WVU sportswriter laughed when he heard USF or Pitt may finish above WVU

[flsportsfan83]

  Print this story

Some People Never Learn

Shawn Falkenstein

Morgantown, W.Va.

What is it with these people?

Will they never learn?

Didn't a 48-28 trouncing of Oklahoma tell them anything?

Apparently not.

Despite West Virginia's overwhelming selection to win the Big East by the sportswriters who actually cover the league the national pundits seem determined to crown either Pitt or South Florida as the team to beat in the Big East.

It almost makes you laugh.

Actually I did laugh when I watched ESPN's Lou Holtz and Mark May select USF and Pitt, respectively, to win the Big East.

And you guys wonder why I don't watch ESPN anymore.

For one reason, their "experts" aren't really experts on anything more than running their mouths and they never, EVER admit when they are wrong...I'm looking at you Corso. At least three touchdowns right?

ahem.

However, I will give Corso credit for saying West Virginia is the team to beat in the Big East back in the Spring, but I think since then he's changed his tune and picked South Florida. And I anticipate he and the others will change their picks a few more times before it's all said and done and if West Virginia does win the Big East they will all swear they knew it would happen all along.

Yes USF has beaten West Virginia two years in a row, but they fell apart late in the season each of the last two years. Last year the Bulls dropped three in a row--to Rutgers, Cincinnati and Connecticut--after being ranked second in the country.

Pitt was 5-7 last season and missed out on a bowl game...again. Admittedly the Panthers have the best running back in the league in LaSean McCoy, and the leading tackler from last season in Scott McKillop, but they also return just about everybody else. Yes they will be better, but can they be four or five games better?

We'll see. I'm not sold on either of those teams as being better than West Virginia. The Mountaineers return the best player in the Big East, if not the country in quarterback Pat White. They replace Steve Slaton with Noel Devine who appears to be every bit as good. The entire offensive line returns and may be the best in the nation. They replace Darius Reynaud with Jock Sanders and Bradley Starks who are every bit as elusive and fast as Reynaud. On defense the Mountaineers lose seven starters but may be better than last year's squad that finished in the top ten. Leading tacklers Reed Williams and Mortty Ivy returned and are joind by J.T Thomas who has a great Fiesta Bowl. The defensive line which saw the departure of Keilen Dykes and Johnny Dingle has been solidifed with the return of Pat Leibig and the move of Zac Cooper from linebacker to defensive end. The only question may be the secondary which features mainly new faces.

Having said all that, I look at teams ranked ahead of West Virginia like Oklahoma and USC and I see a lot more losses in the off season. I have no doubt that those teams will be excellent this years, but I also am not dismissing the Mountaineers.

The "experts" want any excuse to pan West Virginia's selection of Bill Stewart as head coach and are just drooling over the opportunity so much that they are letting their hearts get in the way of their brains. But what else is new? Any good Mountaineer fan can see the obvious bias ESPN, in particular, has against West Virginia. It's no secret that they hate the Big East and in particular West Virginia despite the fact that the Mountaineers deliver them record-breaking audiences every time they put them on TV.

Even a dismantling of Oklahoma wasn't enough to sway their opinions. Nearly every "expert" picked Oklahoma and they picked the Sooners to win big. But I haven't heard one of them give any credit to West Virginia for the win. I've only heard excuses for the Sooners.

That's fine. We West Virginians are used to being overlooked and underappreciated. We thrive on the lack of respect and you can be sure that Stewart, White, Williams and the gang will only use it as motivation to go out and prove all the "experts" wrong once again.

If you have any questions, comments or story ideas please e-mail Shawn at shawn@wvradio.com

  Print this story

Some People Never Learn

Shawn Falkenstein

Morgantown, W.Va.

What is it with these people?

Will they never learn?

Didn't a 48-28 trouncing of Oklahoma tell them anything?

Apparently not.

Despite West Virginia's overwhelming selection to win the Big East by the sportswriters who actually cover the league the national pundits seem determined to crown either Pitt or South Florida as the team to beat in the Big East.

It almost makes you laugh.

Actually I did laugh when I watched ESPN's Lou Holtz and Mark May select USF and Pitt, respectively, to win the Big East.

And you guys wonder why I don't watch ESPN anymore.

For one reason, their "experts" aren't really experts on anything more than running their mouths and they never, EVER admit when they are wrong...I'm looking at you Corso. At least three touchdowns right?

ahem.

However, I will give Corso credit for saying West Virginia is the team to beat in the Big East back in the Spring, but I think since then he's changed his tune and picked South Florida. And I anticipate he and the others will change their picks a few more times before it's all said and done and if West Virginia does win the Big East they will all swear they knew it would happen all along.

Yes USF has beaten West Virginia two years in a row, but they fell apart late in the season each of the last two years. Last year the Bulls dropped three in a row--to Rutgers, Cincinnati and Connecticut--after being ranked second in the country.

Pitt was 5-7 last season and missed out on a bowl game...again. Admittedly the Panthers have the best running back in the league in LaSean McCoy, and the leading tackler from last season in Scott McKillop, but they also return just about everybody else. Yes they will be better, but can they be four or five games better?

We'll see. I'm not sold on either of those teams as being better than West Virginia. The Mountaineers return the best player in the Big East, if not the country in quarterback Pat White. They replace Steve Slaton with Noel Devine who appears to be every bit as good. The entire offensive line returns and may be the best in the nation. They replace Darius Reynaud with Jock Sanders and Bradley Starks who are every bit as elusive and fast as Reynaud. On defense the Mountaineers lose seven starters but may be better than last year's squad that finished in the top ten. Leading tacklers Reed Williams and Mortty Ivy returned and are joind by J.T Thomas who has a great Fiesta Bowl. The defensive line which saw the departure of Keilen Dykes and Johnny Dingle has been solidifed with the return of Pat Leibig and the move of Zac Cooper from linebacker to defensive end. The only question may be the secondary which features mainly new faces.

Having said all that, I look at teams ranked ahead of West Virginia like Oklahoma and USC and I see a lot more losses in the off season. I have no doubt that those teams will be excellent this years, but I also am not dismissing the Mountaineers.

The "experts" want any excuse to pan West Virginia's selection of Bill Stewart as head coach and are just drooling over the opportunity so much that they are letting their hearts get in the way of their brains. But what else is new? Any good Mountaineer fan can see the obvious bias ESPN, in particular, has against West Virginia. It's no secret that they hate the Big East and in particular West Virginia despite the fact that the Mountaineers deliver them record-breaking audiences every time they put them on TV.

Even a dismantling of Oklahoma wasn't enough to sway their opinions. Nearly every "expert" picked Oklahoma and they picked the Sooners to win big. But I haven't heard one of them give any credit to West Virginia for the win. I've only heard excuses for the Sooners.

That's fine. We West Virginians are used to being overlooked and underappreciated. We thrive on the lack of respect and you can be sure that Stewart, White, Williams and the gang will only use it as motivation to go out and prove all the "experts" wrong once again.

If you have any questions, comments or story ideas please e-mail Shawn at shawn@wvradio.com

  Print this story

Some People Never Learn

Shawn Falkenstein

Morgantown, W.Va.

What is it with these people?

Will they never learn?

Didn't a 48-28 trouncing of Oklahoma tell them anything?

Apparently not.

Despite West Virginia's overwhelming selection to win the Big East by the sportswriters who actually cover the league the national pundits seem determined to crown either Pitt or South Florida as the team to beat in the Big East.

It almost makes you laugh.

Actually I did laugh when I watched ESPN's Lou Holtz and Mark May select USF and Pitt, respectively, to win the Big East.

And you guys wonder why I don't watch ESPN anymore.

For one reason, their "experts" aren't really experts on anything more than running their mouths and they never, EVER admit when they are wrong...I'm looking at you Corso. At least three touchdowns right?

ahem.

However, I will give Corso credit for saying West Virginia is the team to beat in the Big East back in the Spring, but I think since then he's changed his tune and picked South Florida. And I anticipate he and the others will change their picks a few more times before it's all said and done and if West Virginia does win the Big East they will all swear they knew it would happen all along.

Yes USF has beaten West Virginia two years in a row, but they fell apart late in the season each of the last two years. Last year the Bulls dropped three in a row--to Rutgers, Cincinnati and Connecticut--after being ranked second in the country.

Pitt was 5-7 last season and missed out on a bowl game...again. Admittedly the Panthers have the best running back in the league in LaSean McCoy, and the leading tackler from last season in Scott McKillop, but they also return just about everybody else. Yes they will be better, but can they be four or five games better?

We'll see. I'm not sold on either of those teams as being better than West Virginia. The Mountaineers return the best player in the Big East, if not the country in quarterback Pat White. They replace Steve Slaton with Noel Devine who appears to be every bit as good. The entire offensive line returns and may be the best in the nation. They replace Darius Reynaud with Jock Sanders and Bradley Starks who are every bit as elusive and fast as Reynaud. On defense the Mountaineers lose seven starters but may be better than last year's squad that finished in the top ten. Leading tacklers Reed Williams and Mortty Ivy returned and are joind by J.T Thomas who has a great Fiesta Bowl. The defensive line which saw the departure of Keilen Dykes and Johnny Dingle has been solidifed with the return of Pat Leibig and the move of Zac Cooper from linebacker to defensive end. The only question may be the secondary which features mainly new faces.

Having said all that, I look at teams ranked ahead of West Virginia like Oklahoma and USC and I see a lot more losses in the off season. I have no doubt that those teams will be excellent this years, but I also am not dismissing the Mountaineers.

The "experts" want any excuse to pan West Virginia's selection of Bill Stewart as head coach and are just drooling over the opportunity so much that they are letting their hearts get in the way of their brains. But what else is new? Any good Mountaineer fan can see the obvious bias ESPN, in particular, has against West Virginia. It's no secret that they hate the Big East and in particular West Virginia despite the fact that the Mountaineers deliver them record-breaking audiences every time they put them on TV.

Even a dismantling of Oklahoma wasn't enough to sway their opinions. Nearly every "expert" picked Oklahoma and they picked the Sooners to win big. But I haven't heard one of them give any credit to West Virginia for the win. I've only heard excuses for the Sooners.

That's fine. We West Virginians are used to being overlooked and underappreciated. We thrive on the lack of respect and you can be sure that Stewart, White, Williams and the gang will only use it as motivation to go out and prove all the "experts" wrong once again.

If you have any questions, comments or story ideas please e-mail Shawn at shawn@wvradio.com

http://www.wvmetronews.com/sports.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=25976&type=Shawn

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

funny, no mention of the loss of Schmitt or the fact that they have a new coach.

sorry, but u don't lose 3 all-league players on offense, 7 players on defense [including 2 of your 3 D-Linemen] and replace your coach and expect to be "better" than the previous season.

this guy is a toolbag if there ever was one.

[BigEastBeasts]

I wonder how hard he was laughing while having to write the recaps of the two games that WVU lost......who were those to again.....oh yeah, USF and Pitt  :

[Kyle]

Just your typical WV homer. I've heard these same arguments over and over...about how easy it's going to be to replace 60% of their defense. Based on that, it should be mighty easy for USF to replace 30% of theirs.

[Orlando Bull]

Return the best player in the BE if not the country... Come on, I'll give you the BE, but he can't honestly think P White is the best player in the Country. Ummm, last year's Heisman winner is still playing and only a junior. Not that I am a big Tebow fan, but you can't make statements like that about a player at the same position.

[TheBullies]

The Mountaineers return the best player in the Big East, if not the country in quarterback Pat White.

hahahahahahahahahahaha

[JoeB]

If he wants to laugh, let him laugh.  I'm sure he wasn't laughing too much the last two years when we beat them.  It really doesn't matter though.  What matters is what the final score is on December 6th.  Until then, this is all just junk.

[GoBulls84]

We'll see. I'm not sold on either of those teams as being better than West Virginia.

I'd say we've gone out and proved we're better then them on the field. Did we fall on our face last year? Yes. But we've proved head-to-head that we're better then them 2 years in a row

[cptkid570]

He lost credibility when he contradicted himself:  "when I watched ESPN's Lou Holtz and Mark May select USF and Pitt, respectively, to win the Big East.

And you guys wonder why I don't watch ESPN anymore."

Ummm.. If you don't watch ESPN anymore, then how did you watch Holt and May on ESPN.  hmmmm

[Bullpride08]

Just your typical WV homer. I've heard these same arguments over and over...about how easy it's going to be to replace 60% of their defense. Based on that, it should be mighty easy for USF to replace 30% of theirs.

It's also important to note that some of the guys stepping in for WVU have limited 1-A experience, or Pat Leibig who's been away from college football for 18 months.  So i find it hard for them to gauge the level of drop off.  How about Jalloh for Reynaud...Reynaud had  64 catches for almost 750 yards and nearly 200 yards rushing, whereas Jalloh had the 21 catches for 200 something- despite being a 3 year letterman, and 2 year starter, what makes people assume that Jalloh is going to step in and be as dynamic.  How does a player do that?  Few guys suddenly turn a light switch and go from being solid player (as Jalloh has been) to being one of the more dynamic receivers in college football like Reynaud had been the past two years.

Or how about Owen Schmidtt who carried the ball 50 times for nearly 300 yards (almost 6 ypc), and caught 12 passes for 125 yards and we won't even count the number of holes he opened up at FB.  Now WVU is going to play two FB's with almost no game experience.

The same thing happens for them on defense in about 3-4 positions.

USF doesn't have that situation, and we don't need our guys to suddenly grow 4.3 speed, just simply improve consistency to win 9-11 games.  We're returning 10 starters, 11 depending on which combo you put in the field.  We've got young dynamic talents that just need to improve subtly in certain areas for our overall production to improve and play.  For example you're not asking for a ton to see Ford be a bit more consistent, prepared, and conditioned which should give him about another .5ypc to his average.  Or Carlton Mitchell to be ready to begin the season, and take over for Amarri, should improve the receiving game....etc.

The only area where we potentially plug unproven talent is at MLB with Kion Wilson going in for Moffett.  With that being said last year's schedule was tougher, and we lost 3 games by a combined 14pts, all by single digits...some subtle, but consistent improvement across the board, combined with a slightly weaker schedule and more of the tougher games at home potentially should yield big results.  On the other hand I think WVU needs to play 4-5 games before they really know whether guys like Noel Devine are great every down backs, or more of a gimmick threat, and if Jalloh can make that big of a jump to becoming an every down play maker and fill Reynauds shoes, also if the defense can not miss a beat from last year.  WVU's change from 2006 to 2007 was on defense where their defense jumped almost 50 percentage points in improvement by NCAA ranking- but they also returned 9 starters from the 2006 group.  They return 3 this time around (3 still playing their natural positions) so that has to be a wait and see situation.