A Lot to Build On
October 03, 2003 01:29 AM | General
October 2, 2003
One of these days West Virginia is going to win one of these games.
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| Sophomroe wide receiver Chris Henry showed Thursday that West Virginia has several promising underclassmen on its roster. (AP photo) |
Thursday night Coach Rich Rodriguez’ young and inexperienced football team came within 11 seconds of pulling off the biggest upset in school history. No. 2-ranked Miami needed all five field goals from Jon Peattie to outlast the Mountaineers 22-20.
The touted Hurricane offense, which came into the contest averaging 417.5 yards and 39.2 points per game, managed just one offensive touchdown.
Rodriguez said afterward that he wasn’t in to moral victories.
“We came down here to win the ballgame,” he said.
The coach may not be in to moral wins, but he can at least appreciate the fact that his team has traveled a great distance from where it was 10 days ago when it was embarrassed at Maryland.
West Virginia’s patched-up offensive line performed much better against Miami, making holes for WVU’s developing running backs and giving quarterback Rasheed Marshall some time to fling some pretty rainbows down field to emerging sophomore wide receiver Chris Henry.
Henry’s threat of catching passes down field will now keep defenses from putting everyone up on the line of scrimmage to stop the run.
And what can you say about the performance of sophomore Adam Jones on defense?
The College Park, Ga., resident easily played his best game in a Mountaineer uniform, intercepting a Brock Berlin pass to end the first half and making tackles all over the field. His spirited and confident play against Kellen Winslow gives West Virginia fans hope for the future.
There were other youngsters making plays, too. Sophomores Boo McLee and Ernest Hunter could be seen chasing down Berlin, and underclassmen Garin Justice, Jeremy Sheffey and Dan Mozes were holding their own inside against future NFL first rounders.
There was sophomore tight end Josh Bailey sealing the outside on sweeps to spring running backs Quincy Wilson and Kay-Jay Harris. Also getting time in the backfield was redshirt freshman Jason Colson.
And of course there's sophomore Mike Lorello, who has played so well for so long now that he almost comes as an afterthought when discussing underclassmen.
No, West Virginia isn’t in to moral victories and yes, it would have been sweet to beat the school that chose to leave the Big East Conference twisting in the wind by heading for the ACC.
But it is also evident that Miami has its own worries now, too.
Classy Miami coach Larry Coker may have been complimentary toward West Virginia after the game, but in the back of his mind he knows his team is light years away from where it was last year when it should have beat Ohio State to win its second straight national title.
When Frank Gore left the game with a sprained ankle in the second quarter, Miami went from being a balanced offensive team using play action passes to being a one-dimensional passing team. Quarterback Brock Berlin was forced to throw 54 times against an undersized West Virginia defense that gave up almost 30 pounds per man to Miami’s hulking offensive line.
Maybe Miami did take West Virginia lightly knowing it has a game coming up against rival Florida State, but vastly superior teams don't all of the sudden turn one-dimensional when its No. 1 running back leaves the field.
Although he made some tough passes late, without a running game Berlin is not close to being the same quarterback Ken Dorsey was last year. Yet much more is going to be asked of Berlin in future games coming up against top 10 teams Florida State, Tennessee and Virginia Tech if Gore is out for an extended period of time.
Yes Miami was able to escape with a victory Thursday night against West Virginia, but a shadow may be chasing down the elusive ‘Canes if the results of Gore’s Friday morning MRI are bad.
West Virginia players can hold their heads high knowing they gave the No. 2 team in the land their best shot. If the Mountaineers do that each and every week and remain healthy, they will be a pesky bunch for the eight remaining teams on their schedule. At the very least, West Virginia coaches can now always pull out the Miami tape and show their players what they can achieve when they pay attention and lay it on the line.
And maybe, just maybe, West Virginia fans will point to tonight’s disappointment as the beginning of something great for Mountaineer football in the years to come.
