thursday night's attendance was 60,055.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats
CU 0, WVU 7
WVU - DEVINE, Noel 77 yd run (BITANCURT, T. kick), 2 plays, 77 yards, TOP 0:18
CU 7, WVU 7
CU - Stewart, Rodney 36 yd run (Goodman, Aric kick), 6 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:44
CU 10, WVU 7
CU - Goodman, Aric 39 yd field goal 10 plays, 32 yards, TOP 4:16
CU 10, WVU 14
WVU - SANDERS, Jock 6 yd pass from BROWN, Jarrett (BITANCURT, T. kick) 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:24
CU 10, WVU 21
WVU - STARKS, Brad 48 yd pass from BROWN, Jarrett (BITANCURT, T. kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:50
CU 17, WVU 21
CU - McKnight,Scotty 29 yd pass from Hawkins, Cody (Goodman, Aric kick) 7 plays, 43 yards, TOP 2:56
CU 17, WVU 28
WVU - CLARKE, Ryan 1 yd run (BITANCURT, T. kick), 14 plays, 69 yards, TOP 6:48
CU 17, WVU 35
WVU - CLARKE, Ryan 8 yd run (BITANCURT, T. kick), 2 plays, 15 yards, TOP 0:47
CU 24, WVU 35
CU - Simas, Markques 20 yd pass from Hawkins, Cody (Goodman, Aric kick) 9 plays, 73 yards, TOP 1:51
