Posted by John Antonik on Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 (9:28 am)
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Pat Lazear |
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You have to give sophomore linebacker Pat Lazear a lot of credit. He could have packed it in when he was yanked in West Virginia’s season opening win against Villanova, but he stuck with it and wound up making the game-saving play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl when he intercepted T.J. Yates’ fourth-quarter pass over the middle.
A play before that, Lazear was shaken up and he was late getting back to the huddle to get the play.
“They threw a flat pattern and I went out to get it and ended up jumping over the player with the ball and I guess I landed on my head wrong,” Lazear said. “I really didn’t do too much – I dropped straight back to where I had to and the quarterback threw me the ball.”
Lazear said it was his responsibility to key on the tight end.
“On that play I had to drop back inside the number two receiver and the number two receiver was the tight end right next to me,” he said. “I shuffled back a couple of steps and picked the ball off.”
Lazear admitted he was one of the players confused with North Carolina’s first-half use of counters and trick plays.
“My head was spinning a little bit,” Lazear said. “It was pretty confusing. When they pulled one (guard) I would make my read and then they pulled another one.”
Lazear joins returners Anthony Leonard, JT Thomas and Reed Williams to give the Mountaineers a very strong nucleus at linebacker in 2009.
Noel Devine makes it 12 out of the last 13 years that West Virginia has had a 1,000-yard rusher. Devine finished the season with 1,289 yards and an average of 99.2 yards per game.
The only year since 1996 that the Mountaineers failed to have a 1,000-yard ball carrier was 2004 when Kay-Jay Harris fell 41 yards short with 959 yards. West Virginia has had 14 1,000-yard rushers since 1996.
Hakeem Nicks’ eight-catch, 217-yard, three-TD performance against West Virginia in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl goes down as one of the most impressive performances ever put forth by a Mountaineer bowl opponent. Here are some others:
Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech) nine catches for 186 yards and two TDs in 2007 Gator Bowl
DJ Shockley (Georgia) 20 of 33 for 277 yards and three TDs in 2006 Sugar Bowl
Leon Washington (Florida State) 12 carries for 195 yards and one TD in 2005 Gator Bowl
Scott McBrien (Maryland) 21 of 33 for 381 yards and three TDs in 2005 Gator Bowl
Joe Hamilton (Georgia Tech) 356 total yards, two rushing TDs and one passing TD in 1997 Carquest Bowl
Terry Dean (Florida) 22 of 37 for 255 yards and one TD in 1994 Sugar Bowl
Tony Rice (Notre Dame) 7 of 11 for 213 yards and two TDs in 1989 Fiesta Bowl
Thurman Thomas (Oklahoma State) 33 carries for 157 yards and four TDs in 1987 Sun Bowl
Greg Allen (Florida State) 15 carries for 138 yards and two TDs in 1982 Gator Bowl
Ted Brown (NC State) 21 carries for 159 yards in 1975 Peach Bowl
Ron Coleman (Utah) 15 carries for 154 yards and one TD in 1964 Liberty Bowl
Pepper Rodgers (Georgia Tech) 16 of 26 for 195 yards and two TDs in 1954 Sugar Bowl
Have you ever wondered why there are so many bowl games now? The answer is four letters: E-S-P-N.
In 1965 there were nine bowl games. Ten years later there were 11. In 1985 there were 18 bowl games. Today there are 34 bowl games and 23 of them are being televised on either ESPN or ESPN2 – 24 if you count ESPN sister network ABC which has the Rose Bowl.
Between Dec. 20 and Jan. 3 there are only two days without college football: Dec. 22 and Dec. 25. Eleven bowls take place after Jan. 1 including scintillating match ups Kentucky-East Carolina, Buffalo-Connecticut and Tulsa-Ball State.
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Bob Huggins |
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West Virginia’s 76-48 victory at No. 15 Ohio State was big. How big? It’s the largest road triumph by the Mountaineers against a ranked team in school history, topping the 25-point win put on No. 6 NYU at Madison Square Garden in 1952.
It was the 15th time in school history West Virginia has defeated a ranked opponent on the road and was just the sixth time the Mountaineers did it with a margin of more than 10 points.
It was also Coach Bob Huggins’ 15th road win over a ranked opponent during his long and successful coaching career and the fourth victory over a ranked team in a year and a half at WVU.
Here are some of the non-conference schools the basketball program has defeated during the last five years: Ohio State, Arizona, Duke, NC State, UCLA, Mississippi State, Clemson, Oklahoma, LSU, Wake Forest and Texas Tech.
The Mountaineers are 109-44 since 2005 including a 36-13 record since Bob Huggins’ arrival.
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Alex Ruoff |
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Alex Ruoff made Andy Katz’s weekly watch starting five after scoring a career-high 38 points and grabbing eight rebounds against Radford, and then following that up with a 17-point performance in West Virginia’s 76-48 win at Ohio State.
Katz also picked West Virginia as his team of the week, WVU recording what he called “one of the worst home losses for any elite team this year” when the Mountaineers routed Ohio State by 28 points in a game televised nationally on CBS.
West Virginia begins Big East play next Saturday at Seton Hall and after a big home game against Connecticut on Jan. 6 (without the students of course), the Mountaineers are back on the road playing at Marquette.
For the first time in recent memory, West Virginia is actually playing more regular season games away from the Coliseum (16 away compared to 14 home) this year.
They tell me the RPI puts heavy emphasis on road victories. Well, according to RealTimeRPI.com, West Virginia’s RPI took a big jump up to 12th this week after the Mountaineers’ 76-48 win at Ohio State.
It’s too bad West Virginia doesn’t have more Big Ten opponents on its schedule. Before beating Ohio State by 28 in Columbus, the Mountaineers also blew out Iowa by 21 on a neutral floor in Las Vegas on Nov. 28.
Here is what can happen when you let fans hire football coaches. In six seasons at Miami, Larry Coker posted a 60-15 record with one national title and Rose, Orange, Peach and MPC Computers bowl victories.
During Coker’s final year in 2006 the Hurricanes slipped to 7-6.
Randy Shannon is 12-13 at Miami in his two seasons since Coker’s ouster including an Emerald Bowl loss to California Saturday night. In that game, Shannon inexplicably let time run off the clock at midfield with the Hurricanes possessing a timeout and driving for the game tying touchdown.
I wonder what Auburn fans watching that game were thinking?
Speaking of Miami, the Hurricanes have managed just a 37-25 record since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004. In its 13 seasons as a member of the Big East Conference from 1991-2003 Miami had a 128-29 record, won national titles in 1991 and 2001, and was ranked in the Top 5 six times including four straight years from 2000-03.
Perhaps the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
Incidentally since 2004, West Virginia is 6-3 against the ACC after last Saturday’s 31-30 win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
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Pat White |
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For all of the wonderful things Pat White has accomplished during his four-year career at West Virginia, it is my belief that White’s two most impressive on-field attributes are his competitiveness and toughness.
Lou Holtz said as much Saturday night on ESPN.
Steve Slaton wrapped up the NFL rushing title for rookies with his 92-yard, one-TD performance on Sunday against Chicago. Slaton finished the season with 1,282 yards, edging Chicago’s Matt Forte (1,238) and Tennessee’s Chris Johnson (1,228).
I was mildly surprised when I heard the other day that Pitt is going for its first 10-win season since 1981. Pitt’s football history essentially boils down to two great periods: 1924-38 when the Panthers went 111-20-12, and 1973-89 when they were 135-57-7.
Since 1990, Pitt has a 101-119-1 record that includes this year’s 9-3 mark under fourth-year coach Dave Wannstedt.
Does West Virginia make a return to the national rankings after its win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl? The guess here is the 9-4 Mountaineers make it in the AP poll (WVU is 29th in the latest poll) but they fall short in the Coaches’ Poll.
It will be interesting to see the coaches’ ballots when they are tabulated and released on January 8.
Have a great week!
