WVU lovefest again

West Virginia fans are too fickle for me. One good half against Auburn and a convincing 34-17 victory at home will do that. But is it justified?

Simply put, no. WVU may be clicking and could be the team to beat in the Big East, but that's what everyone was saying at the beginning of the season. Let's not forget how poorly the Mountaineers played in the first six games of the year. Sloppy against Villanova. Dominated by East Carolina (which isn't that impressive now). Poor decision making in a loss at Colorado. Tough wins against inferior competition (Rutgers and Syracuse).

Where the Mountaineers are headed over the final six games of the Pat White era will become a little clearer after WVU plays at UConn Saturday. If Bill Stewart can stay out of the way and West Virginia takes care of business then the rest of the season could be interesting. Don't think for a second that UConn isn't ready for this game. Just look back a year ago and you'll remember that the Huskies were whipped on a frosty afternoon in Morgantown 66-21. At the time, WVU looked like they were a lock for the BCS championship. Then came the Pitt game and the rest is history.

But if the Mountaineers pick up a good win on the road and all of sudden WVU becomes that team that no one wants to play because of the White-Noel Devine-Jock Saunders trio. And the Mountaineers are in the driver's seat with a 2-0 mark in the Big East and their destiny in their own hands. Stewart should be able to come up with horrible, cliche-ridden quotes over the next few weeks to describe the WVU situation.

My fear is the real WVU was what we saw the first six weeks, and maybe Auburn is just a bad team playing in a good conference. So what does that really say about WVU?

Auburn - WVU

- Noel Devine takes over down the stretch and this one has officially become a bit of a blowout. 34-17, 'Eers.

- Second half has been all WVU so far as the Eers have taken a 27-17 lead. The way Auburn looks on offense, WVU might as well be up by 50.

I'm assuming this has been WVU's best half of the season. Pat White has looked sharp and Noel Devine dangerous. WVU is doing a nice job not forcing the pass like they did in the first half, but passing when they've got Auburn off balance. This is the offense WVU fans expected to see all season.

On a side note, not coincidentally, I can't recall an Auburn team in recent years that tackles as poorly as this group.

- It's about halfway through the second quarter and Auburn (yes, Auburn!) had 17 points that includes (gasp!) TWO offensive touchdowns. But the score's a little deceiving. WVU has moved the ball, but two interceptions have been costly.

Auburn seems to be running some kind of combination of it's old I-Formation, pound-it-out offense and a few plays from Tony Franklin's spread. Interesting. The Tigers/War Eagle/Plainsmen look far comfortable tonight then any game previously.

WVU needs to score on this drive before halftime, even it's just a FG.
Oh, never mind. Pat White hits a long pass and it's 17-10.

This is looking like a real good game.

Side complaints:

- I really don't care about the basketball coach at any school enough to see a sideline interview with him during the game. And I sure don't need to see Huggybear's fat mug in the camera while there's actual things happening on the field.

- Why is Tommy Tuberville dressed like he's going hiking in the arctic? it's not THAT freaking cold. And why is the jacket burnt orange? Did he really not have a parka in Auburn colors?

- Auburn has a commercial promoting their school in which some Auburn grad is fishing in Alaska and claims to have seen no one in three days until a plane pulls up with two Auburn grads in it.
Huh.
I'm not sure what this means. i've been a lot of places and i've met exactly one Auburn grad.

- Each year Auburn has a good tight end, who wears a single digit jersey number and has a classically Southern name. This year's edition? Tommy Trott.