big east notebook

smazza · August 29, 2006

Big East notebook: W. Va. says it will rise to the occasion

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

BY BRENT JOHNSON

Star-Ledger Staff

So much has been made about their expectations ... their hunt for a national title ... their chance to revive the prominence of Big East football.

Is the hype around West Virginia too heavy for the Mountaineers to carry this year? Has coach Rich Rodriguez had to keep his players' heads in check?

"I really haven't," Rodriguez said yesterday during the first Big East coaches conference call of the year. "We mentioned it early, several times back in the spring, and I mentioned it when camp started. I thought maybe I'd have to do more of it, but I really haven't.

"The high expectations, the hype really doesn't bother me as long as it doesn't change who we are or how we work. And from what I've seen, it hasn't."

The Mountaineers, ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press and No. 7 by the USA Today coaches poll, are aiming for their fourth straight Big East championship, coming off an 11-1 season capped by a 38-35 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl -- the school's first Bowl Championship Series appearance.

West Virginia finished 7-0 in Big East play last season, and returns as the team to beat in the conference, receiving 18 first-place votes as the top team in the preseason poll -- 12 more than second-place Louisville.

The key to success again lies on the sophomore duo of quarterback Patrick White and running back Steve Slaton, who anchored the Mountaineers offense as freshmen last season. White finished the year with 952 yards rushing and seven touchdowns, in addition to 828 yards passing. Big East Rookie of the Year Slaton ran for 1,128 yards and 17 touchdowns and was named Sugar Bowl MVP.

"I thought one of the keys to our success last year was they acted more maturely than you think a young player would," Rodriguez said. "They acted like experienced veterans. ... I'm going to rely on that same maturity (this season), and so far they've shown that."

The Mountaineers' biggest conference competition will be Louisville, ranked 13th in the nation after going 9-3 (5-2) in its first season in the Big East. West Virginia beat the Cardinals, 46-44, last year in triple overtime after rallying for 17 points in the fourth quarter.

The two play at Louisville this season on Nov. 2 in a game that will likely have major bowl implications.

"We should not even come close to worrying about that," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said about the battle with West Virginia for the top of the conference. "It makes for good things for people to talk about, but we have to play one game at a time. ... We have to take care of our business to make that game (against West Virginia) have any consequences to it."

Louisville opens at home against state rival Kentucky on Sunday; West Virginia hosts Marshall on Saturday. Rodriguez said he hopes to avoid opening the season like the Mountaineers did last year when they narrowly beat a weak Syracuse, 15-7.

"One thing you definitely worry about as a coach is: Can we just go out and execute and not drop the ball on the ground?" Rodriguez said. "We did that last year, and fortunately our defense bailed the game out for us. That first game, there's a lot of jitters."

Not to mention, now the Mountaineers are looked at a bit differently around the nation.

"I think (our players) are aware of it," Rodriguez said about the team's prominent status. "There's a target on our backs. Everybody's kind of coming after us. But I want them to stay hungry. I want them to still feel the need to prove themselves."

Louisville sluggers are back

Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm earned the conference's Offensive Player of the Year honors last season despite missing the last three games of the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament.

You'd never know Brohm missed any time based on his numbers: 68.8 percent passes complete, 2,883 yards passing, 19 touchdowns.

Petrino said Brohm, now a junior, is "100 percent" healthy and ready for the season, as is All-Big East running back Michael Bush, who rushed for 1,143 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior last year and led the nation in scoring (14.4 points per game) despite missing two games with an injured foot.

The Cardinals -- who finished the year ranked 19th nationally after losing to Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl -- begin the season with five straight non-conference opponents, including former Big East powerhouse Miami

No easy road for Pitt

A former perennial conference contender, Pittsburgh is coming off a down season, going 5-6 (4-3 in the conference) under first-year head coach Dave Wannstedt.

The Panthers, picked to finish third in the conference, won't have it any easier as they start their season Saturday against Virginia.

"They're a BCS contender," Wannstedt said of the Cavaliers. "This will be a challenge for our football team right out of the chutes. It's not going to be a situation where we get a chance to work out the kinks or catch our breath or do any experimenting."

Pitt has a lot to prove in Wannstedt's second year, especially whether it can keep ahead of up-and-coming programs such as Rutgers and South Florida, let alone compete with West Virginia and Louisville. But Wannstedt is confident.

"We expect to be a little better football team that we were a year ago," said the former Miami Dolphins head coach, whose Panthers close the season against West Virginia and Louisville at home. "Louisville and West Virginia obviously are the talk of the conference and they should be the talk of the conference. ... (But) we've got a lot of football to play before we start worrying about those two."

UConn eager to rebound

Connecticut seemed to be one of the rising teams in the conference a few years back, but a series of injuries forced Randy Edsall to start three quarterbacks en route to a disappointing 5-6 (2-5) record last season.

This year, Edsall is happy with the team's health.

"When you can go into each week knowing that you don't have to worry about having this guy step in, changing the game plan, being able to be consistent, it's a lot easier," said the eighth-year head coach, whose Huskies open this Thursday at home against Rhode Island. "We feel fortunate really as we head into our first game. We came out of preseason camp really healthy. And hopefully we can stay that way."

Orange hopes experience counts

Syracuse, a former conference power that fell off the block last year with a 1-10 (0-7) finish, is also heading into its second year with a new head coach.

And that should make some difference, Greg Robinson says.

"I think our players are a lot more comfortable," said Robinson, whose Orange opens Saturday at Wake Forest. "As far as where we're headed, I like our team. I think we're an improved football team. Time will tell to what extent."

South Fla. looks forward

One of the more disappointing games in Rutgers' successful 2005 season came when new Big East program South Florida beat the Scarlet Knights, 45-31, at Rutgers Stadium.

It appears that this season the Knights and Bulls will be neck-and-neck in the Big East standings, ranked at fourth and fifth, respectively, in the preseason poll.

But South Florida coach Jim Leavitt doesn't make much of the head-to-head competition between the two teams.

"I really don't look at those kinds of things," said Leavitt, whose Bulls open up Saturday against McNeese State and will play Rutgers on Sept. 29 at home. "I don't know where we're at as far as the Big East race. That's why we've got to play games. Rankings and those kinds of things are just fun."