It's Seperation Weekend, and What's Really Up with WVU?

While not many games have been played, it is still hard to tell who are the pretenders and contenders in the Big East.

TEAM W L
UCONN 2 0
RUTGERS 2 1
PITT 1 1
SO. FLORIDA 1 1
WVU 1 1
CINCINNATI 1 2
LOUISVILLE 1 2
SYRACUSE 1 2

Is UConn really the best team in the league? Things should start to sort itself out this weekend.

LOUISVILLE vs. PITT
RUTGERS vs. WVU
UCONN vs. SO. FLORIDA

There will be at least 2 more 2-loss teams in the league after this coming weekend.

Nationally, this is an important weekend for sorting out the contenders and pretenders

1 Ohio State @ 25 Penn St.
2 BC @ 8 Va. Tech
3 LSU (IDLE)
4 Arizona St vs. 21 Cal
5 Oregon Vs. 12 USC
6 Oklahoma (IDLE)
7 WVU @ Rutgers
9 Kansas @ Texas A&M
10 So. Florida vs 23 UConn

There are some real challenges this weekend. The opportunity is there for West Virginia, but are the Mountaineers really ready for it? Maybe WVU fans' expections are greater than they should be, but after the Miss. State game many are left wondering.

Are they really the great offensive team that we think we are?
Did they letdown or shutdown after the 2nd play of the 2nd quarter?
Why don't they seem to be consistently potent on offense?
Can their O-line dominate an opponent that has decent defensive athletes?

Last Saturday I saw that: White ran hard. Slaton ran hard. Schimdt rumbled hard. Reynaud looked good. For a quarter, WVU could do no wrong. White's run on the first play was special. The long 88-yd drive that took 12 or 13 plays was great (patience, and eating of the clock are always good things for the better team). Schimdt's rumble to the endzone was something to see. I'll take a slant pass to Reynaud anyday. And, though I would have liked to have seen him get a couple of TD's against USF, I am glad that we were there for Slaton's record setting TD run.

What I didn't see was a real crisp Jarrett Brown. He missed some wide open receivers, and he had no touch on most of his passes. Wes Lyons and Dorrell Jalloh probably needed medical attention after trying to catch a couple of those 200 MPH rockets.

Over the past couple of years, the Mountaineers have grown accustomed to being able to run right over most teams, and having a handful of career type highlight plays every week. That does appear to be happening this year.

Did having an All-American center and one of the best O-line coaches in the business really make that big of difference? Big Shoes to fill?

I am not yet convinced that West Virginia has all the pieces necessary to win 11 or 12 games. And, that is just too bad, because the fans have been looking ahead to the possibilities of the 2007 season since they witnessed the 2005 comeback against U of L.

It's funny, because everyone was concerned about the defense over the winter and into the early part of the season. While I don't see Canute Curtis out there chasing down the opposing players, I do see what is probably the strongest defense of the the Rich Rod era, and, that is saying a bunch when you consider that we have seen Pac-ManJones, Grant Wiley, Brian King, and Mike Lorello during that period.

But, I think that Keilen Dykes, Johnny Dingle, Scooter Berry, Marc Magro, Eric Wicks, Larry Williams and Ryan Mundy are names that someday will likely live long in WVU lore.

In the spring and early fall, Rich complained about the receivers, and again, I don't see David Sanders, Shawn Foreman, or Danny Bugs running around out there, but I do think that Darius Reynaud is a name that will be remembered. And that group has laid some wood on D-backs, which is usually what makes things go. So, what is it about this team that leaves a little concern or questionmark?

Yes, 38 points is a big number to put on another team; just ask Georgia or Georgia Tech. Sylvester Croom didn't seem real happy about it either. But, how many yards did WVU have after the 2nd play of the 2nd quarter? I think they had less than 400 total yards; and less than 300 rushing yards.

Maybe this is all a good thing, and they are in the right position to make a season ending run towards the Big East Title and another New Years day bowl. The possibilities are there, but are the Mountaineers right for the challenge?

Wins against Rutgers and UL could convince me, but after watching them and the other Big East games this weekend, I am confused. Rutgers beat USF by running the ball straight at them with a couple of trick special teams plays thrown in. UConn beat UL on a punt return that was signaled as a fair catch. A lousy Pitt team beat what has been a pretty solid Cincy team. How? Wanstadt should stay in the booth every week.

This has been the most interesting College Football season in many years (no clear cut favorites - just ask USC). Buckle your seat belt, and hold on tight - the next six weeks should get real interesting.