Forecasting big year for Mountaineers

[Apis Bull]

Link:  Ron Bracken | Preseason prognosticators forecasting big year for Mountaineers

Ron Bracken | Preseason prognosticators forecasting big year for Mountaineers

By Ron Bracken

rbracken@centredaily.com

It isn't necessarily a sign that the apocalypse is upon us, although if you're a Penn State fan you might see it that way, but in one of the more credible preseason football magazines (Athlon), West Virginia is projected to finish fifth in the country. The Nittany Lions are rated 45 spots lower.

How 'bout them 'Eers?

If that projection proves accurate there won't be a couch left in Morgantown come November.

Having done some work for some of these preseason magazines, I understand how the process works. The stories are all written in late March or early April, usually before most teams have played their spring game. So a lot of the nuts and bolts information about personnel and depth charts is built on fault lines.

It has to be that way for these publications to get onto the newstands by an increasingly earlier date. It's now late June. It once was early August. But the college football fan's stomach has begun growling for information earlier and earlier and the magazines must feed it or die.

Which doesn't make them bad people.

Frankly, it would be satisfying to see the Mountaineers have a top 5 finish. They've been treated like lepers by their neighbors. Geographically, it made no more sense for the ACC to skip over them and go all the way to Boston to add another team than it did for the Big Ten to come into Pennsylvania to expand by one member.

But it did and now the Mountaineers are the marquee team in a seven-team conference that is on life-support. They have been shunned by their neighbors and ignored by long-time ally Penn State, which can't find a spot on the schedule for them after West Virginia lined up alongside Penn State in the move toward an eastern all-sports conference.

Looking at this year's non-conference schedule for both teams, Penn State is playing Akron, Boston College and University of Central Florida while West Virginia is also playing UCF along with East Carolina and James Madison.

Think fans from both schools wouldn't sooner see a Penn State-West Virginia matchup instead of one of those dog shows, the Penn State-BC game aside?

What's interesting now is that both schools are living in the shadow of a conference on steroids. The ACC has caught, if not passed, the Big Ten in terms of football respectability.

Athlon has five schools from each conference in its Top 25 with Miami fourth, Florida State ninth, Clemson 13th, Maryland 20th and Virginia 25th from the ACC while Michigan is seventh, Ohio State 10th, Iowa 17th, Wisconsin 21st and Minnesota 24th.

Place as much credibility in those picks as you want but they are still indicative of the level of respect accorded each conference. And both are behind the SEC and Big 12.

The balance of power in college football has clearly shifted, leaving the Big Ten with its stodgy, family-sedan offenses choking on the exhausts of the muscle cars from conferences on both coasts and the Plains states. Think tractor pull vs. NASCAR.

And Penn State finds itself struggling just to regain respectability within the conference in the near term. Getting back to national prominence is still several exits down the road.

Meanwhile, on a quiet Saturday night this fall, if you listen closely you might be able to hear the roar rising out of Morgantown if Rich Rodriguez is able to deliver on West Virginia's promise.

There was a time when that sound traveled in the opposite direction.

[E.T.]

I wish them a Great Season.

[bulls96go]

hope they do well this year

[goodknightfl]

i want to see them go 7-4 and win the BE... with 1 loss being to a non bcs UCF..  not likely but I can hope..

[Apis Bull]

i want to see them go 7-4 and win the BE... with 1 loss being to a non bcs UCF..  not likely but I can hope..

Hey, good luck with that.   ;D

I think they have a good shot at being undefeated.

[Guest S.  Bien]

they return a beast of a team, five returning starting OL, plus one that sat out last year, but started the year prior!  The QB, top two WR's, some good RB stable.  Their defense lost little, and finally added some size.

A great schedule, and if they can weather a few storms they should be in the drivers seat.

[bulls96go]

this is THE YEAR for WVU to show they can run with the big boys

reading s.bien's post on what talent comes back this year and

looking at the schedule 9-2 should be dissapointing to them

only tough game is maryland and for good teams to be considered great they have to win tough game every so often (close should not be tolerated this year), vatech and pitt rebuilding.

even playing at 80% every other game is winnable and there is no reason on god's green earth that in this crutial year the coaching staff should get less than 100% from every player for every down for every game

10-1 or 11-0 this year proves that they belong and the BE belongs

they should be top 10 with this record

wvu needs to step up NOW all of our collective arses are on the line

just my $0.02

[smazza]

wv like always will fall on their face

USF is savior of the conference not wv

[Guest S.  Bien]

smazza,

don't demean conference brethren when you haven't the faintest idea what in the world your talking about.  Since 1988 WVU has been ranked in the top 5 three times, and played for the National Championship once.  

The school is two hours away from Pittsburgh, it isn't a desolate, and isolated as Marshall.  WVU's return to glory would benefit everyone greatly including USF!

[bulls96go]

hope they live to the hype THIS year