Game Preview: West Virginia football vs Colorado
West Virginia will host Colorado in a Big 12 Conference matchup, and WVSports.com breaks down some of the key items of the matchup in our preview.
Kickoff: 12 PM ET.
Series: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: 2009: WVU 35 Colorado 24
Television Information: TNT/TruTV/HBOMAX, J.B. Long (PBP), Mike Golic Jr. (analyst), Jared Greenberg (sideline reporter)
Odds: West Virginia -6.5 — U/0 56.5 (BetMGM)
Head Coaches Information:
| West Virginia | Colorado | ||
| Rich Rodriguez | Deion Sanders | ||
| Record at West Virginia: | 63-32 | Record at Colorado: | 16-18 |
| Overall Record: | 193-135-2 | Overall Record: | 43-24 |
| 2025 Record: | 3-6 | 2025 Record: | 3-6 |
Numbers of Note:
–The 2025 season marks West Virginia’s 133rd season of football. The Mountaineers are the winningest program in the Big 12 Conference and No. 15 in college football.
–West Virginia Football Coach Rich Rodriguez has 193 career victories, ranking No. 3 among Power Four coaches.
–Rodriguez is No. 2 on the all-time WVU win list with 63, behind only Don Nehlen (149).
–This year marks the 46th season of competition for West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium. WVU has a 202-82-4 (.708) all-time mark at the facility, which opened in 1980.
–WVU is 10-6-1 in games played on Nov. 8, including 4-3-1 at home. The last time WVU played on that date was at Texas in 2014 (L/33-16).
–Rodriguez moved into a tie for No. 1 with Don Nehlen at WVU for the most true road game wins (5) against ranked opponents.
–Since 2012, WVU has rushed for at least 150 yards 98 times.
–West Virginia has surpassed at least 140 rushing yards in 39 of the last 47 games (since 2022)
–WVU is 105-19 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.
–On first down, the Mountaineers have run 267 plays and gained 1,409 yards for a 5.3 average. On second down, the Mountaineers have run 213 plays for 1,092 yards and a 5.1 average. On third down, the Mountaineers have run 133 plays for 562 yards and a 4.2 average gain. West Virginia has run 32 plays on fourth down for 161 yards and a 5.0 average.
–WVU’s touchdowns have come 12 times on first down (9 rush/3 pass), seven times on second down (3 rush/4 pass), six times on third down (6 rush/0 pass) and one time on fourth down (1rush/0 pass).
–Breaking down the West Virginia offensive numbers for the 2025 season shows that the Mountaineers have run 645 plays, 409 on the ground and 236 through the air.
–The rushing game has totaled 1,655 yards, an average of 4.0 yards per carry and 19 touchdowns. The passing attack has totaled 1,569 yards, seven touchdowns and an average of 11.2 yards per completion. Combine the two and the Mountaineers have turned in 3,224 yards of total offense, 26 touchdowns, an average of 5.0 yards per play and an average of 23.2 points per game.
–Deeper analysis shows that the Mountaineer offense has gained 95 first downs by the run and 61 via the pass. On average, West Virginia has totaled 183.9 yards per game on the ground, 174.3 yards per game passing and 358.2 yards per game of total offense.
–West Virginia has gone to a bowl game in 20 of the last 23 years but a loss would eliminate the Mountaineers nine games into the season.
–The Mountaineers added 79 new players to the roster in 2025, including 39 on offense, 37 on defense and three on special teams.
–The 2025 roster consists of 124 players from 23 different states, Washington D.C. and three foreign countries: Australia (1), Finland (1) and Liberia (1).
–The TNT broadcast of the WVU-Colorado football game on Sept. 27 marks the 345th national television game for WVU. All-time, the Mountaineers are 178-165-1 in nationally televised games.
Colorado
The Buffaloes are in the third season under head coach Deion Sanders and have struggled with a 3-6 record and 1-5 record in Big 12 play. The past two weeks, Colorado has been outscored 105-24 against Utah and Arizona after some encouraging performances against BYU and TCU.
Sanders has a 16-18 record in his three seasons atop the football program in Boulder and this season his unit currently ranks 108th in scoring offense and 106th in scoring defense nationally.
Colorado has used three different quarterbacks throughout the season with Kaidon Salter seeing the most time, throwing for 1,242 yards and 10 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. But highly touted freshman Julian Lewis got time in the Arizona game and completed 9-17 passes for 121 yards and a score. He is expected to start the game against the Mountaineers.
Sophomore running back Micah Welch leads the Buffs on the ground with 313 yards and 2 touchdowns but Colorado has only averaged 130 rushing yards per game through the first nine contests. The passing game is led by wide receivers in Omarion Miller (28-521-6), Joseph Williams (27-386-3) and Sincere Brown (16-289-2) but the Buffaloes do have seven players with at least ten catches.
The Colorado defense has struggled to stop the run allowing 215.8 yards per game while the unit also has surrendered 30.1 points per contest. That could play into the Mountaineers favor as they are known for running the football and piled up 246 yards a week ago against a stout Houston front.
National Statistical Rankings
| Statistic | West Virginia | Colorado |
| Scoring Offense | 99 (23.2) | 108 (22.0) |
| Scoring Defense | 110 (30.4) | 106 (30.1) |
| Rushing Offense | 42 (183.9) | 101 (130.0) |
| Rushing Defense | 75 (151.4) | 132 (215.8) |
| Passing Offense | 112 (174.3) | 95 (199.8) |
| Total Offense | 91 (358.2) | 107 (329.8) |
| Pass Defense | 113 (255.0) | 56 (210.7) |
| Total Defense | 106 (406.4) | 118 (426.4) |
| Third Down Conversions | 131 (28.6) | 69 (40.0) |
| Opponent Third Down | 35 (34.9) | 40 (35.6) |
Coaching Staff Assignments:
Zac Alley (AHC-DC-LB/Field)
Travis Trickett (Senior Offensive Assistant/Press Box)
Jack Bicknell Jr. (OL/Field)
Jeff Casteel (Bandits/Field)
Logan Bradley (IR/Field)
Gabe Franklin (S/Field)
Ryan Garrett (WR/Field)
William Green (DL/Field)
Pat Kirkland (STC-Defensive Assistant/Field)
Michael Nysewander (TE/Field)
Larry Porter (RB/Field)
Rhett Rodriguez (QB/Press Box)
Rod West (CB/Field)
Derek Dressler (Assistant OL/Press Box)
Henry Weinreich (Nickels-Sams/Field)
Pat White (Assistant QB/Field)
Jake Casteel (Asst. Defensive Coach/Press Box)
Ryan Nehlen (Asstant WR/Press Box)
Andrew Warwick (Assistant Defensive Coach/Press Box)
Depth Chart:
OFFENSE:
QB:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Khalil Wilkins | 6-3 | 204 | r-Fr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 15 | Scotty Fox | 6-2 | 213 | Fr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 6 | Max Brown | 6-2 | 223 | r-Jr. |
RB:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Diore Hubbard | 5-10 | 190 | r-Fr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 27 | Clay Ash | 5-9 | 196 | So. |
| -or- | ||||
| 23 | Cyncir Bowers | 5-10 | 191 | So. |
WR X:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Cam Vaughn | 6-2 | 185 | r-So. |
| -or- | ||||
| 16 | Jeff Weimer | 6-1 | 209 | r-Sr. |
WR Y:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Rodney Gallagher | 5-10 | 180 | Jr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 7 | Jarod Bowie | 5-9 | 162 | Sr. |
WR Z:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Justin Smith-Brown | 5-11 | 190 | r-Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 29 | Preston Fox | 5-10 | 181 | r-Sr. |
| 17 | Christian Hamilton | 5-11 | 190 | r-So. |
TE:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 80 Grayson Barnes | 6-4 | 222 | Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 81 | Jacob Barrick | 6-3 | 231 | Sr. |
LT:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Nick Krahe | 6-6 | 305 | r-So. |
| 78 | Xavier Bausley | 6-4 | 305 | r-Jr. |
LG:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Walter Young Bear | 6-3 | 306 | r-Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 57 | Donovan Haslam | 6-3 | 341 | r-Jr. |
C:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | Landen Livingston | 6-4 | 294 | r-Jr. |
| 55 | Carson Lee | 6-2 | 327 | r-Sr. |
RG:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | Kimo Makane’ole | 6-4 | 300 | r-Sr. |
| 59 | Josh Aisosa | 6-3 | 321 | r-So. |
RT:
| No. | Name | Ht | Wt | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | Ty’Kieast Crawford | 6-5 | 305 | r-Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 65 | Malik Agbo | 6-4 | 280 | r-Jr. |
DEFENSE:
DE:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Devin Grant | 6-2 | 267 | r-Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 1 | Eddie Kelly | 6-5 | 286 | Sr. |
DT:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | Edward Vesterinen | 6-3 | 284 | r-Sr. |
| 69 | Nate Gabriel | 6-3 | 315 | So. |
NG:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92 | Asani Redwood | 6-3 | 294 | r-Jr. |
| 52 | Corey McIntyre | 6-3 | 281 | r-So. |
| 94 | Elijah Simmons | 6-0 | 278 | r-Jr. |
BANDIT:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Braden Siders | 6-2 | 243 | r-Sr. |
| 0 | Jimmori Robinson | 6-4 | 248 | r-Sr. |
MIKE:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Reid Carrico | 6-2 | 229 | r-Sr. |
| 32 | Ben Bogle | 6-1 | 225 | r-Jr. |
WILL:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Chase Wilson | 6-1 | 230 | r-Sr. |
| 15 | Ben Cutter | 6-0 | 225 | Jr. |
NICKEL:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Fred Perry | 5-9 | 206 | Sr. |
| 18 | Curtis Jones | 6-4 | 231 | So. |
FS:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
| 13 | Derek Carter | 5-10 | 182 | r-Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 14 | Kekoura Tarune | 6-0 | 199 | Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 19 | Nick Taylor | 6-1 | 192 | So. |
BS:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Darrian Lewis | 5-9 | 198 | r-Sr. |
| -or- | ||||
| 7 | Israel Boyce | 5-11 | 192 | So. |
LCB:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Michael Coats | 5-11 | 183 | Sr. |
| 6 | Jordan Scruggs | 5-10 | 172 | r-Sr. |
RCB:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Jason Chambers | 5-11 | 193 | Sr. |
| 16 | Ty Crutcher | 5-8 | 176 | Sr. |
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Kade Hensley | 5-10 | 190 | r-Sr. |
| 99 | Ethan Head | 6-1 | 185 | So. |
KO:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | Nate Flower | 6-2 | 184 | r-So. |
| 99 | Ethan Head | 6-1 | 185 | So. |
H:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Oliver Straw | 6-2 | 215 | Sr. |
| 42 | RJ Kocan | 5-10 | 233 | r-Jr. |
P:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Oliver Straw | 6-2 | 215 | Sr. |
| 47 | Aidan Stire | 6-0 | 198 | Fr. |
LS:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Macguire Moss | 6-1 | 225 | r-Jr. |
| 53 | Kaden Seller | 6-2 | 256 | r-Fr. |
KR/PR:
| No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Preston Fox | 5-10 | 188 | r-Sr. |
| 24 | Rodney Gallagher | 5-10 | 180 | Jr. |
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