Oct. 28-Nov. 4 Blog
October 28, 2007 09:34 AM | General
We’re changing things up a little bit. For the past four years Campus Connection has kind of been like a weekly blog full of tidbits, notes, commentary, quasi-opinion and weak stabs at humor that have sometimes hit the mark and at other times completely missed. Well, to keep up with the Jones', we’ve decided to turn Campus Connection into a daily blog. If we miss a day then you know we’re struggling.
Hope you enjoy it ...
And Then There Were Three
Posted By John Antonik: November 4, 2007 (9:28 am)
And then there were three. Undefeated Boston College and Arizona State lost on Saturday leaving just Ohio State (10-0), Kansas (9-0) and Hawaii (8-0) as the only remaining undefeated teams in college football.
No. 1 Ohio State has been impressive of late, knocking off 7-3 Penn State and 7-3 Wisconsin in successive weeks. However, the Buckeyes still have some work to do to maintain their top spot in the BCS rankings with games left against 7-3 Illinois and 8-2 Michigan.
Kansas rolled to an impressive 76-39 victory over Nebraska on Saturday to improve to 9-0 and has now entered the national championship discussion. Looming ahead for the Jayhawks is a meeting against 8-1 Missouri on Nov. 24 and a potential Big 12 championship game.
Hawaii is 8-0 but has not beaten a single team with a winning record. The Rainbows have tests coming up against 6-3 Fresno State, 5-4 Nevada and 8-1 Boise State. The combined record of Hawaii’s four remaining games is 22-14.
The one common thread with the three remaining undefeated teams is their schedules. Despite being deep into its Big Ten slate the combined record of Ohio State’s 10 opponents is 47-50. Take out 6-4 Youngstown State and it drops to 41-46.
Kansas does not face Oklahoma or Texas during the regular season and consequently, the combined record of KU’s nine opponents is 35-51.
The combined record of Hawaii’s eight opponents this year is 19-56 and that is the primary reason the Rainbows were 14th in last week’s BCS standings.
Compare that to 8-1 Oregon, whose nine opponents have gone 49-32 this year or 8-1 LSU, whose nine opponents are 50-34. And both have done most of their heavy lifting: Oregon has games left against Arizona, UCLA and Oregon State (combined record of 14-14) and LSU has games left against Louisiana Tech, Mississippi and Arkansas (combined record of 13-15).
Boston College remains a BCS championship contender despite its 27-17 home loss to Florida State last night. The combined record of BC’s nine foes this year is 44-37 and the Eagles still have tough games left against Maryland, Clemson and Miami (combined 16-11 record), as well as a possible berth in the ACC championship game.
Oklahoma is also lurking with an 8-1 record, although the combined record of its nine opponents this year is 41-43. Oklahoma won’t get much help with remaining games against Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, but could improve its standing dramatically with a Big 12 championship win over either Missouri or Kansas.
Arizona State has probably done the most harm to its BCS title game resume with its road loss at Oregon yesterday. The combined record of ASU’s nine opponents is 39-42 and a win against USC on Nov. 22 is a must to have any hope of remaining in contention.
Missouri has to be in the discussion now with an 8-1 record that includes wins over Illinois and Texas Tech. The Tigers have a showdown looming against Kansas on Nov. 24 and a possible Big 12 championship game appearance if they win out.
That leaves 7-1 West Virginia and 8-1 Connecticut. The Mountaineers have the bulk of their work remaining to do with conference games left against Louisville, Cincinnati, Connecticut and Pitt. The combined record of those four teams is 24-12.
That’s much better than the combined 32-41 record of West Virginia’s previous eight opponents. If West Virginia can run the table the Mountaineers could have enough juice to jump into the title-game picture.
A one-point loss to 8-2 Virginia separates Connecticut from being the nation’s fourth unbeaten team. The 8-1 Huskies haven’t played a grueling schedule but successive home wins over Louisville, South Florida and Rutgers have put them into the mix.
Connecticut has games remaining against Cincinnati, Syracuse and West Virginia. If UConn can win those three (two on the road at Cincinnati and West Virginia) then who knows? Perhaps that might be enough for the upstart Huskies to enter into the national title talk?
Thirteen Years in the Big East
Posted By John Antonik: November 2, 2007 (9:42 am)
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| Ed Pastilong |
Many knowledgeable onlookers and former WVU administrators that had tried for years to get West Virginia into an all-sports conference knew that when the school was accepted into the Big East Conference as a full-fledged member in 1994 that it was going to transform WVU from a regional to a national school.
However, I’m not sure even the most optimistic onlookers in 1994 could have imagined just how far Ed Pastilong’s athletic department has come in 13 years.
In 1994-95 – West Virginia’s last academic year in the Atlantic 10 Conference – the Mountaineers had seven programs with winning records competing in the A-10 and just two programs that were nationally ranked (gymnastics and rifle).
The football team lost its fifth straight bowl game in 1994 against South Carolina in disappointing fashion, finishing the year with a 7-6 record. The Mountaineers averaged just 50,296 fans per game that season after drawing more than 60,000 a game during the Major Harris years in the late 1980s.
Men’s basketball finished its final season in the Atlantic 10 with a 13-13 record, drawing just 6,780 a game for its 13 home contests.
Women’s basketball was in bad shape. The Mountaineers were 8-20 in 1995, losing to teams like Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris and Drexel. The women were barely drawing 500 a game at the 14,000-seat WVU Coliseum.
Compare that to today.
Four of West Virginia’s five fall sports are nationally ranked. The football team is ranked seventh this week and has been nationally ranked now for 35 consecutive weeks dating back to 2005. The Mountaineers sold out all of their games for the 2007 campaign before the season even started and they boast not one, but two Heisman Trophy candidates.
Men’s basketball hired one of the best coaches in the country in Bob Huggins and the impact has been swift. According to the Mountaineer Ticket Office, the school has set a record for season-ticket sales already and is expecting to have almost half of the arena sold before the season starts – essentially what the basketball program was drawing during its final year in the A-10 in 1995.
Women’s basketball, an albatross in 1995, is nationally ranked in the preseason for the first time in school history. That didn't even happen during the Rosemary Kosiorek years. Coach Mike Carey has taken two of his last four women’s teams to the NCAA tournament and with seven seniors returning this year, a deep tournament run is not out of the question.
The two soccers have become a national contender under Nikki Izzo-Brown and Marlon LeBlanc. Izzo-Brown’s women’s team will be making its eighth consecutive trip to NCAAs later this month and has been a weekly resident in the national rankings (WVU did not field a women’s soccer program until 1996).
LeBlanc’s men’s soccer program has spent almost the last two years in the national rankings and is expecting to make its third straight trip to nationals in two weeks.
Cross country has made its way onto the national scene as well under Coach Sean Cleary. The Mountaineer women captured their first-ever Big East championship in 2007 after winning a Mid-Atlantic Regional title in 2004. With his top three runners being sophomores and a strong freshmen supporting cast, Cleary expects his cross country program to remain a national contender for many years to come.
Rifle has seen a revival under second-year coach Jon Hammond, cracking the rankings once again and moving out to a 3-1 record with victories over N.C. State, Ohio State and Mississippi.
Traditionally strong WVU programs likes wrestling and gymnastics have remained strong. Swimming has come on of late.
I’m not sure anyone 13 years ago could have envisioned the depth and overall quality West Virginia University’s athletic department enjoys today.
A lot of the credit has to go to the Ed Pastilong and his talented coaches and administrators. The Big East has also made a profound difference, opening doors to West Virginia University that were not available to it in the past.
Harris to Coach New Indoor Team
Posted By John Antonik: November 1, 2007 (10:20 am)
West Virginia University great Major Harris will coach the new Washington Steam indoor football team that will play in the newly formed Mid-American Football Association. The team will play its games at the Iceoplex in Southpointe.
Harris was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist at WVU in 1988 and 1989 and played in both the Canadian and Arena Football leagues.
The former WVU quarterback is currently an assistant coach on Ron Wabby’s staff at Brashaer High School in Pittsburgh.
Former West Virginia linebacker Mike Booth will serve as the team’s defensive coordinator. Booth is presently the defensive coordinator at Gateway High School.
Wabby will be Harris’ offensive coordinator. The three also coached indoor football together in Wheeling three years ago.
The Steam will have an open tryout from on Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Iceoplex from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Players must be at least 18 years old. For more information, go to www.washingtonsteam.com.
Wear Gold
Posted By John Antonik: October 31, 2007 (11:20 am)
Wear your gold on Thursday, Nov. 8, when West Virginia faces Louisville in a key Big East match up at Milan Puskar Stadium, that’s the message West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez wanted delivered to the fans during his Tuesday afternoon press conference.
It’s not being called 'White-Out' or 'Black-Out Thursday', or 'Gold Rush', it’s simply an easy way for us to show our appreciation for a football program that has been nationally ranked the last 36 straight weeks dating back to 2005.
When you watch a football game at Nebraska what do you see? Red. When watch a football game at Tennessee what do you see? Orange.
Gold is West Virginia’s primary color – not blue. When 60,000 fans dress in gold it makes an impression, especially on television at night.
“I would love everybody to wear gold,” Rodriguez said. “I would like to have it to where everyone who is a West Virginia fan wears a gold jacket, gold hat, gold scarves; gold shoes – have gold cups.
“We don’t sell beer so you can’t have gold beer. I think it looks impressive. Thursday night ESPN college football games are pretty popular. At our place it’s a showcase for our program, community and the state and that sense of unity would be impressive for our state and our recruits,” Rodriguez said. “Penn State’s whiteout against Ohio State was pretty impressive on Saturday.”
The atmosphere at Milan Puskar Stadium is already outstanding and Rodriguez believes it can be even better.
“To me we should have the best crowd in the Big East because it’s the largest crowd in the league,” he said. “We ought to make it an advantage. When it’s third down it should be so loud where nobody can hear anything. To me that’s the one place where you do get a home field advantage.
“It’s not by booing the other team, it’s by making noise when the other team has the ball … and I hope our fans take that to heart,” Rodriguez said. “I would like our fans to make an impact on the game by screaming and yelling.”
Motivational Ploys
Posted By John Antonik: October 30, 2007 (8:55 pm)
The hot topic in the South this week was Georgia coach Mark Richt’s decision to have his football team get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to celebrate the Bulldogs’ first touchdown against rival Florida.
Richt was using it as a motivational ploy to spark a fire in his team.
Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Mr. College Football Tony Barnhart asked Rich Rodriguez on Monday’s Big East Conference coaches’ conference call if he ever went to that extreme to motivate a football team.
“I know Mark and Urban (Meyer) very well and they understand their teams,” Rodriguez said. “Every team is different and every coach has the pulse of their team. It seems crazy but these guys are kids and sometimes it’s almost like they need to be woken up a little bit.
“It’s such a grind for them and you want the kids to enjoy the game and sometimes you can sense as a coach that the kids aren’t having any fun at all even though there may be 80,000 people at the game and it’s on national TV,” Rodriguez said. “I know one time last year we were having a good season but the kids weren’t enjoying victories or enjoying the atmosphere so before we went out I made them stand up in the locker room and chest-bump each other.
“They did it during the game and I thought that was a little bit of a spark to let them have a little fun. That’s probably the most unusual thing I’ve done,” Rodriguez said.
Taking a 15-yard penalty and kicking off at the 15 to send a message to his team is something Rodriguez isn’t interested in doing.
“I don’t know if I’d go there because now you’re backed up to the 15 or whatever - I’d be nervous about that,” Rodriguez laughed. “You just scored and now you’re going to let them get the momentum back by getting great field position?
“I know Mark very well and I know he knows the pulse of the team and he’s going to do what he feels he needs to do to get his team cranked up,” Rodriguez said.
Fleet Feet
Posted By John Antonik: October 30, 2007 (10:19 am)
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| Patrick White |
Patrick White’s fleet feet are carrying him into some elite company. Last Saturday against Rutgers White ran for 156 yards, giving him 2,827 rushing yards for his career. White needs just 173 more yards to become just the 12th quarterback in NCAA history to rush for more than 3,000 yards for his career.
Currently in 11th place on the NCAA all-time quarterback rushing list is Vince Young with 3,127 career yards.
White needs 1,463 yards to break the all-time NCAA quarterback rushing record established by Missouri’s Brad Smith in 2005 with 4,289 yards.
White is also among the top active career rushers in career rushing yards (14th with 2,827), career rushing touchdowns (ninth with 34), career average per carry (second at 7.21), and career yards per game average (18th at 88.3).
What is most revealing about those figures is the fact that White is the only quarterback listed among the active career leaders.
Field Position
Posted By John Antonik: October 29, 2007 (10:24 am)
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| Vaughn Rivers |
Vaughn Rivers has probably saved West Virginia more than 200 yards in field position this year strictly on courage alone. The senior is often willing to pick up punts off the turf in the teeth of the defense instead of watching them bounce deep inside West Virginia territory.
It’s not easy to do that and West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez admits it’s sometimes not easy to watch, either.
“He makes you nervous as heck because sometimes the guy is right in front of him when he catches a bouncing ball or a ball that is kicked in the air,” Rodriguez said. “Usually the bouncing ball has to be something that is at least waist high before he can take it.”
Rivers showed two punt returns for 36 yards against Rutgers. Two weeks ago against Mississippi State, he returned five punts for 78 yards including a 35-yarder he almost took all the way. This year Rivers is averaging 12.1 yards per punt return but what is not accounted for in the stats is how many yards he’s saved the team by his willingness to catch punts.
That fact is not lost on Rodriguez, whose playbook is wide open when the offense starts at the 30 instead of the 10.
“Vaughn has got a lot of courage and he’s got great vision,” Rodriguez said. “He’s helped us with the field position battle in just about every game.”
Rodriguez also thinks Rivers is coming closer to taking one the distance like he did against Mississippi State last year.
“If we can get a few blocks here and there I think he’s going to break one,” Rodriguez said.
Road Warriors
Posted By John Antonik: October 28, 2007 (9:09 am)
Doesn’t it seem like West Virginia’s football team has been on the road for the entire season? Well, essentially it has. Five of West Virginia’s first eight games have been played away from Milan Puskar Stadium.
The Mountaineers (7-1) are the only team ranked in last week’s BCS Top 10 to have already played five road games. Only three others – Ohio State, Oklahoma and South Florida – have played four road games.
No. 4 Arizona State, 8-0 after last night’s home win against Cal, has played just two road games so far this year. The Sun Devils have only four road contests on their schedule this year but one of them comes next weekend at No. 5 Oregon, which eliminated USC from the national championship picture on Saturday.
Boston College, LSU, Oregon, soon-to-be-out-of-the-Top-10 Virginia Tech, and Kansas have played three road games each.
With the majority of its road work now completed, West Virginia has three of its remaining four regular season games at Milan Puskar Stadium starting with a Thursday night match-up against 5-4 Louisville.
The final road game of the year at 6-2 Cincinnati on Nov. 17 comes before the showdown in Morgantown on Nov. 24 against 7-1 Connecticut.
The No. 23-ranked Huskies knocked off South Florida yesterday and they sit atop the Big East standings with a 3-0 record. UConn has a home game next Saturday against Rutgers and games remaining at Cincinnati and at home against Syracuse before wrapping up the regular season in Morgantown.
What appeared to be another ordinary game at Milan Puskar Stadium after Thanksgiving against the Huskies could very well determine the Big East championship this season and the conference’s BCS bowl representative.
Hopefully, West Virginia’s student body understands the importance of that game and the support the team needs from them the weekend after Thanksgiving recess.
