Mountaineers hope history doesn't repeat

[Apis Bull]

Mountaineers hope history doesn't repeat

By Joe Bendel

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Monday, August 2, 2004

The West Virginia football program has been here before -- almost identically.

In the 1998 preseason, the Mountaineers were ranked No. 5 by Athlon's Magazine and No. 12 by the coaches.

This preseason, they're ranked No. 5 by Athlon's and No. 11 by the coaches.

History tells us that the prognosticators are not always right, as WVU found out first-hand in '98. The Mountaineers opened the year with a home loss to Ohio State and went on to an 8-4 finish, which included a loss to Missouri in the Insight.com Bowl. They failed to make the top 25 in either major poll.

The scary part is, that '98 team was loaded with talent, even moreso than this year's team. Marc Bulger and Jerry Porter, two big-name NFL properties, led a who's who list that also included Anthony Becht, Solomon Page, Barrett Green and John Thornton.

"You never know what can happen, that's why you play the games," said WVU quarterback Rasheed Marshall, a second-team All-Big East pick in 2003. "We understand that."

The schedule makers were much tougher on WVU in '98 than they were in formulating this season's slate. Ohio State was the top-ranked team in the nation when it invaded Morgantown for that fateful opener six years ago -- a 34-17 loss -- and Miami was still part of the Big East. Neither the 'Canes nor Buckeyes appear on this year's docket.

In fact, there are no preseason top-10 teams on the schedule. The Mountaineers' highest rated opponent, based on the coaches' poll, is Maryland at No. 20. They open against East Carolina at home.

With stars like Marshall, wideout Chris Henry and defensive back Pacman Jones back for another year, perhaps these Mountaineers will meet the expectations the '98 team failed to live up to.

Joe Bendel can be reached at joecbendel@aol.com or (412) 320-7811.

[bulls96go]

no they will not live up to expectations

history will repeat itself

[Apis Bull]

We (The Big East) need them to live up to expectations.  We also need a couple of more teams to really step it up.  Hopefully, we'll be one of them.

[Guest S.  Bien]

no they will not live up to expectations

history will repeat itself

????  You're really throwing down the hammer on that one.  You're predicting them to be the biggest busts of the last few years, at least since Auburn of last year.   Considering they clearly have the best offense by a long shot returning to the BE, and better than any team they face this year, I think it will be difficult for them to meltdown.

You may believe they're due for a meltdown, but if you're a USF fan you better pray they do not!

[mattegunz]

They will be for real.  They mix a nice running and passing game.  They have a nice home field advantage in Morgantown.  

[USFPDiddy]

I say they will finish 9-2 or so and are likely to win the BE.

[Apis Bull]

I still say they can run the table.

[bulls96go]

????  You're really throwing down the hammer on that one.  You're predicting them to be the biggest busts of the last few years, at least since Auburn of last year.   Considering they clearly have the best offense by a long shot returning to the BE, and better than any team they face this year, I think it will be difficult for them to meltdown.

You may believe they're due for a meltdown, but if you're a USF fan you better pray they do not!

i hope and pray they do well and 9-2 would be a bad year for them usf and the big east.

but my head tells me they will not live up to expectations and they will meltdown

[WVUNo1Fan]

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

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