WEST VIRGINIA GETS ONE LAST WIN FOR WHITE

By Matt Whitfield

Pat White started off his college career as a winner now he’s gone out the same way. White threw for 3 TD’s and 332 yards Saturday en route to the Mountaineers 31-30 victory over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. White had one of his best passing days ever as a Mountaineer and his team needed every bit of it as the Mountaineers railed to defeat the Tar Heels before 73,712 at Bank of America Stadium.

In what was a hard fought game the Mountaineers and Tar Heels would battle neck in neck throughout the game. There were five lead changes, but no lead was ever more than a TD or lasted more than a quarter. Both teams came out and played like they were still top ranked teams not wanting to end the season on a bad note. Hakeem Nicks would have a career performance for the Tar Heels reeling in 8 passes for 217 yards and 3 of his teams TD’s. Unfortunately for Nicks, White who had been West Virginia’s vocal and team leader ever since he dawned the blue and gold didn’t plan on going out a loser. Besides amassing an remarkable 387 yards of total offense himself White made sure the Mountaineers went out winners as he would hit Alric Arnett for a 20 yard TD pass with 7:14 left, giving the Mountaineers a 31-30 lead, and a eventual victory.

After the game, only fittingly Pat White would be named the Meineke Car Care Bowl MVP, his 3rd straight bowl game MVP award. Overjoyed West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart would say of White, "I'm sitting by the greatest winner in college football today," He's the greatest to ever wear the old gold and blue. It's a fitting tribute that this man's the MVP." Despite starting the season 1-2 the Mountaineers showed they still had it, maybe just not as good as they had it under Rodriguez and Co. West Virginia finishes the season with a 9-4 record and fourth consecutive bowl victory.

Not having White next season without will undoubtedly bring in some change. Question is how will the Mountaineers fare without the only college QB ever to win in four consecutive bowl games?

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Meineke Car Care Bowl Preview

by Matt Whitfield


West Virginia and North Carolina have both seen their share of highs and lows this season. North Carolina showed unlimited potential when they crushed Rutgers on the road 44-12, demolished Boston College 45-24, and squashed Georgia Tech 28-7. The Tar Heels have also shown why they haven’t been to a bowl game in four year when they lost two of their last three, including a 41-10 blowout by North Carolina State. West Virginia, a team that early on was a top 10 ranked team, opened up the season 1-2 with losses to Colorado and East Carolina. They then stormed back winning five in a row and many considered them the team to beat again in the Big East. That was all speculation however as they lost two of their last four and showed they weren’t exactly what they were last year with Rodriguez and Co. Saturday one team will need to come up with a New Year’s resolution and a solution to their declining fortunes as the two teams both look to end their seasons on a positive note as the NCAA Bowl Games schedule kicks into high gear.

Wet Virginia faces North Carolina for the second time in team history Saturday. In the prior meeting the two teams faced off in the 1997 Gator Bowl in which then North Carolina then coached by Mack Brown defeated the Mountaineers 20-13. The 1997 Mountaineers team was known for their defense and ten years later the team is quite different. The 2008 Mountaineers are a team known for its high powered offense.

To win Saturday running the ball seventeen more times than passing won’t be the way. 6’3 300 lb Marvin Austin and 6-4 330 lb Cam Thomas anchor the large and stout Tar Heel defense. While the Mountaineers only have the 109th best passing offense they probably will be forced to use it much more often Saturday. To counter this option the Tar Heels have playmaking safety Eric Goddard. Goddard has accounted for seven interceptions and five pass breakups this season. West Virginia most likely will give frequent looks to slotbacks Noel Devine and Jock Sanders down the field. The two despite their size have game breaking ability. Dorrell Jollah and Tyler Urban should also see their share of passes thrown their way Saturday. If West Virginia is to keep this game close and come out with the win, they’ll need OL Ryan Stancheck and Greg Isdander to use their speed to make up for their size in giving Pat White enough time to create plays. White undoubtedly will be forced to throw more than he has in the past and an off day could lead to a disastrous outcome for the Mountaineers.

While West Virginia is known for it’s offense North Carolina’s at times can be a mystery. This season the QB duties have been primarily split by Cameron Sexton and TJ Yates. Neither has been overly impressive with Sexton seeing more minutes than Yates. Yates will most likely be the starter Saturday, however if he plays the way he did in the loss to North Carolina State Saturday look for Sexton to come in. West Virginia is rumored to possibly be without members of their secondary Saturday and if that is the case that could open up the field for the Tar Heel WR’s. If North Carolina is to win their first bowl game in seven years they will need their defense to control the tempo and their offense, especially their QB (or QB’s) to not play like slouches in front of the home crowd Saturday.

The current NCAA Football Odds list WVU as a 1 and a half point favorite.

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MOUNTAINEERS FINALLY GET BY SOUTH FLORIDA, WILL FACE NORTH CAROLINA IN MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL

By Matt Whitfield

Pat White and the Mountaineers probably didn’t have as good a season as they’d wanted, opening up with a 1-2 record and ending with a non-BCS Bowl birth. While the season was not what many Mountaineers players and fans expected they now at least have a win over South Florida, a team that has had dominated the Mountaineers defensively and had their number the past two years.

White’s last game dubbed the ‘White Out’ was truly that with fans decked out in white and even small amounts of snow on the ground. Although, the game was not as climatical as the events surrounding it, the Mountaineers held off a late South Florida rally making White and his fellow Mountaineers victorious before 48,000 plus at a snowy Mountaineer Field.

The game itself was rather anticlimactical with only two TD’s being scored, and only three points being put up in the 2nd Half. Only fitting, Pat White would lead the way for the Mountaineers on the day passing for 141 yards and a TD, and rushing for 40 yards. On Defense, Ellis Lankster and Sidney Glover would both intercept passes from Matt Grothe en route to the win.

Pat White and the senior Mountaineer class plays one more time when they take on ACC foe North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, December 27, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Tar Heels will be playing their first bowl game since 2004 when they lost to Boston College in the Continental Tire Bowl. This years Tar Heels squad is much better than the 2004 team; and even was ranked in the Top 25 for a part of this season with wins over Boston College, Miami, and Georgia Tech. Despite the ACC being a weak conference this year, with the victories they have North Carolina should not be taken lightly.

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WEST VIRGINIA DOESN'T LIKE TASTE OF CURRY

By Ray Floriani



NEW YORK CITY – A final look back at the Jimmy V Classic.

Score:

Davidson 68
West Virginia 65



West Virginia battled competitively on a night when they did not play their best game. In the end the major difference was Davidson’s Stephen Curry. The Davidson star, or should we superstar, is a rare talent. He had an off shooting night of 9 for 27 from the field. In the stretch with the game on the balance Curry stepped up. In front of over 14,000 with five minutes left the Davidson junior hit four major shots. And they weren’t exactly wide open looks. He simply put his signature on the contest and willed his team to victory when they needed it most. Curry finished with a game high 27 points and 10 assists.

Mountaineers defended Curry as well as possible. Coach Bob Huggins kept rotating fresh bodies on Curry. Virtually all of the West Virginia defenders were the taller, long type. Hoping to disrupt the Wildcat marksman. It worked.

“They (West Virginia) were taller and longer defensively than what I am used to,” Curry said. “Every time we screened they switched and another tall defender was there waiting.”

Simply, he was forced to earn every shot. In the end he did what great players do.

West Virginia was without the services of injured senior guard Alex Ruoff. His loss didn’t figure as huge defensively as offensively. All night the Mountaineers seemed to struggle in finding a rhythm. A key factor that allowed them to battle back from an eleven point early second half deficit was rebounding. West Virginia owned the glass with a 58-32 margin and had a 29-12 on the offensive boards. Many of those extra chances were converted. Da ‘Sean Butler led the Mountaineers with 24 points while adding 14 boards. Huggins also received good performances from a pair of freshmen. Devin Ebanks had a game high 17 rebounds (7 offensive) and 13 points while Darryl Bryant came off the bench and scored 13.



The Tempo Free breakdown


..............................Score..........Possessions............Efficiency
Davidson........................68...............69.....................99
West Virginia...................65...............68.....................96

• Chalk it up to Stephen Curry.

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MOUNTAINEERS COMEBACK SQUASHED BY DAVIDSON

By Matt Whitfield

Stephen Curry’s three point shot was cold all night - that is till his team really needed it the most. Curry was one of twelve from the three point line till he nailed a three pointer with 4:57 left in the game to tie it at 56. Curry would then add another ten points to help the Wildcats of Davidson narrowly escape with the win.

“It doesn’t happen a lot,” Curry said, when asked about his poor shooting night. “I got a little down on myself early in the second half because I had a fresh start and continued to go bad. “

Despite his 27 points Curry’s shot was off most of the night. But, the Mountaineers who were without guards Joe Mazzula, and Alex Ruoff, didn’t fare much better making only a third of their team’s total shots from the floor.

The Mountaineers showed flashes of promise falling behind more than 10 points early in the 2nd Half, only to trim the deficit, then take a narrow lead at the 6:49 mark.

Heralded Freshman Devin Ebanks played a fair game starting before his home crowd, scoring 13 points and leading the way for the Mountaineers with 17 Rebounds.
Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant, another Freshman, also showed his potential coming of the bench and scoring 13 points in helping the Mountaineers trim the early 2nd Half deficit.

Da’Sean Butler, who was expected to take a more pivotal role on offense, did just that without Mazzulla and Ruoff. He would finish with 24 points and 14 rebounds.

In the end Curry regained his touch though, and the Mountaineers couldn’t make up for Davidon’s experience with their youth. “Take anybody's two starting guards out and play that team and see what happens to them," said Bob Huggins. "It's not fair but we gotta grow up faster."

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WVU-DAVIDSON PREVIEW

West Virginia (6-1) faces 21st ranked Davidson (6-1) Tuesday night in the Jimmy V classic. The matchup of two of last years more premier NCAA tournament teams pits Bob Huggins hard nosed players versus last years Cinderella turned Prom King; led by swift smooth shooting Stephen Curry.

This season West Virginia has come up to somewhat of a sluggish start averaging 73 points a game, in which they have played over half their seven games against small conference schools. Meanwhile Davidson has continued to play like their one of the nation’s elite holding a 6-1 record thus far, and defeating big-time ACC program NC State this past Saturday behind Curry’s 44 points.

If West Virginia is to defeat Davidson team tomorrow night they’ll need to play Huggins basketball. That is tough physical defense against Davidson and lean smooth shooting Stephen Curry. Curry who is leading Davidson averaging 31.3 points this season, averages more than twice that of any other player on his team. The key to beating Curry, rather should I say Davidson, is not stopping all of Curry's shots rather making him take bad ones. If the Mountaineers pressure Curry enough they have a good chance at winning. In the eight games Davidson lost this season and last Curry only shot over fifty percent once from the floor. Curry however has hands like daggers when he’s behind the 3 point line. Lebron James’s favorite college player led the league in three pointers made and three point percentage last year.

Tuesday nights game will pit two different styles of play for a good cause. Look for a game that is tough and physical yet close before a packed Madison Square Garden. Tipoff is at 7 P.M. in what will be the first game of the Jimmy V Classic double header.

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WVU-USF PREVIEW: NOT FOR ALL THE MARBLES

December 5, 2008


When the Big East schedule came out, December 6th at 8 PM was when the schedule makers were hoping the Big East title would be decided. Morgantown was set to be the scene of the big match-up when South Florida came to town. However, along the way, neither team was able to hold up their end of the bargain.

Both teams enter the season-ending contest with identical 7-4 overall records, so there are still some NCAA Bowl Game implications on the line. Especially for the Bulls, whose 2-4 conference record is a big disappointment for the team that started off 5-0 and was once ranked in the top 10 in the country. A loss, and a 7-5 record is definitely bowl-eligible, but at 2-5 in the Big East, they distance themselves even more from the other teams that are bowl eligible.

West Virginia will look to finish their Big East schedule at 5-2, good for at least some form of a share of second place in the conference. as one of th ebest traveling schools in college football, the Mountaineers will likely receive the plum bowl invitation outside of conference winner Cincinnati with a win.

The game is also the last home appearance for record-setting quarterback Pat White, the catalyst of the WVU success the last few seasons. Look for the Mountaineers to make every effort to send their quarterback out on top for his home finale.

NCAA Football Odds have WVU as a 7 and a half poitn favorite. Nightime in Morgantown is a tough atmosphere for an opponent, look for WVU and their crowd to be revved up and ready to roll in this one.

Prediction:
West Virginia 34
South Florida 21

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WVU LOOKS FOR A WIN FOR WHITE (IN WHITE OUT)

By Matt Whitfield

Pat White and the Mountaineers take to the field Saturday in what will be the last home game for him and the senior Mountaineer class. Looking back on his career White said, "It’s more sweet than bitter. I’ve enjoyed everything about West Virginia. It’s gone a lot faster than what I thought. The days haven’t been shorter but time has flown by." Pat White will be looking to go out a winner, but South Florida has had West Virginia's number the past two years, averaging 22.5 points and 420 yards of offense a game against the Mountaineers in the last two games.

The South Florida Bulls have let the Mountaineers wear white to accommodate their celebration of Pat White's career. In the past two meetings, South Florida hasn't just beaten the Mountaineers, but their defense has stifled them. The Bulls held the then high-scoring Mountaineers to just 13 and 19 points in their previous two meetings. They also forced the Mountaineers to an average of 4 turnovers in each of these two previous meetings. This being said, the vaunted Bulls' defense doesn't seem to be so vaunted anymore. Gone are shutdown CB's Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams; and so is their defense, which has allowed an average of 27.5 points in the past four games. If the Bulls are to win Saturday, they will needs their defense to control the tempo of the game, as they have done in the previous two meetings. Bulls NFL prospects George Selvie and Tyson McKenzie will need to lead the way on defense and hit hard early and often if the Bulls are to pull of the upset Saturday.

West Virginia will be playing with a lot of of pride in what will be the second-most anticipated game of the season. Seniors including Pat White, Pat McAfee, and Morty Ivy will be playing their last home game at Mountaineer Field. This isn't just another Big East opponent but one that has beaten them the previous two times. The Mountaineers have a tough opponent, as the Bulls lead the Big East in rush defense and rank second in total defense. However, factor in that most of South Florida's players are from Florida, and will be playing in possibly the coldest game in Bulls history, and the fact that the Mountaineer fans will be decked in white, and will be as rabid and as loud ever, and it's fair to say the Mountaineers have an advantage. For the Mountaineers to win though, they will need the three-headed monster of Pat White, Noel Devine, and Jock Sanders to play their role and watch for the frequent blitzes of South Florida. If the three can avoid getting caught behind the line of scrimmage too often, and the Mountaineer defense can play as it has the second half of this season, the Mountaineers have a very good shot of making Pat White happy and winning his final home game.

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW

By Matt Whitfield


When looking at this years West Virginia basketball team I think of my favorite NFL team the New York Jets. West Virginia like the Jets has a talented, but not the most talented group of players. In the offseason the Jets lost former 1st round draft pick John Vilma and starting QB Chad Pennington. However the loss of Pennington led to the signing of old, but new QB Brett Favre. Even before Favre’s signing the Jets picked up a slew of All Pro lineman to better their production to hopefully offset the loss of Vilma.

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West Virginia, like the Jets, lost it’s leader Joe Alexander to the NBA Draft, as well as strong-handed PG Darris Nichols. Just before the draft was held however they picked up another potential NBA Lottery pick in 6-8 Devin Ebanks. Ebanks would be added to a recruiting class that included four star recruit in Kevin Jones, and 2 three star recruits to form a solid freshman class. Once the season started the Jets started off playing mediocre football as Favre and the new players were gelling together, but once things started to mesh the Jets caught fire in the 2nd half winning five straight. West Virginia, which is a team with a mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen, should also have its growing pains as it looks to find its new leader and identity. However with the players on that team and a coach like Bob Huggins mediocrity will only last so long.

This season Bob Huggins said he feels his team is ahead of were they were last year. Problem is “when you’ve got four teams in the top 10 and you play two of those twice in our league it’s a much harder schedule then what it was a year ago,” said Huggins. This years schedule includes more teams that play a different variety of basketball and thus Huggins chimed, “We’re putting more things in. We’re going to have to have more things and we’re going to have to be prepared for more things. We’re going to see zone early. People are going to press us early. There will be a lot of things to put in.” This is perhaps why many people picked West Virginia to finish 8th in the Big East. However if history continues West Virginia will finish higher in the Big East, as each of its past four seasons they have finished at least two places higher than their preseason ranking.

Joe Alexander became the first Mountaineers in years to be drafted and his successor may be the next. Bob Huggins received West Virginia’s biggest basketball commit in years when they snagged 6-8 phenom foward Devin Ebanks. Ebanks a McDonalds All- American had committed to Indiana last spring; however, after the Kelvin Sampson scandal he was released from his commitment and then joined Huggin’s team. Like Alexander, Ebanks isn’t expected to be a star right away however, if the ball handling wing hits the gym hard and packs on the extra pounds we could see the next coming of Rudy Gay. Returning from last season joining Ebanks at forward on the court is Junior Da’Sean Butler. Butler was an integral part of last year's tournament team that knocked off Duke and Arizona. Butler at times was the catalylst of the West Virginia offense and showed a knack for rebounding. Look for Butler to seize control even further this year. Also seeing time as a starter and possibly as a 6th man is forward Wellington Smith. Smith’s hard offseason workouts have yielded him twenty more pounds of muscle, which is a good thing as he’ll be asked battle with the big boys of the Big East. Smith, who averaged 5.2 points a game last season will be asked to increase his offensive output while decreasing his foul trouble, which held him to an average of 20 minutes a game last year.

Alex Ruoff leads the way for the Mountaineers at guard. Ruoff who shot 41% behind from the 3 point line this season will most likely improve on his 13.8 points per game average. Ruoff who is the lone senior on this years team will be asked to show his fiery leadership again this year in hopes his team can make a tournament run for the third time in his career. Joe Mazzulla will also take the floor as a starter. Mazzulla, who many consider to be the perfect player for Bob Huggins should be the most improved Mountaineer. Mazzulla showed a lot of promise last year averaging a near triple double in the teams NCAA tournament win over Duke, and had a summer “as good as you can have,” according to Huggins. Muzzula who is tough on and off the court will be handed the task of taking Darris Nichols place as a starter.

On the bench the Mountaineers have a few players that should average a fair amount of playing time. Kevin Jones and Darryl ‘Tuck’ Bryant two recruits from New York should get their fair share of experience as freshman. Tuck, a guard, is the all-time leading scorer at St. Raymond’s in the Bronx and is expected to see playing time behind Mazzulla. While Jones, a forward, is thought by some to be a better option than Ebanks. The two competed over the summer in the Pittsburgh Basketball club Pro-Am summer league, in which Jones won the leagues Rookie of the Year award. Fan favorite Jonnie West, son of West Virginia alum Jerry West, will see all the fans support as the guard looks to try and continue his fathers legacy. Big men Cam Thoroughman and Dee Proby will also see some action, especially in games against bigger opponents.

West Virginia has shown thus far this year's team is not nearly the same as the one last year that went to the Sweet 16. Do they have the potential, yes, but potential might not cut it in a conference that is supposed to be the strongest possibly ever, lessening the college basketball odds of success for a team with several new parts. Right now eight teams from the Big East are in the Top 25, and many experts have projected over half the conference getting into this years tournament. This doesn’t spell good news, but the fact the Bob Huggins has always made a lot out of a little should give Mountaineer fans hope.

Conference Play Projection 9-9

Confrence Ranking Projection: 7th

Bracketology projection: First Round NCAA Tourney loss

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