Syracuse Notebook
November 23, 2003 11:04 AM | General
November 23, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia’s sixth straight victory Saturday afternoon at Syracuse may have put the Mountaineers in the Gator Bowl picture.
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| Quarterback Rasheed Marshall has thrown five touchdown passes in his last two games against Pitt and Syracuse. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
According to the Sunday morning edition of the Florida Times-Union, West Virginia (7-4, 5-1) could now have the inside track on the bowl game after Big East favorite Virginia Tech dropped a 34-27 decision to Boston College yesterday.
One hurdle for the Mountaineers is whether or not the Gator Bowl committee is willing to have a West Virginia-Maryland rematch. The Terps clinched second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference after Saturday’s come-from-behind win over North Carolina State, making them the leading candidate from the ACC. If the Mountaineers can defeat Temple next Saturday in Morgantown, the Gator Bowl committee may have to consider the rematch.
Clemson, which routed South Carolina, 63-17 Saturday night, is also a Gator Bowl possibility.
“We have to look at West Virginia as our leading Big East candidate right now,” Gator Bowl chairman Bob White was quoted in the newspaper. “Just when we think we’re locked into a situation, something happens on the field to change that.”
“Given the choice between West Virginia at 8-4 and the Miami-Pitt loser, we’d almost have to go with West Virginia,” added Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett. “They’ve proven in almost every bowl that they will bring fans.”
West Virginia also has a slight chance of landing the Big East’s BCS bowl spot, most likely the Orange, if Pitt beats Miami next Saturday, West Virginia beats Temple, and the Mountaineers finish within five spots of the Panthers in the BCS rankings. A key for West Virginia will be if the Mountaineers can crack the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll later this morning and advance in the AP poll; West Virginia was ranked 25th in last week’s AP poll.
Miami was ranked No. 13 while Pitt was ranked No. 21 in both polls.
Two of the Gator Bowl’s five best-attended games involved West Virginia. In 1989, a Gator Bowl-record 82,911 fans saw Clemson defeat the Mountaineers 27-7. In 1982, 80,913 fans showed up to see Florida State top West Virginia 31-12.
West Virginia’s last Gator Bowl appearance came in 1997 when North Carolina defeated West Virginia, 20-13.
Post-Game Notebook ...
Marshall’s 67-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry in the fourth quarter Saturday was the fifth TD pass covering 48 yards or longer this season. Marshall’s three TD tosses give him 14 for the season and 25 for his career. Including rushing touchdowns, Marshall has now been responsible for 44 touchdowns during his three-year career.
Marshall is also enjoying the best two-game passing streak of his career. In wins against Pitt and Syracuse, Marshall has completed 28 of 48 passes for 487 yards and five touchdowns.
Henry is fourth in single season receiving yards with 886 and needs 114 more receiving yards to become just the second receiver in school history to top the 1,000-yard mark in a season. David Saunders owns the WVU record with 1,043 receiving yards set in 1996.
