Colorado-West Virginia: "John Denver Bowl" Takes Center Stage Thursday

The Colorado offense line will improve over time, but it may not be this week.

Remember that on Thursday if the fans next to you start crying for the heads of the Buffs’ quarterback and offensive coordinator.

I - Intangibles

The first quarter of the Colorado/West Virginia game may be the most important quarter of the Buffs’ 2008 season.

Let me say that again: The first quarter of the Colorado/West Virginia game may be the most important quarter of the Buffs’ 2008 season.

Here's why.

Colorado and West Virginia are both coming off disappointing games.  The Mountaineers, a trendy preseason pick to contend for the national championship, were embarrassed by East Carolina, falling 24-3.  A team which averaged 456 yards of total offense in 2007 was held to 251 yards by the Pirates.  Patrick White was held under 100 yards rushing and had only 72 yards passing.

The Buffs, meanwhile, trailed virtually the entire game against Eastern Washington.  The "easiest" game on the schedule proved to be anything but, as Colorado fell behind 21-7 at halftime before rallying with two touchdowns in the last three minutes to pull out a 31-24 victory.

All this sets up this Thursday’s nationally televised game.  For the past week, coaches at West Virginia have been preaching to their players that the East Carolina game was a fluke.  It was just one of those games where everything went wrong.

"Believe in the system," the players are told.  "Believe in the coaches, and all of the goals which we set for the 2008 season, including a Big East title, a BCS bowl berth, and a shot at the national championship, are still out there for us to achieve."

In the Colorado locker room, the mantra is similar.  "Yes, we struggled," acknowledge the coaches, "but we are still 2-0, and all of our goals are still out there for us to achieve.  Believe in the system, believe in the coaches, and we can make something special happen on Thursday."

One set of coaches will be proven wrong.

Funny thing about college football: as much as it is about talent (and the recruiting of talent) and coaching, it is a game of emotion and momentum. Doubts about how the 2008 season are to unfold were sown last weekend in the minds of both the West Virginia and Colorado players.

At WVU, after the loss to ECU, the seeds of doubt reverberated in the players’ heads: "Was Bill Stewart the right choice?  Did the defense lose too many quality players?  Can Noel Devine adequately replace Steve Slaton?"

At CU, after a mighty struggle against a I-AA team, the seeds of doubt came out sounding like this: "If we can’t beat up Eastern Washington, how can we compete against a top 10 FBS team?  We keep believing the coaches, but after all is said and done, isn’t Coach Hawkins still only 10-17 in Boulder?  Are we too young and inexperienced as a team to expect to compete against such an imposing schedule?"

For the team which comes out and plays well in the first quarter Thursday night, the voices will be quelled.  For the team which starts poorly, the questions will begin pounding out the anvil chorus in their ears.

Both teams have something to prove to their critics on Thursday.

Only one team will be satisfied with the result.

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