By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
October 10, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There is no questioning the fact that the Big East Conference is the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) whipping boy this year and the target of those conferences on the outside looking in, but do the Mountain West Conference, Conference-USA or the Mid-American Conference really stack up against the Big East?
The Mountain West is unquestionably the closest to the Big East and its proponents were making the most noise early in the year when TCU knocked off Oklahoma to open the season and New Mexico beat Missouri in the season’s second weekend.
And while the Mountain West is a respectable 5-7 against teams from BCS conferences so far, the only Mountain West BCS victim currently sporting a winning record is 3-2 Missouri. The other MWC victims are 2-3 Oklahoma, 2-3 Mississippi, 1-4 Arizona and 1-4 Washington. The Mountain West is just 5-5 against non-BCS conference schools, too.
TCU is the only Mountain West Conference team nationally ranked at 25th (AP poll) and besides the 5-1 Horned Frogs, the MWC has just two other teams with winning records right now in Colorado State and Wyoming.
That is why you haven’t heard much from Mountain West Conference supporters of late.
Big East commissioner Michael Tranghese made an excellent point recently when discussing the losses his league has sustained during the last two years. “Name any other conference that wouldn’t be impacted by losing its top three teams?” he asked.
The Big East’s three losses are currently third (Virginia Tech), seventh (Miami) and 14th (Boston College) in the AP poll and third (Virginia Tech), sixth (Miami) and 14th (Boston College) in the Coaches Poll.
To illustrate his point, let’s eliminate the top three teams from the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10:
ACC
1. Virginia Tech
2. Florida State
3. Miami
SEC
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. LSU
Big Ten
1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan State
Big 12
1. Texas
2. Texas Tech
3. Colorado
Pac-10
1. USC
2. UCLA
3. California
Here is what you end up with: the ACC (Boston College), the Pac-10 (Oregon) and the Big Ten (Minnesota) having only one nationally ranked team remaining and the Big 12 having none. Only the SEC with its great depth (six ranked teams) could manage to overcome the same losses the Big East has endured the last two years. But could you even imagine the SEC without Georgia, Alabama and LSU?
As irony would have it, the Big East is really the same as the other leagues minus its top three teams with Louisville nationally ranked in both polls and West Virginia cracking the Top 25 in the Coaches Poll.
That’s why no one in the Big East office has hit the panic button because the conference is only 4-10 against other BCS conference schools and traditional teams like Pitt and Syracuse are presently struggling with new coaching staffs. It’s going to take some time for the league to rebuild and those involved in the BCS process understand that far better than the Mark Mays, Rod Gilmores and the Lee Corsos of the world.
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Varsity Club director Donnie Young informs me that about 35 players from the 1975 Peach Bowl team will be in town to be recognized during the West Virginia-Louisville game this Saturday. This year represents the 30th anniversary of Coach Bobby Bowden’s last West Virginia team that defeated North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl.
Among those confirmed to be in Morgantown include quarterback Dan Kendra, running back Artie Owens, wide receiver Steve Lewis, linebacker Ken Culbertson, defensive back Chuck Braswell, defensive end Jack Eastwood, middle guard Joe Jelich, running back Dwayne Woods, quarterback Danny Williams, and kicker Bill McKenzie.
Coaches planning on attending include defensive coordinator Chuck Klausing, running backs coach Garrett Ford, receivers coach Paul Moran and linebackers coach Donnie Young.
Klausing will address the team on Saturday morning and then the group will take a tour of the football complex before having lunch at the Milan Puskar Center. Some players will also take part in the Varsity Club golf outing at the Pines Country Club on Friday afternoon. That event is open to all former WVU athletes, as well as the tailgate Saturday afternoon at the Varsity Club tent in Tent City. Those interesting in participating can call Donnie Young at the Mountaineer Athletic Club Office (304) 293-2294.
Go back and take a snapshot of the Top 10 teams in college football 25 years ago and it sure looks about the same this week. With the reemergence of Penn State and Notre Dame this year it could very easily be 1980 all over again with USC, Texas, Georgia, Florida State, Georgia, Alabama, Miami, Penn State, Notre Dame and LSU making up nine of the top 10 teams.
The only team not in the picture 25 years ago is No. 3 Virginia Tech. Didn’t Don Nehlen used to say the Top 10 was usually made up of basically the same 10 teams. Boy it sure looks like it this week.
I was half asleep listening to a local Pittsburgh late-night sports show when I heard one of the panelists talk about 'gap-control.' I'm thinking to myself, what in the world could he possibly know about gap control? That would be like a couple of football coaches sitting around the training table talking about the correct procedure for an abominoplasty.
And you wonder why football coaches get so irritated sometimes when they talk to reporters.
I’m not one of those ready to drink the Penn State Kool-Aid just yet. The Nittany Lions looked impressive on defense against Ohio State, but does Penn State have enough in the tank on offense to get through a Big Ten conference that doesn't really have an elite team this year? I’m not sure.
Did you happen to catch that Virginia player’s cheap-shot on Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka last Saturday? I know Boston College has a reputation for some extra-legal play of its own, but that roll block on Kiwanuka’s already-injured left knee was absolutely sickening to watch.
Count me among the few that believe Notre Dame can upset USC this weekend in South Bend. Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has two weeks to prepare for USC and the Irish will try to play keep away from the Trojans. Notre Dame has to shorten the game with long drives and it must score touchdowns instead of field goals when it gets into the red zone.
Come to think of it, that same prescription will work well for West Virginia this weekend against Louisville’s high-powered offense.
One thing to keep in mind about Louisville: the Cardinals are a completely different team away from Papa John’s Stadium this year. Louisville is 3-0 in games played at home beating Oregon State, Florida International and North Carolina by a combined 193-51.
However, in road games the Cardinals are 1-1 beating a 1-4 Kentucky Wildcat team 31-24 in the season opener and losing to South Florida, 45-14 in their Big East opener.
Although West Virginia and Louisville haven’t met since 1993, there have been some important games played between the two schools. The key victory during Coach Howard Schnellenberger’s journey to the Fiesta Bowl in 1990 came in Morgantown when Louisville downed the Mountaineers 9-7 on the way to a 10-1-1 campaign. The Cardinals upset Alabama 34-7 in the Fiesta Bowl in what is still considered the finest season in school history.
Three years later, West Virginia was able to outlast nationally ranked Louisville 36-34 in an exciting homecoming game. That victory helped catapult the Mountaineers to their second undefeated, untied regular season in five years and a trip to the 1994 Sugar Bowl.
Former WVU wrestler Mike Sawtelle was recently inducted into the Fairview (Pa.) High School athletic hall of fame. Sawtelle was a national qualifier at WVU in 1985. He is currently coaching girls volleyball at Jensen Beach High School in Jensen Beach, Fla.
In an effort to create enthusiasm and interested in the Pitt-Cincinnati football series, the two schools came up with the River City Trophy to be awarded to the game’s winner. The Panthers get to hang onto the trophy this year after beating the Bearcats 38-20 last Saturday in Pittsburgh before an announced crowd of 30,343 at 66,000-seat Heinz Field.
And who says rivalries are built on competitive, emotionally charged football games.
Former Mountaineer running back Amos Zereoue was recently signed by the New England Patriots to take the place of injured third-down back Kevin Faulk, but Zereoue has yet to touch the football in the Patriots’ two games against San Diego and New England.
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It looks like Chris Henry is well on his way to becoming an impact receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. Henry caught three passes for 85 yards including a 25-yard touchdown in Cincinnati’s 23-20 loss at Jacksonville on Sunday night. In four pro games so far the former all-Big East performer has caught 13 passes for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Do you remember former WVU running back A.B. Brown who was a member of the 1989 Fiesta Bowl team? Well I’ve received word that Brown is now a tennis instructor for a training center in Long Island, N.Y. Brown says he became interested in the sport while still in college looking for a few easy credits.
“I figured I’d play some tennis and I just got into it from that point on,” Brown recently told the Gloucester County Times. “In the back of my mind I knew I wouldn’t play football all my life and I like staying busy and tennis really helps me with that.”
In the past I’ve tried to keep you up-to-date with the Hollywood careers of those associated with West Virginia University. Well here’s another attempt. Former sports marketing graduate assistant Mitch Fink was in a recent episode of CSI that aired on Thursday, Oct. 6. He has other appearances coming up in Cold Case on Sunday, Oct. 16, and Still Standing on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
Mountaineer Nation lost a great one in Sam Pinion, a running back on the 1937 Sun Bowl team who died earlier this month. Pinion was not only an outstanding football player, but he was a life-long supporter of Mountaineer athletics serving as one of the founding members of the Morgantown Touchdown Club.
Our condolences go out to the entire Pinion family.
And finally, former West Virginia University pitcher Chris Enochs and his wife Jennifer recently celebrated the birth of their second daughter Macey Anne. She joins her big sister Reece Audrey in a growing Enochs family.
Have a great week!
