MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The way Jack Bicknell Jr.'s mind works these days, if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em.
 
Bicknell played for his father, Jack Bicknell Sr., at Boston College during the early to mid-1980s when the Eagles, led by All-America quarterback Doug Flutie, had some of their best teams in school history.
 
In 1982, BC defeated Texas A&M, tied Clemson, beat Syracuse and narrowly lost to Auburn in the Tangerine Bowl. A year later, the Eagles beat Clemson, upset Penn State, knocked off Alabama and lost by one to Notre Dame in the Liberty Bowl.
 
Then, during Flutie's senior year in 1984, Boston College downed Alabama, won on a "Hail Mary" pass against Miami in the Orange Bowl and boat-raced Houston in the Cotton Bowl to finish with a 10-2 record and a No. 5 final ranking.
 
In those days, Boston College was beating just about everybody - except for West Virginia.
 
In 1981, Flutie's first year at BC, the Eagles lost 38-10 to WVU. A year later, the Mountaineers got them 20-13 at Mountaineer Field. In 1983, it was 27-17 and in 1984, Boston College blew a 20-6 halftime lead and lost 21-20 in Morgantown.
 
Why do you drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Why couldn't Boston College beat West Virginia? To Bicknell and his old BC teammates, those remain two of life's imponderables.
 
"Who would have thought in 1982, and over 40 years later, that I would be at West Virginia," Coach Rich Rodriguez's newest offensive line coach said earlier today. "We never beat West Virginia and Rich Rod, who played against me, (is) able to rub this in for the rest of my life. It's a very difficult thing, for sure. Not only that, (on the way the WVU Hall of Traditions) you press a ball out there and it goes to a big screen of (Boston College) highlights. It's like, 'Oh God, of all the teams never to beat!'
 
"It's tough to live with, man, but I can't do anything about it now," he shrugged.
 
Bicknell said the West Virginia fans were even tough on the Eagles after the games the MOUNTAINEERS WON!
 
"My dad was the head coach through all of that, and there was some kind of ruckus going on outside. I don't know what was going on," he recalled. "And we lost, and people were still mad at us! We were like, 'Just let us get out of here!'"
 
Bicknell, the team's starting center on that great 1984 BC squad, remembers having a big halftime lead in Morgantown only to lose the game in the fourth quarter.
 
"It is pretty amazing to me. We were up (20-6) and ended up losing the game. That probably cost us the national championship that year," he sighed.
 
"I have no idea why. That's just unbelievable to me, and that's a great credit to West Virginia, really. Let's face it, we beat everybody else … Alabama, Clemson, Penn State, Miami … you name it, except for West Virginia," he said.
 
Well, more than 40 years later, here's a little secret why West Virginia was always so successful against Boston College.
 
It wasn't overwhelming talent nor superior strategy that enabled the Mountaineers to win all those games, but rather an oversight by Boston College's sports information department.
 
You see, back then, many schools used illustrators to draw caricatures of their opponents for their football game program covers. Boston College was one of the schools that used to do this, so if the Eagles were playing Penn State, for instance, the illustrator would draw an eagle battling a Nittany Lion.
 
If it was Pitt, obviously the Eagle was fighting a Panther.
 
Well, for the games played against West Virginia in Alumni Stadium, the Boston College publicity department would depict a drunken hillbilly without shoes sitting under a tree. In one hand was a bottle of moonshine and in the other was a rifle.
 
West Virginia coach Don Nehlen was given one of those game programs, kept it, and always showed it to his players the week they faced Boston College.
 
"Look at this crap," he would tell them. "This is what Boston College thinks of you guys – a bunch of ignorant, drunken hillbillies!"
 
Amateur psychology, for sure, but it worked. Nehlen's guys got the message. And they never forgot it!
 
Pitt's former football coach Walt Harris used to always tell his people, "Don't be the reason!"
 
For Boston College, whomever made the decision to print those silly game program covers, they were the reason!
 
For as long as Don Nehlen coached at West Virginia, his players always fought Boston College tooth and nail because to them, it was a matter of pride and respect. West Virginia didn't win 'em all against the Eagles, but the Mountaineers won far more than they lost to them.
 
"It still stings a little bit, I'm not going to lie, and coach Rodriguez won't let a moment go by when he doesn't zing me about it," Bicknell chuckled.
 
Now, Bicknell gets to work for the school against whom he used to play, and Rodriguez is delighted to have him on his side.
 
Bicknell's body of work is certainly impressive.
 
He spent eight years as Louisiana Tech's head coach, and then seven more in the NFL with the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins before the two hooked up at Mississippi.
 
"I got to work with Jack for a year at Ole Miss, and I really respect him as a coach," Rodriguez said. "He's a great person and an outstanding recruiter.
 
"He grew up with his dad, and West Virginia was 5-0 against BC while he was there," Rodriguez also mentioned. "I actually did play against him. That was my senior year and Jack was the center, but I'm tickled to have him."
 
Bicknell said it is exciting to reunite with Rodriguez, calling him one of the most intense coaches he's ever been around.
 
"When you are the head coach, there are a lot of dynamic personalities on a football team and coach Rod is trying to get everybody going that way," he explained. "I just think his intensity with how he brings it every single day to work and his ability to make people rise up and just get that wave going.
 
"The ability to inspire people and to push people to become the best people they can be … the great head coaches do that, but I think coach Rod is maybe one of the best at doing that," he added. "He's going to push you and he's going to be intense every day, even with his coaches."
 
Bicknell said he feels a lot of loyalty to Rodriguez.
 
"I could be 62-years-old out fishing somewhere right now, and I don't want to be fishing," he explained. "I always say to him, 'I wouldn't die for you, but I'd take a bullet in the leg for you or something like that.'
 
"(This is) something that I'm really looking forward to," he concluded.
 
West Virginia completed its fourth spring practice inside the stadium this morning. The Mountaineers have practices scheduled for Thursday and Saturday to conclude the week.