10-15-2006, 07:47 AM
Mountaineers hungry for more than blowouts
October 14, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- Check out college football's penthouse.
This is the swank joint where the fat cats hang out. There's Ohio State, USC -- that crew. Oh, West Virginia is in the room. Make no doubt about that after the Mountaineers' 41-17 domination of Syracuse pushed them to 6-0. But WVU big boss man Rich Rodriguez is making sure his players don't have their feet on the coffee table. It's all about not relaxing and "staying hungry."
That has been "Coach Rod's" mantra as soon as the first preseason poll hit the Internet --- which was about 30 seconds after the 2006 Rose Bowl ended. Rodriguez had an inkling of what was coming. And he wanted his team to keep focused, take it one game at a time, stay hungry and all that junky coachspeak.
WVU was famished on this day. Poor Syracuse.
Not since my fifth-grade backyard football days have I seen the sport made this easy. At least it looked that way. Where's that Nerf football? Oh, heck, who am I kidding: Rodriguez and Co., make it look this easy almost every game.
There goes quarterback Patrick White, ambling and rambling 69 yards for a touchdown. He finished with a Big East quarterback-record 247 yards rushing with four touchdowns vs. the Orange.
There goes running back Steve Slaton, dashing and slashing 52 yards for a touchdown. He finished with 163 yards rushing on 20 carries with a touchdown.
Each half of this dynamite duo had 100 yards rushing before halftime, for crying out loud. Is that hungry enough for you, Coach Rod?
"It helps to have explosive players," says Rodriguez, whose team finished with 562 yards that was highlighted by 457 jammed-down-the-throat rushing yards. "And we have some of those. Our offense feels like it can score every time it has the ball."
I'm not arguing with that. And you'd be foolish to try.
Rodriguez's spread option offense is so basic it's brilliant. It goes something like this: White in the shotgun; White fakes a handoff to Slaton; White keeps the ball; White scores a touchdown. Oh, there's a variation that features White handing off to Slaton that's every bit as good.
It can't be this simple, can it? Of course not. It's an illusion to the untrained eye. All of the crissing, crossing and ... BAM ... a long touchdown run appears. Let's call it "Mountaineer Magic."
Up next: A game this Friday at UConn. Poor UConn. But no one is talking about the Huskies. Instead, Louisville is on Morgantown's mind. That's where the Mountaineers play on Nov. 2 in what shapes up to be not just one of the biggest games of the season -- but perhaps the biggest game in Big East history.
Yeah, I remember some of those Virginia Tech-Miami games from earlier this decade. I still think the West Virginia-Louisville game is bigger, especially given the fact the Big East still is straining to earn a reputation since Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College jumped ship on the league a few years ago for supposedly greener ACC pastures.
Look at the Big East now. In fact, let's go ahead and call this the "Year of the Big East." Louisville is poised for perfection. And someone forgot to tell Rutgers that it's, well, Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights dumped Navy to remain unbeaten and a national darling.
And then, there's West Virginia, which has won 17 of its last 18 games and 13 in a row. It's a beautiful thing for the Big East. Remember those rumblings a few years ago about taking away the Big East's automatic BCS spot? Given the events of this season, it seems like kooky talk.
Look who's laughing now -- at least this year. There's no doubt the Big East is better than the ACC. Heck, it was pretty darn good last year, when West Virginia introduced itself to the nation by topping Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
Yeah, WVU has issues, but you need a pair of those tiny binoculars you keep in your briefcase to see them. The biggest problem? Defense. Third-down defense, in particular.
"That has to get better," Rodriguez says. "And our tackling wasn't that good today, either."
WVU ranked 94th in the nation in third-down defense entering the game. And Syracuse converted 6-of-14 third downs Saturday. The defense lacks what the offense has in abundance: playmakers. WVU doesn't generate enough big plays (sacks and tackles for loss). But, the bottom line is this: The Mountaineers are allowing less than 14 points a game. Oh, and the offense is averaging 41.5.
"If we can run the ball and control the clock, it gives us a chance to be successful," says Rodriguez.
Really successful. The Mountaineers are hungry, hungry for more. Hungry for a national championship.
"This team isn't exactly like that 1988 West Virginia team (that played Notre Dame for the national title and lost)," says Rodriguez. "That team had more NFL players. We have some prospects, but they're mostly the younger guys. This team has to grind it out a little bit more than the 1988 team. But we haven't played a perfect game yet."
That's scary.
October 14, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- Check out college football's penthouse.
This is the swank joint where the fat cats hang out. There's Ohio State, USC -- that crew. Oh, West Virginia is in the room. Make no doubt about that after the Mountaineers' 41-17 domination of Syracuse pushed them to 6-0. But WVU big boss man Rich Rodriguez is making sure his players don't have their feet on the coffee table. It's all about not relaxing and "staying hungry."
That has been "Coach Rod's" mantra as soon as the first preseason poll hit the Internet --- which was about 30 seconds after the 2006 Rose Bowl ended. Rodriguez had an inkling of what was coming. And he wanted his team to keep focused, take it one game at a time, stay hungry and all that junky coachspeak.
WVU was famished on this day. Poor Syracuse.
Not since my fifth-grade backyard football days have I seen the sport made this easy. At least it looked that way. Where's that Nerf football? Oh, heck, who am I kidding: Rodriguez and Co., make it look this easy almost every game.
There goes quarterback Patrick White, ambling and rambling 69 yards for a touchdown. He finished with a Big East quarterback-record 247 yards rushing with four touchdowns vs. the Orange.
There goes running back Steve Slaton, dashing and slashing 52 yards for a touchdown. He finished with 163 yards rushing on 20 carries with a touchdown.
Each half of this dynamite duo had 100 yards rushing before halftime, for crying out loud. Is that hungry enough for you, Coach Rod?
"It helps to have explosive players," says Rodriguez, whose team finished with 562 yards that was highlighted by 457 jammed-down-the-throat rushing yards. "And we have some of those. Our offense feels like it can score every time it has the ball."
I'm not arguing with that. And you'd be foolish to try.
Rodriguez's spread option offense is so basic it's brilliant. It goes something like this: White in the shotgun; White fakes a handoff to Slaton; White keeps the ball; White scores a touchdown. Oh, there's a variation that features White handing off to Slaton that's every bit as good.
It can't be this simple, can it? Of course not. It's an illusion to the untrained eye. All of the crissing, crossing and ... BAM ... a long touchdown run appears. Let's call it "Mountaineer Magic."
Up next: A game this Friday at UConn. Poor UConn. But no one is talking about the Huskies. Instead, Louisville is on Morgantown's mind. That's where the Mountaineers play on Nov. 2 in what shapes up to be not just one of the biggest games of the season -- but perhaps the biggest game in Big East history.
Yeah, I remember some of those Virginia Tech-Miami games from earlier this decade. I still think the West Virginia-Louisville game is bigger, especially given the fact the Big East still is straining to earn a reputation since Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College jumped ship on the league a few years ago for supposedly greener ACC pastures.
Look at the Big East now. In fact, let's go ahead and call this the "Year of the Big East." Louisville is poised for perfection. And someone forgot to tell Rutgers that it's, well, Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights dumped Navy to remain unbeaten and a national darling.
And then, there's West Virginia, which has won 17 of its last 18 games and 13 in a row. It's a beautiful thing for the Big East. Remember those rumblings a few years ago about taking away the Big East's automatic BCS spot? Given the events of this season, it seems like kooky talk.
Look who's laughing now -- at least this year. There's no doubt the Big East is better than the ACC. Heck, it was pretty darn good last year, when West Virginia introduced itself to the nation by topping Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
Yeah, WVU has issues, but you need a pair of those tiny binoculars you keep in your briefcase to see them. The biggest problem? Defense. Third-down defense, in particular.
"That has to get better," Rodriguez says. "And our tackling wasn't that good today, either."
WVU ranked 94th in the nation in third-down defense entering the game. And Syracuse converted 6-of-14 third downs Saturday. The defense lacks what the offense has in abundance: playmakers. WVU doesn't generate enough big plays (sacks and tackles for loss). But, the bottom line is this: The Mountaineers are allowing less than 14 points a game. Oh, and the offense is averaging 41.5.
"If we can run the ball and control the clock, it gives us a chance to be successful," says Rodriguez.
Really successful. The Mountaineers are hungry, hungry for more. Hungry for a national championship.
"This team isn't exactly like that 1988 West Virginia team (that played Notre Dame for the national title and lost)," says Rodriguez. "That team had more NFL players. We have some prospects, but they're mostly the younger guys. This team has to grind it out a little bit more than the 1988 team. But we haven't played a perfect game yet."
That's scary.