Buffs and Mountaineers Set for Appalachian Showdown: Five Things to Know

Saturday, November 8

Morgantown, W.Va.

10 a.m.

Colorado

West Virginia

Photo by: Tony Harman

Buffs and Mountaineers Set for Appalachian Showdown: Five Things to Know

November 06, 2025 | Football

Game Notes Tickets

By: Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.V. — The Colorado Buffaloes look to snap the recent two-game skid when they take the field at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium against West Virginia on Saturday.

The Buffaloes (3-6, 1-5 Big 12) will take on WVU for just the third time in program history. Each team has won on its home field, with Colorado pulling out a 17-14 overtime win on a Thursday night match up in Folsom Field in 2008.

A lot is often made of CU's success in the transfer portal, but the players who come to Boulder out of high school have been just as impactful. In fact, every player signed out of high school from the 2023 and '24 classes still on the roster has not only contributed but has started or is expected to start this week. Including the Spring and Fall 2025 classes, that number grows by five for a total of 15 overall. The list includes Ryan Staub (S23); Isaiah Hardge, Omarion Miller, and Carter Stoutmire (F23); Brandon Davis-Swain, Jordan Seaton, and Micah Welch (S24); Yahya Attia, Kam Mikell, and Dre'Lon Miller (F24); and from the most recent class, Quannell Farrakahn Jr., Quinton Gibson, Julian Lewis, Alexander McPherson, and London Merritt.

Five Things to Know

Tough Schedule: Colorado has faced the nation's second-toughest schedule through Week 10, with its opponents to date combining for a 48-20 record (.706). Only Florida has played a tougher slate (42-17, .712), as they are the only two teams whose opponents have won at least 70 percent of their games.
Hodge Impact Plays: Preston Hodge has made his presence felt over the past two games. After recording five pass breakups at Utah, he followed up with two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery against Arizona. On the season, he leads the Big 12 with 12 passes defended, along with three QB hurries and 34 tackles, including three for loss.
Omarion Miller: He has turned his recent surge into steady production. Over the last four games, he's caught 17 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns. He's closing in on 1,000 career receiving yards and now ranks 38th in CU history with 971 yards and tied for 65th with 49 receptions.
Tawfiq Byard: Despite missing most of the first two games, the CU safety leads the Big 12 and ranks 17th nationally in solo tackles at 5.0 per game. He's also seventh in the Big 12 and among the top 70 in the FBS with 7.7 total tackles per game.
JuJu To Start: At his weekly press conference, Coach Prime announced that true freshman Julian Lewis will make his first career start at West Virginia. He'll become just the sixth true freshman to start at QB for CU since 2000.

J.B. Long and Mike Golic Jr., will have the call on TNT.

Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson and former head coach Gary Barnett will have pregame coverage starting at 8 a.m. MT on the Colorado Radio Network, locally on 850 KOA (AM) and 94.1 FM.