Memories of WVU-Louisville

Whenever the 'Eer thinks about WVU playing Louisville all he can muster is images of 2005. It was one of the greatest comebacks in Mountaineer history and it was when the nation was truly introduced to Pat White and Steve Slaton.

Hopefully this weekend's game in Morgantown will be much easier for WVU. Thanks to Steve Kragthorpe the Mountaineers should improve to 7-2 on the season. It is nice to see Krags hasn't lost his sense of humor, though.



As much as the 'Eer loves Noel Devine and the spark he provides for the Mountaineers, it's just not the same as watching Slaton.

Props to RichRod

We get accused of sour grapes and hating on Rich Rodriguez. Maybe there's some truth to it. But today will give him a salute for the job he and his coaching staff did in getting Michigan prepared and the adjustments they made to pull the upset of No. 18 Notre Dame in the Big House Saturday.

RichRod deserves credit for rallying from adversity leading up to the start of the season, but also for showing faith in his freshman QB by putting the game in the hands of the talented Tate Forcier. The young signal caller didn't let his embattled head coach down by rallying the Wolverines on a 57-yard touchdown drive in the final minute for the win in Ann Arbor.

Forcier, who executed UM's spread offense eerily similar to Pat White when he starred for RichRod at West Virginia, gave RichRod his biggest win at Michigan. Brandon Minor helped take some of the pressure off Foricer by rushing for 106 yards and a TD.

But this win lifts a large amount of pressure off RichRod (we'll talk more about the pressure on Charlie Weis later). Now he may get the opportunity to build a Big Ten contender. Michigan isn't all the way back, but the Wolverines are a lot closer than either 'Eye or 'Eer thought they were just three weeks ago.

Appears the OSU-Michigan game could be fun again this November.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Free Press)

WVU fans hope so

If Bill Stewart says the Mountaineers are Jarrett Brown's team I guess we have to take him at his word. God, I hope so.

Jarrett Brown ready to take over at WVU

While many WVU fans are hyperventilating at the idea of not having Pat White at quarterback this fall, I'm one of the few who think the Mountaineers can actually excel under Jarrett Brown. He's not the running threat that White was, but Brown is a tough runner. And Brown is a much better thrower than White. It believe Jarrett has a chance to lead WVU to a Big East title.

Brown will become just the third first-year senior starting quarterback in the last 25 years. The other two are Kevin White in 1984 and Greg Jones in 1990. White led the Mountaineers to an 8-4 mark and a win in the Bluebonnet Bowl after sitting behind Oliver Luck and Jeff Hostetler.

Jones, who transferred to WVU from Miami, was a two-year back-up to Major Harris. Jones one year at the helm was difficult as the Mountaineers were in a rebuilding mode and finished 4-7.

Which path will Brown follow? I think he'll do even better than White -- Kevin, probably not Pat.

White is a Wildcat

Pat White just may have a future in the NFL. It seems there are some football people who think the former West Virginia quarterback could play in the Wildcat Formation that the Dolphins popularized this past season.

After an impressive showing at the NFL Combine, White could be the shock pick on Day 1 of the Draft (April 25-26 in New York City). Look, if Ronnie Brown can be successful in the Wildcat think how good White could be. He could be a steal in the second round.

Will anybody be sober?

LSU's Tiger Stadium at night? You have got to be kidding me.

Well, in the fall of 2010 West Virginia will trek down south to face LSU in a night game. To quote the kids, "This is going to totally off the hook." (They still say that right?)

Picture this: About 80,000 totally blitzed cajun inbreds co-mingling with 15,000 liquored-up hillbillies. Sweet!!! ESPN will need a permanent crowd-cam, and Erin Andrews will think Rey Maualuga's sneak attack was consensual.

This is an outstanding non-conference match up. WVU is proving that its not afraid to play anyone anywhere. With Colorado and Auburn on the schedule in 2009, Michigan State in 2010-11 and Florida State in 2012-13. Of course the Mountaineers are saddled with playing in-state stepchild Marshall for what seems like an eternity.

LSU and Les Miles have also proven that they will take on all challengers also, unlike many others in the SEC who fear leaving the warm weather and comfort of the South. The Tigers face Washington this season and again in 2012.

Would have loved this game more during the Pat White/Steve Slaton era when the Mountaineers owned the SEC. But if HC Bill Stewart can get out of his own way WVU could continue its dominance over the nation's best conference.

I can't wait for this game. Maybe we should start celebrating now.

Two months and counting

Since we have a lot of WVU fans who regularly check out this blog. Here is some good news.

The Mountaineers begin spring practice on March 24 and the spring game is on April 18. So it's only a few months before Jarrett Brown takes over for Pat White.

It's up to Phil to update our OSU fans on the Buckeyes.

Pat White shows why he's an NFL QB

Every scout has a flaw.

Baseball scouts rely too heavily on radar guns. Football scouts rely to much on 40 times and 225 bench press reps. When it comes to evaluating future NFL quarterbacks, height and arm strength are the top two.

That's why they don't project West Virginia's Pat White as a pro quarterback. Then he apparently had a poor week of practice for the Senior Bowl. So what did he do in the game? Just took MVP honors and showed off a very strong and accurate arm.

Why can't the scouts look at his strengths? He's mobile. He's athletic. He's a winner. I know he's not Peyton Manning. But I'd bet he's a better pro than Vince Young or JaMarcus Russell.

So give me Pat White as my third stringer for a year and I'll bet he's No. 2 by Year 2. He'll be an outstanding back up and potentially a solid starter in the NFL. He's a new-breed Kordell Stewart. He just needs an opportunity.

Nicks: one-man highlight reel

If not for Pat White having possibly his best game ever (at least passing), North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks would have been the Meineke Car Care Bowl MVP Saturday. He had three play-of-the-day type touchdown catches for the Tar Heels, and potential ESPY nominee, first-down catch.

This was probably Nicks' final game as a Tar Heel since he should leave early for the NFL. While Nicks' performance against West Virginia in Charlotte wasn't enough to get past the Mountaineers (thanks to White's fourth-quarter TD pass to Alric Arnett), his one-man show should equate to millions more and possibly a late first round selection in the NFL Draft in April.

Not sold? Watch this nifty behind the back, one-handed grab for a first down.

Pat White(out)

I try to avoid cheering blatantly for West Virginia on this blog, but I wanted to remind all of my friends who are going to Saturday's game against South Florida to wear white.

I'm not plugging this unnecessary marketing ploy by WVU's marketing, who have also came up with the very unsuccessful Gold Rush in last year's Pitt game.

I'm plugging this promotion because of what Pat White has meant to the Mountaineers and to show support for his outstanding four-year career in Morgantown.

It hasn't been the type of senior season that anyone expected for White. But one more memorable performance at Mountaineer Field would be a great way to close out the regular season.

Grumblings from the Retired One

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Charlie "Shrek" Weis did a great job against USC. This offensive genius scored three points. I hope the Irish have enough pride to refuse a bowl game.

As much as I hate to say it, don't be shocked when Alabama destroys Florida. The Crimson Tide will create confusion for Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer. This will lead to at least three turnovers. Tebow will not have a good day. I see the final at Alabama 31, Florida 24. Both teams will block a kick.

The ACC has the chance to send 10 teams to bowl games this year. Every conference should have 12 teams and a conference championship at the end (something 'Eye and 'Eer totally disagree with). Play eight conference games and the rest outside the conference.

My Heisman selection is Texas' Colt McCoy. The best player during the 2008 season.

I hope Mountaineer Field is standing room only when Pat White plays his final home game Saturday against South Florida. He has provided the state of West Virginia with more thrills, excitement and pride than any athlete since Jerry West. They need to thank him by being there for his final curtain call.

The eventual Pac-10 champion USC vs the Fat 10 champion Penn State will be another blowout in favor of the Trojans.

Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl should be interesting. I hope Florida is the Bearcats opponent. UF will kill them.

Conference Championship Weekend is coming up and the bad thing is, another college season is coming to an end. I'll do my end of the year clean-up next week.

Post Turkey Day Live Blogging! Backyard Brawl

It doesn't happen. Pat White's last attempt sails out of the end zone. Pitt knocks off the 'Eers again. Not a good loss for WVU which had way too many key penalties, couldn't stop the run and had one huge turnover. How's that hire looking now, Governor? Just bass-ackwards. in the last two years, WVU has scored 24 points against their rival.

McCoy has thumped it down to the 1 and go-ahead TD for Pitt. A huge WVU facemask penalty not only cost them a FG attempt instead of a TD, but cost them about two minutes on the clock. Two-point conversions fails. 19-15 Pitt. Now WVU needs to score a TD in :52 with no timeouts.

A big holding penalty forces WVU to punt. Now McCoy is taking over and has the ball into WVU territory. Wow, great run by McCoy to convert another first down. McCoy does such an amazing job setting up his blockers and tacklers.

(On CBS, Arkansas is already up 14-3 on LSU. A year after a national title is the pressure already on Les Miles?)

Okay, got caught up in the Kiffin/UT news. Anyway - WVU gets the ball back and on a third and 10 in their own end makes the bizarre decision to throw the ball. For pete's sake, run a draw or a screen and punt. Instead, the ball is picked off. Pitt gets a short field and scores. Pitt decides to go for two, gets penalized and STILL decides to go for two for the 10 yard line. They fail miserable. 15-13 Pitt with 8 minutes left.

Both teams trade horrible interceptions, WVU gets the benefit of a poor pass interference call and turns it into three points. 15-7 WVU. Pitt has decided, for some reason, to give up on the run and lose this game with QB Bill Stull. Anyone remember LaSean McCoy???

Fourth and short, good play call and a bad pass give WVU the ball back.

The 'Eers are really going to miss Pat White. what a run. 12-7 WVU ahead after a botched extra point.

Nice drive by WVU, but ends in a FG after a dropped TD pass. WVU looking much more confident though.

Boy, LeSean McCoy is really, really good. More questionable play calling though as WVU picks off a pass on an unexplainable decision to throw a fade route in the end zone. Huge break for WVU. 7-3 at half.

WVU's defense adjust and forces a nice turnover and drives inside the Pitt 10, but a weird playcall on third down costs a TD. I don't mind the play as the backup QB came in, handed the ball off to Pat White in motion. White lobbed into the end zone for 6-8 Wes Lyons, I just didn't understand running it to the short side where White has little room to maneuver and inside the 5, where Lyons runs out of space in the back of the end zone. Anyway, 7-3.

Another impressive drive for the Panthers ends poorly after a holding penalty forces them into a field goal which misses badly. Still, WVU can't be enthused about the way their defense is playing right now.

Pitt looked strong on the first drive. Pretty sure WVU was not prepared for the downfield passing game. 7-0 Pitt and WVU has punted after hurting themselves with key penalties.

I thought about blogging last night's Texas-Texas A&M game, but I'm not sure A&M could be in the Texas high school playoffs. Best stat from last night: A&M has forced 12 three and outs - ALL YEAR. That's awful. Anyone remember the Wrecking Crew?

So, instead since I'm off work, I'll do the WVU-Pitt matchup.

Another WVU fan

Guess I'm not the only one who appreciated Pat White's performance today, and the WVU win at Louisville Saturday.

Thanks Pat

Watching the final minutes of West Virginia's 35-21 victory at Louisville something became very apparent ... Pat White's days as the electrifying quarterback of the Mountaineers is almost over.

Enjoy each snap WVU fans. White, who had a record-setting day against the Cardinals, has just two regular season games remaining and a bowl game to be named. With a little luck, White could be playing for his third BCS bowl victory and a fourth consecutive postseason win.

It has been a pleasure to watch Pat the past four seasons. The memories are special and I hope there are a few more.

Saturday was just another chapter as White ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns to give him 4,292 yards for his career, breaking the record of 4,289 set by former Missouri quarterback Brad Smith between 2002-05.

He also eclipsed another record Saturday as he added two passing touchdowns to bring his career total for TD accounted for to 98, surpassing the Big East record of 96 held by former Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Thanks Pat. Let's hope there's a little more magic left over the next three games.

Observations from Saturday's games (Oct. 11)

Another great Saturday. The Red River Rivalry (er, Shootout) was exciting and eye opening. North Carolina and Notre Dame had a wild finish (thanks to the crappy Big East officials), and Florida is taking it to LSU right now. Here are some interesting observations I made this Saturday:

1. So maybe it wasn't all Tony Franklin's fault. Just a few days after firing its offensive coordinator, not much changed for Auburn as the Tigers were outgained by Arkansas 416-193 in a 25-22 loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers only managed one offensive TD all day. All is not well in Auburn.

2. Texas is legit because of Will Muschamp. The dig on Mack Brown is that he won it all because he had Vince Young to cover up his coaching deficiencies. On Saturday, we learned the Longhorns can play with anyone because of first-year defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and his more aggressive style. Texas may have allowed 435 total yards against No. 1 Oklahoma, but the Sooners applied pressure to Sam Bradford and didn't allow the Sooners to do much on the ground. Now Texas has to stay focused as it hosts No. 3 Missouri this week.

3. What's wrong with WVU? Each week I keep thinking the Mountaineers will turn the corner on the 2008 season. Then the game starts and I realize something just isn't right in Mo-Town. A 17-6 victory over Syracuse (even without Pat White) is embarrassing for a team with this much ability. The play calling under first year offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen has been suspect all season. It's time to get more creative an allow the athletes to do what they do best. The offensive line is also a weak link. They need to be tougher.

4. Holy Toledo. It would be easy to pick on Michigan's Rich Rodriguez here. As the head coach to end the Wolverines 24-game winning streak (with no losses) to Mid-American Conference schools is not how you want to make the record section of the media guide. The chirping in Ann Arbor has to be at an all-time high now. But Rodriguez will turn this around. His first year and half at WVU were miserable and then things started to click. Yes, it helped getting Pat White and Steve Slaton, but he'll find players with speed and then Michigan will be a national title contender. It actually pisses me off that I feel this way. If he were still at WVU the Mountaineers would be undefeated right now. Yes, he was that important (see Bill Stewart for proof).

5. Virginia is schizophrenic. Al Groh just may save his job in Charlottesville. After looking clueless and overmatched in three of their first four games, the Cavaliers have consecutive impressive wins. This week UVA worked over East Carolina 35-20 behind an outstanding showing from Cedric Peerman, who rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns. The schedule doesn't bode well, but UVA just may pull off another surprise or two.

6. North of ordinary. What's going on at Minnesota? Just one season after finishing 1-11, the Gophers are 6-1 following an upset at Illinois. Juice Williams was frazzled by Minnesota's defense, and DeLeon Eskridge scored on runs of 1 and 46. As weak as the Big 10 is this season, all of the Gophers remaining games are winnable.

7. Feel-good no more. Maybe Vanderbilt just couldn't handle the heightened expectations. One week after holding off Auburn 14-13, the Commodores missed opening the season 6-0 after slipping up at Mississippi State 17-14. The Bulldogs held Vandy to 109 total yards in upsetting the 13th-ranked Commodores. Vandy should still get bowl eligible with potential wins against Duke and Tennessee on the schedule. But this loss really hurts.

8. Off the air. Arizona at Stanford was not on TV because the Cardinal were not willing to adjust their homecoming plans to accommodate a broadcast. The plan worked. Jim Harbaugh's boys (according to reports) played great defense and defeated the Wildcats 24-23. It wasn't a good day for the Stoops brothers.

9. Penn State is good. As much as I hate to admit this one, the Nittany Lions are the best team in the Big 10. This is the most athletic and physical team I have seen out of State College in more than a decade. I still believe PSU is one of the nation's most overrated teams each year, and I won't be surprised if they go 12-0 that they get left out of the championship party. The game isn't over at Wisconsin, but a 24-7 lead is looking pretty solid against the Badgers weak offense.

10. Poll shakeup. At least two Top 5 teams will move out this week with the Oklahoma loss and the apparent LSU loss. So how will the Top 5 look on Sunday? If Missouri holds on to beat Oklahoma State, I think the Tigers should be No. 1, but Alabama will probably get it in the AP poll. You could also argue that Texas is the best team in the nation following the impressive win at the Cotton Bowl.

Bonus. I won't talk about Division III football often, but Larry Kehres coaches a machine in No. 1 Mount Union. The Purple Raiders faced Ohio Athletic Conference rival Capital, which entered Saturday ranked fourth. Should be a great game, right? I guess if you root for Mount Union. The Purple Raiders rolled to a 49-7 victory.

WVU - Colorado Live Blog

Colorado FG is good and the Buffs win 17-14. WVU missed a lot of chances in this game with penalties, poor clock management, drops and missing a wide open player on a trick play. And WVU really outplayed Colorado in the second half.

Very good win for Colorado. I still don't think the Buffs are going to be consistent enough to do much in the Big 12, but one upset and you're in the thick of it in the Big 12 North.

Wow has WVU been bad on short yardage tonight. They lined up in the I finally, but still looked confused. Going for the FG is the right call here. WOW and it's off the upright. Devastating blow to WVU. Should have been up 7 and are now in trouble.

Going to OT. Neither team was particularly impressive on their final drive. WVU's clock management was a head scratcher.

- 7:59 Potentially huge turn as WVU blows the wipe open WR pass, when the WR (third-string QB) chucks a duck about 10 yards short. That's just unlucky. I'm sure that kid has made that throw 20 times in practice. Follow that up with a chop block and WVU's back to midfield. WVU gets backed up too far and has to punt. Does anybody else think WVU gives away their playcall with their line splits? Maybe it's my imagination.

Is Craig James, um, mentally disabled? Between him laughing and Jesse Palmer going "Woooo! Wooot! Woo!" Chris Fowler must be going insane.

- 4:49 3rd quarter: Great run by White to tie it at 14-14. If WVU can mount any kind of passing threat, man they're going to be difficult to stop. How screwed was that safety at about the 15-yard line? He was in no man's land with White.

- 9:33 3rd quarter: nice job by WVU to keep the Buffs pinned and get good field position. Looks like WVU could tie it up here. wow. never mind. stopped on 4th and 1. Who taught pat White how to run the sneak? Get your butt down and drive!


- If you had asked before the game, who will be the best vastly undersized, incredibly quick running back on the field, of course you would have answered Noel Devine. Instead, it's been Colorado freshman Rodney Stewart. A native of scenic Columbus, Ohio, where he played at City League power Brookhaven. Stewart's got 75 yards on about 12 carries and is outplaying last year's recruiting ranking sensation and fellow freshman Durel Scott. Scott was the top-ranked back in the country. Stewart couldn't get offers from anybody. but this is why little backs are so great in the spread. In the I-formation, most defenders know approximately where a back is headed. in the spread, a real short guy can be hard to find.

Well, live second half blogging as I just got home.

From what I saw in the second quarter, looks like the Buffs have moved the ball pretty easily while WVU is killing itself with drops and penalties.

Picks of the Week

West Virginia (-2 1/2) over Colorado
Maybe this is more heart than logic. West Virginia is too talented to open 1-2, but the Mountaineers were out of synch against East Carolina and if the same happens in Boulder the Buffaloes will win. But I’m going with Pat White and a re-energized defense.
Pick: WVU 35, Colorado 24

Miami (-4) over Texas A&M
I’m not a big fan of rotating quarterbacks. It may work at Miami, but I like Robert Marve just a smidgen more than Jacory Harris. Marve should come into his own at College Station when the Hurricanes try to make it two in a row over the Aggies. Mike Sherman could use this win to get the vocal A&M fans on his side. The Aggies defense, which is ranked 11^th in the Big 12, will have its hands full.
Pick: Miami 40, Texas A&M 10

Troy (+21 1/2) over Ohio State
I admit it, I don’t know too much about Troy State. This isn’t an upset pick. I’m taking Troy and the points. The Buckeyes have been sluggish the past two weeks, including an embarrassing whipping at USC. OSU will still be in a funk Saturday and find a way to pull out a close win over the Trojans in the Horseshoe.
Pick: OSU 27, Troy 7

Florida (-7) over Tennessee
This shouldn’t be a very shocking pick, but these two teams always seem to beat the other when they are the underdog. Not this year. The Gators learned a lot in the tough victory over Miami and they are getting better each week. Urban Meyer needs to gain some confidence in a running game and use Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, etc. Tennessee learned something from its season-opening loss to UCLA—that it really sucks and Phil Fulmer could announce his retirement soon.
Pick: Florida 34, Tennessee 14

Upset special

Ball State (+3 1/2) over Indiana
Indiana is 2-0 with those impressive wins over Western Kentucky (31-13) and Murray State (45-3). Junior Kellen Lewis is solid at quarterback, but I like Ball State junior Nate Davis. The Bellaire, Ohio, native is more agile and has a better arm. Davis will lead the Cardinals at Memorial Stadium. Ball State blows this game if the defense can’t cause any turnovers.
Pick: Ball State 30, Indiana 28