Big East Review: Week 2 Edition.

It's only two weeks into the college football season, and yet I feel that somehow the Big East may be in a dogfight with the ACC for worst conference. The Big East is in store for a very disappointing year potentially. I think most people would agree that West Virginia falling to East Carolina is a precursor of things to come. Nobody expected the Mountaineers to lay down to the Pirates. Most of the other conference teams won, with the exception of Syracuse and Cincinnati, but did so in the most of unspectacular fashion. Here's my Big East review from week two.

Cincinnati (1-1): lost to Oklahoma 52-26
Up next: bye week

Things have gone from bad to worse to Cincinnati. Not only was the score at Oklahoma not as close as indicated, Cincinnati lost TWO quarterbacks that will cost them dearly. Starter Dustin Grutza has an injured tibia that will keep him out the next three or four weeks. Today, a judge in Ohio ruled that Ben Mauk lost his appeal for a sixth-year of eligibility. You think coach Brian Kelly isn't sweating bullets now? Tony Pike looks like he'll be the next Bearcat QB. As of now, I bet Cincinnati is breathing a sigh of relief for the bye week.

UCONN (2-0): beat Temple 12-9(in overtime)
Up next: Virginia

Team "smoke-and-mirrors" continues to weasel it's way past lesser teams, while coach Randy Edsall pulls it's strings through another unimpressive start to a season. Right now, it appears as if UCONN will not have much after running back Donald Brown. If it weren't for brown rushing for over 200 yards Saturday the Huskies would be 1-1. Quarterback Tyler Lorenzen looks awful, and overrated as I've stated, while this team has a plethora of question marks on both sides of the ball. Edsall, to his credit, continues to win though and should get another one when Virginia comes to town next week. Prediction: UCONN 17 Virginia 7.

Louisville (1-1): beat Tennessee Tech 51-10.
Up next: bye week

Saturday must have been Hunter Cantwell's coming out party. He passed for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Louisville improved its record to 1-1. It's still tough to gauge how good the Cardinals will be this year. Tennessee Tech is a D-1AA school and this was the expected result. At least coach Steve Kragthorpe has a week to enjoy things before being tossed back into the fire again.

Pittsburgh (1-1): beat Buffalo 27-16.
Up next: bye week

The Panthers only led this game 17-16 heading into the fourth quarter and appeared ready for another classic Dave Wannstedt meltdown. Instead, Pittsburgh stood tall and came out with a "big" win over Buffalo. Not much good in the game either. LeSean McCoy was held under 100 yards rushing again, thus proving he is the product of a good offensive line while overrated himself. Bill Stull is far from a good QB, and I continue to expect his demise as the Panthers get closer to Big East play. Iowa comes to Heinz Field next week, should be a blood bath.

Rutgers (0-1): bye week
Up Next: North Carolina

A good chance for a Big East team to take out a legitimate ACC team unlike UCONN. Rutgers should feed off the energy for a nationally televised Thursday night ESPN game, as usual, and take North Carolina to the shed. You know Rutgers is pissed about Fresno State, while chomping at the bit to get back in action on the field. Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood should be too much for the Tar Heels. Rutgers 28 North Carolina 7.

South Florida (2-0): beat Central Florida 31-24
Up next: Kansas

So, USF won the battle of the "commuter colleges" this week against UCF. Congrats, no one really cares. The jury is still out on this Bulls team and whether or not they're legit. Something tells me they're not, but USF has a chance to prove how good it is when Kansas comes to town on Saturday. Kansas 34 USF 20.

Syracuse (0-2): lost to Akron 35-28
Up next: Penn State

My God, Syracuse has set a new record for futility inside the Big East. It's hard to believe they could be worse than a MAC team, however on Saturday this came into fruition as the Orange walked out of the Dome with their heads held low once again. It's probably official at this point, Greg Robinson won't be at Syracuse next season. Losing to the Zips put the final nail in his coffin. One bright note for the Orange, is that they seem to have found a nice running back tandem with Curtis Brinkley and Delon Carter. Joe Paterno and Penn State take a rare visit to the Dome this weekend: Penn State 48 Syracuse 14.

West Virginia (1-1): lost to East Carolina 24-3
Up next: Bye week

In a game the whole conference watched with scrutiny this weekend and fingers crossed, West Virginia totally imploded down in Greenville this weekend. In a game they probably had to win to restore some credibility to the Big East, they lost to an East Carolina team that beat them in all phases. One thing we figured out is that this team misses certain players from last year. In addition, the Mountaineers looked poorly coached an executed worse than a high school team. People are already calling for coach Bill Stewart's head. A much needed bye week is here for West Virginia

Week 2 Highlights: Mountaineer Meltdown, Washington snagged, Gators handle business, OU rolls.

• We heard all off season how much improved Notre Dame would be this fall. Charlie Weis wouldn't stop yapping about it, and Jimmy Clausen vowed this team would compete for a BCS birth. Can't say I get that urge too much after the Irish narrow win against San Diego State yesterday. Notre Dame didn't show me a whole lot, not enough to warrant consideration that they're a 10 or 11 win team. They should have buried the Aztecs yesterday, but didn't. Clausen played OK, passing for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns, but let's see how he fares against decent competition.


• The Oklahoma Sooners made mince meat of a Cincinnati team that had almost its entire defense back from last years bowl winning team. I didn't expect the Bearcats to win, but thought they're defense would test the Sooners. It did not. Sam Bradford had a field day, nearly passing for four-hundred yards and tossing 5 touchdowns. He made it look pretty easy too. The bad thing for the Bearcats is starting quarterback Dustin Grutza is out indefinitely, and that will prove to be a huge blow for them.


• For the second consecutive week, I can't say that I was impressed with Rich Rodriguez or Michigan for that matter. The Wolverines barely escaped Miami of Ohio winning only 16-6. Rodriguez' offense looks the same as it did at West Virginia, very vanilla and too predictable. They travel to South Bend this week....where they'll get their butts kicked.


• How unlucky was the University of Washington yesterday? Quarterback Jake Locker scores on a brilliant play call, and gets called for a very controversial excessive celebrating penalty. It pushed the field goal kicker back another fifteen yards, and subsequently was missed by the Huskie kicker. BYU should count its lucky stars to be leaving Seattle with a victory.


• It appeared as if Marshall would go into Madison and upset Wisconsin yesterday. The Herd at one time held a 14-0 lead, only to be vaporized off the football field as the Badgers dropped 51 unanswered points in a rout. Mark Snyder can't be happy.


• Florida dismantled Miami as expected. The Gators won very easily 26-3, as Tim Tebow starred big time on the national stage. Florida is a contender for sure this year.

On to the bad news.

• To put it bluntly, West Virginia went down to Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium in North Carolina yesterday and were completely embarrassed. East Carolina took this team to the shed and beat the Mountaineers down 24-3.


• Credit has to go to Skip Holtz and his staff, as they were able to completely neutralize the Mountaineers and disrupt their productivity. Depending on what the Pirates do this year, don't be surprised if Holtz is coaching at a BCS school next year. He was on the short list of West Virginia last year, and Syracuse will most likely be shopping for a new coach next year as well.


• Pirate quarterback, Patrick Pinkney, was absolutely sensational yesterday against West Virginia. He was in total control and led his team to some nice scoring drives. Most impressive though, was how he managed to keep his offense on the field for a good part of the game. Additionally, while he was out there East Carolina converted 50% of their third-downs which is amazing.


• I felt like Pat White played hard for the Mountaineers, but essentially was just a one man team out there at times. He was under duress for most of the game, his receivers weren't getting open and the game plan had to be scrapped once West Virginia fell down by two touchdowns.


• Noel Devine had a good game running the ball despite limited carries. He had 12 rushes for 94 yards. However, West Virginia needs to develop another running back to complement Devine. At his size, he simply cannot carry the load alone despite what he says. It would be nice if Terrence Kerns could come around. His size would be a big help. As of now, I'm not sold on Mark Rodgers as a backup. Why isn't he playing more if he's #2? The Mountaineers almost always rotate two backs in?


• Hindsight being 20/20, the West Virginia defense was a complete joke yesterday and is by far the worst I've seen in at least five or six years. I lost count of the the missed tackles, bad arm tackles and the amount of times East Carolina running backs dragged our defenders with them. Yes, I know this team is young, especially on defense but where does the blame go for this one? They're either not very good or coached properly.


• It was very evident that this years West Virginia team sorely lacks the leadership and experience of 2007. Offensively, I didn't think we'd miss a beat but the loss of Steve Slaton, Darius Reynaud and Owen Schmitt were very apparent. On the other hand, the team will miss the presence of Johnny Dingle, Keilien Dykes, Marc Magro, Ryan Mundy and Eric Wicks on defense.


• I think it will be a while before Jock Sanders can replace Reynaud at wide receiver. Granted, Sanders plays hard but he doesn't possess the quickness and vision Reynaud did. It showed up big time yesterday.

Big East Review: Week 1 Edition

The start to the 2008 college football season wasn't really a kind one to the Big East conference. With the first week of games behind us, I'm sure certain schools will be looking to this upcoming Saturday for some redemption. With the way Pitt, Louisville and Rutgers went down the bashers of the Big East will come out of the wood work in full force to criticize. Out of all teams, I think West Virginia looked most solid and South Florida seems to be right up there with them. The conference title could be a two horse race between those two schools. Yes, Cincinnati and UCONN won but they both beat very low D-1AA teams. Redemption might be the word this week for some teams.

West Virginia (1 - 0): Beat Villanova 48-21
Up next: @ East Carolina

The Mountaineers trailed early 7-0, but then went on to score forty-eight straight points before Villanova tacked on two late touchdowns. Pat White looks phenomenal passing the football, and the offensive line provided great pass protection. Noel Devine was slowed down a bit, but I don't think it's much to worry about in the first week. The defense has some issues, yet there were also some bright spots like the play of the linebackers. This week West Virginia travels to the always hostile Dowdy-Fickel stadium to take on East Carolina. The Pirates, who beat Virginia Tech last week, always get pumped when the Mountaineers come to town. I'm sure they think they'll win but we'll see. West Virginia will have to be on in every facet to win this week. For some reason, I see Devine breaking out in dog fight against the Pirates.

Cincinnati (1-0): Beat Eastern Kentucky 40-7
Up next: @ Oklahoma

Cincinnati had a nice little tune up against Eastern Kentucky, but now have to travel to Norman this week. The Sooners almost never lose at home, and the Bearcats better bring everything in their arsenal or this one could get ugly. We'll know just how good Cincinnati will be after this game. If they keep it close, they'll most likely be a contender for the Big East title. If they get blown out, it's probably a sign they're not as good as we thought they were. Dustin Grutza starts at quarterback for Cincinnati, so we'll see what he can do in pressure situations. Expect the Sooner defense to blitz all game long. I don't see this one being close at all.

UCONN (1-0): Beat Hofstra 35-3
Up next: @ Temple

There is probably no more enigmatic team in the Big East than UCONN. Does anyone really know how good they are? They'll beat up on the cupcakes yet get smoked out by the Big Easts better teams. See the West Virginia game last year. Randy Edsall is a good coach for the most part, but until he starts taking down the big boys more often the jury will always be out on him. Last year the Huskies should have lost to Temple, and this Saturday they travel down to Lincoln Finanical Field in Philadelphia to take on Al Golden's Owls. We'll see what UCONN has this week. I'm predicting Temple to win in an upset...if you can even call it that.

Louisville (0-1): lost to Kentucky 27-2
Up next: Tennessee Tech

Louisville was simply just taken out behind the shed and abused by the Kentucky defense last week. Hunter Cantwell couldn't make any throws, the recievers are average at best and their running backs are slower than molasses. Lets not forget about the swiss chees offensive line either. One thing I know for sure, is that coach Steve Kragthorpe won't be sleeping much this season again. The Cardinal defense played OK, but a good offense will put up a lot of points on it. Relief comes to Papa John's stadium on Saturday as Tennessee Tech is in for a game.

Pitt (0-1): lost to Bowling Green 27-17
Up next: Buffalo

We know they beat West Virginia 13-9 to spoil the Mountaineers national title hopes last December. We heard Dave Wannstedt preaching that this was the season the Panthes turned the corner. We were force fed that Pitt had the best recruits in the Big East, and this was the season it paid dividends. Less than a week into the college football season Pitt's dreams are in state of rubble. I didn't think they could possibly lose to Bowling Green with the "talent" that supposedly lies in Oakland, but credit the Eagles for adjusting their game plan and shoving it down Pitt's throat. As of now it looks like Wannstedt won't be around for another season. The Panthers get a shot at redemption this week agains Buffalo, but that doesn't appear as easy as it looks. Turner Gill's boys wreaked havoc on UTEP last week, and appear to have a quarterback in Drew Willy. I have a feeling if Pitt does win(and this is no given) it will be by a minimal amount. Thus, the futility will continue in Pittsburgh until Wannstedt is forced out.

Rutgers (0-1): lost to Fresno State 24-7
Up next: BYE WEEK

The Rutgers defense was totally dominant in the first half holding Fresno to zero points. Despite losing, I think the Scarlet Knights look pretty good and have some major offensive weapons to work with. Defensively the appear to be very aggressive too. However, someone forgot to tell Greg Schiano that football is completed in two halves not one. His adjustments for the second half were lousy. This was a game I was pegging the Scarlet Knights to win, oh well. Rutgers is off this week.

South Florida (1-0): beat Tennessee-Martin 56-7
Up next: Central Florida

The Bulls routed Tennessee-Martin, and were able to avoid the pitfalls of some of their conference mates. With Matt Grothe back at quarterback and George Selvie holding down the defensive line, I think South Florida may be the only team to challenge West Virginia at this point. Yet we never know with South Florida. They'll win big games and lose to inferior opponents. Their schedule is a bit soft this year, but the next game at rival Central Florida will be pretty big. These two commuter schools despise each other, but the Bulls will escape with a win this week.

Syracuse (0-1): lost to Northwestern 30-10
Up next: Akron

A tale of two halves last Saturday for Syracuse. They play decent ball in the first half againt the Wildcats, and actually forced a fumble early in the third quarter which led to a Curtis Brinkley touchdown. It was all down hill after that. The Orange had no answer for Northwesterns high tempo offense. If quarterback Andrew Robinson doesn't find quality receivers to throw the ball to soon, Syracuse is looking at a potentially devastatingly long season. Brinkley looks OK as a running back though. The defense was hit or miss against Northwestern. This week, Akron visits the Carrier Dome but this is anything but a sure win. Akron has beaten some BCS teams the past few years and could certainly do so against the Orange. I think Syracuse narrowly avoids a loss here.

Week 1 Highlights: WVU rolls, ACC sucks, Pitt exposed, down goes Michigan.

Here are my thoughts from the first weekend of college football. To start off, I'm just glad college football is back and I was able to take in a slew of games yesterday thanks to my ESPN game plan. Although there wasn't really an Appalachian State beating Michigan upset like last season, we were treated to some entertainingly mild types yesterday. All in all, this was a very good opening week for college football with some games still to come. UCLA vs. Tennessee and Rutgers vs. Fresno State finish off Week 1 tomorrow. Well, here it is:

• Sorry Appalachian State, the clock struck 12 yesterday afternoon down in Baton Rougue. LSU just proved way too tough of an opponent for Mountaineer quarterback Armanti Edwards and his teammates to overcome. The Tigers romped most of the first half before taking the foot off the gas to win easily 41-13.
• There were big cheers in Morgantown, WV yesterday after the final score of the Utah vs. Michigan game came in. As I predicted all summer, the Utes went into Ann Arbor and pulled off a pretty big upset for a non-BCS team. The Wolverines, who were down fifteen points in the fourth quarter, managed to cut the gap to 25-23 but were done in by the brilliant play calling of their master coach Rich Rodriguez. I have to say, it was pretty sweet to watch Michigan fall and Rodriguez pouting on the sideline all game. They deserve it. Also, every time I checked back to catch the score of that game, I happened to catch the Michigan offense running one of Rich's classic "bubble screen" plays for minimal yardage. Rodriguez + Michigan = the perfect marriage. I hope these two are happy together.
• Our Big East mates up at Syracuse stumbled at Northwestern yesterday. After taking a 10-9 lead after a turnover and Curtis Brinkley rushing touchdown, the Orange were subsequently run out of the half-empty stadium by a pretty talented Northwestern offense. It seemed like Syracuse coach Greg Robinson had no answer for the Wildcat spread offense. Once Northwestern smelled blood, they just pounded Syracuse with an up-tempo style of pass and run.
• You know it's a great Saturday when supposed good ACC teams lose games on national television. That's what happened to Virginia Tech and Clemson. Both were highly ranked, yet were dealt with crushing losses at the hands of teams that "experts" picked to lose. The best thing about the Hokie vs. Pirate game, was the fact that East Carolina took a page out of Frank Beamer's playbook and blocked a punt for a touchdown to win in the fourth quarter. Not to mention, Pirate quarterback James Pinkney looked pretty damn good in picking apart the Hokie defense. He'll be a handful for West Virginia next week. On the other hand, Nick Saban and Alabama embarrassed Clemson in the Georgia Dome 34-10. It was good to see this since you all knew that cupcake Clemson is one of the most overrated teams in the country.
• To keep the ACC demise thing going, USC flew across the country and absolutely pulverized a very weak and inept looking Virginia team. Trojan quarterback, Mark Sanchez, had a field day throwing for 338 yards and passing pretty much at will against a defense that probably doesn't have one USC caliber player. Joe McKnight also looked good running and catching the ball as well. What was Virginia thinking by scheduling this game? Oh, I know! It had to be for the money payout and revenue, a typical ACC ploy, since their president and awful coach knew they would get their asses kicked.
• Penn State wiped out Coastal Carolina 66-10, and may be on their way to good things judging by what the rest of the Big 10 did on Saturday. The Nittany Lions may be positioning themselves as the only conference team to challenge Ohio State.
• My favorite game to watch, outside WVU's of course, was witnessing the mighty Pittsburgh Panthers implode against another MAC school. It couldn't happen to a worse school either. Unable to use their upset of West Virginia as a springboard into 2008, Pittsburgh was outplayed by Bowling Green from half way through the second quarter onward. The Eagles came into Heinze Field and pulled out a 27-17 victory. And once again, I saw 40,000 plus yellow seats permeating the backdrop at Heinz Field to take in this clash of titans. As usual, Pitt is a joke and has once again found a way to let the Big East down. So much for them rep resting the conference in the BCS, I guess? All that talk from Dave Wannstedt about how "this was the year" Pitt would breakthrough and how all those "big time" recruits would mature into the players he envisioned. Guess what? You couldn't beat freaking Bowling Green! In the course of three hours yesterday, that premature notion was flushed down the toilet and headed back to Oakland. So much for LeSean McCoy too being "the best running back" in the nation as well. He is good, don't get me wrong, but the accolades this kid is receiving for a Pitt team that hasn't done squat is amazing. My intuition tells me that McCoy is going to avoid the Pitt football train wreck and declare for the NFL after this potentially bad football season. Something also tells me that Wannstedt may not be around much longer either.

OK, on to the good stuff! WEST VIRGINIA FOOTBALL!!

• West Virginia pretty much took care of business against Villanova yesterday winning 48-21. Despite the score, the Wildcats got two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make it look closer than it appears. Overall though, I thought Villanova and their coach Andy Talley have a good football team there in Philadelphia. They should be pretty competitive in the Colonial Athletic Association football conference, and if their quarterback Antwon Young plays as good as he did yesterday they should be OK.
• Off that bat, I think you would have to be blind to not notice what Pat White did yesterday. 23-33, 208 yards passing, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception is what the stat line reads. I haven't seen a Mountaineer quarterback pass that well in a long time. Marc Bulger is probably the last a Mountaineer passed that accurately and effectively. White shattered any type of myth yesterday that he can't throw the ball. His passes were on target and thrown with a nice tight spiral. You know this is bad news for the rest of the Big East. In addition, he still used his legs to get seventy more yards on the ground.
• Unlike past years it was nice to see the ball moving down field more vertically. As mentioned above with White, he also had some nice help from the receivers and tight ends. Junior college transfer, Alric Arnett, had four grabs 70 yards and two touchdowns. Jock Sanders came on in a big way too with eight catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns. I was really impressed with how tight end Will Johnson played yesterday. He caught three passes for 22 yards, but provided White with a nice target that can get you those receptions between eight and fifteen yards. He will be invaluable this season.
• Noel Devine didn't have a great game, but this is only the first week of the season and he'll have plenty of times to redeem himself. He does however look as shifty and nimble as ever though. Devine did contribute both in the air and on the ground, and had a couple of dazzling runs around the Villanova defense.
• The defense is a work in progress, but did respond well to some situations that the Wildcat offense threw at them.
• I thought we had a good pass rush, and were able to sack Antwon Young on many occasions. J.T. Thomas had two good sacks from his linebacker spot also.
• Mortty Ivy had a nice interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter and was all over the field making plays.
• Linebacker is clearly this teams strength on defense, but the defensive line looks like it has some potential too. The secondary could be a cause for concern, but I did see some guys out there making some plays. Boogie Allen had 9 tackles and had some good coverage.
• Mountaineer Field was rocking, and there was an announced sell out for week 1! The student section was packed with fans, and the atmosphere for the game appeared to be pretty festive.

Player of the week: Pat White, QB. I mean, how could it not be after the game he had yesterday! Right now, in my opinion, White is the leading candidate in the Heisman race and looks to be a little ahead of last years winner Tim Tebow of Florida. It's early though, so we'll see how things pan out as the season progresses.

GO MOUNTAINEERS!!

Football Preview 2008: Defense (C+)

DEFENSIVE LINE

Gone off of last years stellar defensive line are Keilien Dykes and Johnny Dingle. Those two were responsible for wreaking so much havoc, that they helped guide West Virginia to finishing with a Top 15 overall defense. Dykes was a senior, while Dingle left a year early to take a stab at an NFL career. Despite what seems like two huge losses, the Mountaineers appear to be in OK shape as the season opener looms. Scooter Berry is the lone returning starter at defensive tackle with significant experience. Berry is a former freshman All-American, who is looking to pick up where Dingle left off. Chris Nield(6-3, 305 lbs) is an emerging nose tackle, who looked very good as a rookie last year. Nield had a great game against Syracuse last year in which he was able to hold up the offensive line and make plays. He should continue to progress well.

Fighting for the other defensive end spot is Doug Slavonic and Zac Cooper. Slavonic, a senior, is 6-8 and is know more a pass rusher. While he may not be able to rush the passer like smaller defensive ends, his enormous size can help him bat the football to the ground. Cooper on the other hand is smaller at 6-3, with quick speed and should make a nice pass rusher. The defensive line received a huge boost last week, when former Mountaineer Pat Liebig was reinstated to the team after taking two years off. This will be his sixth and final year with the team. Liebig, 6-4 26o lbs, who is small for the defensive line tends to play above his size and make plays. I don't know how well he'll be after being away from the game for two years, but you hope he can shake the rust off and contribute. Junior college defensive end Larry Ford also figures to contribute at defensive end this year.

LINEBACKERS

The linebackers are by far the strongest unit on the West Virginia defense this year, and will be counted on to carry a defense in transition. Seniors Reed Williams and Mortty Ivy may well be the best tandem in the Big East. All-Big East candidates for sure, Ivy is a high impact player who can stop the run and is an excellent pass rusher. He had six sacks last season to go along with 89 tackles. Williams, who's currently nursing an injury, finished with over 100 tackles last year and looks to be as solid as ever. Some say he could be an All-American. Hopefully the injury he sustained in the off season doesn't set him back too much. J.T. Thomas is an emerging player who father John was a former Mountaineer. Thomas will play the outside position, and is expected to make big plays much like his father once did.


A diamond in the rough could be Pat Lazear this season. Originally a 5-star recruit out of Maryland, Lazear was relegated to special teams last year as a freshman due to the depth at the position. However, he's had a great off season and looks to be in good shape. He won't start, but should see considerable playing time. Some are calling him the next Grant Wiley. Junior Ovid Goulbourne will provide a great addition off the bench as usual, and should be able to spot the starters from time to time. Rumor has it that redshirt-fresham Najae Goode out of Cleveland has come on strong this summer. The 6-1 242 pounder has all the tools to be a good linebacker in the Big East, and may have a chance to see the field come Saturday.

DEFENSIVE BACKS/SAFETIES

This area was hardest hit this off season. Gone from last years team are stalwarts Eric Wicks and Ryan Mundy, as well as Larry Williams, Ridwan Malik, Antonio Lewis and Vaughn Rivers. Those players were staples in the Mountaineer secondary the past four years, except for Mundy who transferred in last year. West Virginia also dismissed possible defensive backfield candidates Charles Pugh and Evan Rodriguez who both had run ins with the law last winter. So, as of now there's a huge void to fill and Coach Stewart has been trying to figure out who fills it? Well, for starters Quinten Andrews is back for his senior year and should provide some quality play at safety. Known for his bone crushing hits, the polemical Andrews is also know for his boneheaded plays from time to time.

Ellis Lankster is back for his senior season, and looks to continue to build off the progress he made last season as a defensive back. Lankster, 5-10 190lbs, can intercept the ball, as we all know from watching the South Florida game last year. The potential is there. Can he keep his head on straight? Who knows. Will he be an impact player? We need him too be that. Franchot Allen and Guesly Dervil are two other defensive backs that have played sparingly the past two years due to the depth West Virginia had in the backfield. It's their time to shine now. Both will be counted on to tame the better receivers in the Big East. Kent Richardson is another guy who could factor into the equation. The coaching staff is high on his ability, and could therefore make his way into a possible starting role.

Somehow some way sophomore Eain Smith is going to the the starter at safety against Villanova. He will be taking over for the departed Pugh. Smith red shirted last season, so it's hard to gauge how good he'll be on Saturday. I wish him luck though. Nate Sowers is back on the defensive side of the ball, he'll most likely be backing up wither Smith or Andrews. Sowers has played everywhere in his Mountaineer career, and his experience could be a benefactor for the new guys in the secondary. We may also see the talented Sidney Glover out of Detroit working in at defensive back as well.

Football Preview 2008: Running Backs (B)

Some Mountaineer fans may think I'm nuts for grading our running backs as a "B". However, given the depth behind Noel Devine it's simply no sure thing. Right now, none of us, even the coaching staff, knows who will back up Devine for carries? Last year it was Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt and Devine who all split carries and were very effective. Fast forward this year, Slaton and Schmitt are in the NFL and Devine by process of elimination is the starting running back. We all know Devine is going to have a super year, possibly a record breaking year, with the big hog-mollies up front pulverizing Big East defensive lines. What we don't know, is if he can carry the load with his stature. Devine is 5'8" respectively, and although I personally think he's stong enough to get it done it's still a wait and see process. Backing up Devine this year is a tailback-by-committee approach with Terrence Kerns, Zach Hulse and Mark Rodgers. Here is how the running backs pan out:

RB - Noel Devine, 5-8, 173 lbs (627 rushing yards, 8.6 per carry and 6 TD's in 2007).

Devine enters the 2008 season as the incumbent starter at running back. Throughout 2007 though, we saw glimpses of just how good he could potentially be in the Mountaineer offense. Needless to say, Devine lived up to the billing as being a "YouTube" sensation by having a very productive freshman season behind Steve Slaton. Actually, at times it looked as if Devine could be the better of the two backs. Devine should have a great year running the ball, and with a studded offensive line returning he may very well be on pace for a record breaking year. Devine should reach well over 1,000 yards rushing and up his touchdown total. Questions remain whether a back so small can carry such a big load. I think Devine, who supposedly holds the bench press record at West Virginia, will be more durable than most skeptics think. He's not only tough, but you can't tackle what you can't catch; therefore enabling him to sustain less hits during the season while being an effective weapon out of the Mountaineer backfield. Expect Devine to take off this year.

RB - Terrence Kerns, 6-1, 239 lbs (Freshman). Terrence Kerns is a football player Mountaineer fans have been dreaming about having the past three years. Originally a 4-star recruit coming out of high school, Kerns had trouble the past two years trying to qualify to get in at West Virginia. Finally, late this summer he was able to achieve the necessary ACT score to gain entry in school. Now that he's here, I think it's safe to assume that the majority of Mountaineer fans would love to see this kid as the #2 back behind Devine. Rumors out of Morgantown swirl that Kerns can run 4.3 forty-yard dash at his size. If that is indeed true, than you could rest assure that the Big East is in trouble this year. That would be a very explosive 1-2 tandem that would be virtually impossible to stop. As of now, Kerns has had some good runs in practice yet hasn't separated himself from two other Mountaineer backs vying for the #2 spot: Zach Hulse and Mark Rodgers.

RB - Zach Hulse, 5-10, 200 lbs (Transfer). Hulse was a late addition to the class of 2008 via Phoenix Community College in Phoenix, AZ. He rushed for over 1,100 yards last season, while becoming one of the best junior college running backs in the country. Hulse should hopefully provide some depth at the running back position. As of now, he is having an OK camp and has made some nice runs while getting some work with the first team.

RB - Mark Rodgers, 5-9, 185 lbs (Transfer). Another late grab by Bill Stewart and his staff, Rodgers hails from California and is supposedly a Noel Devine with a little more size. Initially in the doghouse for fumbling the ball recently, Rodgers has come on as of late with some superb running in practice. He's as in it as either Kerns and Hulse for the second spot right now.

A wild card in the mix....................

RB - Mike Poitier, 5-8, 165 lbs. I don't know how serious of a candidate Poitier is to get playing time this year, but what I do know is that he had one heck of a spring game. The little guy is shifty from what I understand, and actually has some breakaway speed in those legs of his. Poitier will most likely get in during blowouts, but could possibly emerge at a legit running back if the above mentioned running backs do not distance themselves.

Football Preview 2008: Quarterbacks (A+)

Very few, if any, teams in college football have the luxury that West Virginia has this year. Not only is all-everything starting quarterback Pat White back for one more season, his highly touted and talented backup Jarrett Brown returns as well. White will once again give Big East defensive coordinators nightmares as he terrorizes the conference with his bewildering skill set. On the other hand, Brown returns as the best insurance policy in the college game and could potentially get more snaps on offense. Either way it's a win-win for the Mountaineers. We all know White is a jack of all trades, while Brown presents the traditional big arm NFL-type that will just pick you apart. Having both on the field at the same time should be something special to see as well. Additionally, if Brown can give White a break from time to time it could seriously help in White not getting as banged up. Having a healthy Pat White all season will greatly increase the Mountaineer's odds of returning to the BCS. Here's how the quarterbacks break down:


QB - Patrick White, 6-1, 192lbs.
2007 Stats: Passing - 1,724 yards & 14 touchdowns, Rushing - 1,335 yards and 14 touchdowns

There is no better dual-threat quarterback in the country than Pat White. In fact, if he were a fantasy player White would probably be the overall #1 pick. He can kill you with his feet and pulverize you with the pass. We all know about White's exploits on the ground, but with coach Bill Stewart opening things up in the pass game I think White is poised for an offensive onslaught. He's the best player in the Big East by far, and should be able to gather some All-American status and is a legit Heisman candidate. West Virginia will go as he goes. If White is playing well, which is expected, the Mountaineers are probably headed back to the BCS. If he's off or injured, which isn't expected, the path to the BCS and national championship could become a bit more clouded.

QB - Jarrett Brown, 6-4, 220lbs.
2007 stats: Passing - 341 yards & 2 touchdowns.

Two years ago the Big East found out just how good Jarrett Brown was. It was the last game of the season against Rutgers and Pat White opted to sit out due to injury. Thus, Brown was thrust into the starting quarterback spot on a nationally televised game against a big opponent. In what was probably the most memorable game of the year, Brown helped engineer the Mountaineers to victory in overtime. That was his coming out party. Last season, in a game at dreaded South Florida, White again was injured and kept out for the remaining game. In stepped Brown, and although West Virginia collectively played awful, he managed to keep the Mountaineers in the game until late in the fourth quarter. He's as trusted of a player as their is in Morgantown, and if you ask any Mountaineer fan they'll tell you point blank they feel comfortable with Brown calling the plays. In a more expanded role this season, Brown could be a major asset for the Mountaineers BCS aspirations. It's tough enough game planning for Pat White, but throw Brown into the mix and your defense may have a serious problem on hand. I think Brown is going to have a good season, and don't be surprised to see him 'start' a game or two.

Possbile 3rd string candidates.

Coley White, 6-1, 175 lbs (played in HS last season). With Charlie Russell leaving the team last winter to concentrate on academics, and Bradley Starks being promoted to a possible starting wide receiver role; outside of Brown and White all that might be left is Coley White. Yes, he is the younger brother of Pat but may be a bit small right now to play Division 1 quarterback. Coley has the same frame as his older brother, but we really don't know what to expect from him right now. It's probably a safe bet to assume Coley won't see the field as a quarterback this year, as Brown and White take the bulk of the snaps. If possible, Coley should try to be red shirted so he can learn from his older brother and spend more time in the weight room.