Post by elp525 on Oct 29, 2011 11:52:42 GMT -5
October 28, 2011
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - It didn't take long during Dana Holgorsen's weekly press conference before he spewed forth two sentences that were equal parts coachspeak and perhaps a dire warning about today's opponent.
"Rutgers is the same type of team as Syracuse,'' Holgorsen said. "They're well coached and they play hard.''
Now that might sound rather benign on the surface, but it also serves as a warning to both Holgorsen and his team: Coach better and play harder this week or risk the same fate as last.
Eight days after suffering an embarrassing 49-23 loss at Syracuse, No. 25 West Virginia (5-2, 1-1 Big East) pretty much puts its Big East championship hopes on the line today against Rutgers (5-2, 2-1). The 3:30 p.m. game at renamed High Point Solutions Stadium (formerly Rutgers Stadium) will be broadcast regionally by ABC.
How important is today's game? Well, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano rightly points out that in a league without a championship game, every game can be considered as such.
But for West Virginia it is much more than that.
The Mountaineers went into that Syracuse game riding high. They were 5-1, had lost only to No. 1 LSU in a game that was separated by six points in the third quarter. West Virginia was considered a prohibitive favorite to march through the rest of the season against a Big East slate that included no other ranked teams and cruise to a BCS bowl berth.
But that Syracuse loss was more than just a game in which WVU's offense, defense and special teams were exposed as flawed. It was a wake-up call that this team is far from one that can simply go through the motions in a mediocre Big East.
Or at least everyone involved with the Mountaineers hopes it was a wake-up call. After the loss last week, defensive end Julian Miller said he thought maybe it was just what West Virginia needed, and Holgorsen was forced to admit that Miller might be right.
"We try to prevent that on the front end. For two weeks all we told them was that Syracuse is a very well-coached football team that's going to think that they can win,'' Holgorsen said. "And they played harder, they played with more effort, they had more energy, more excitement than our guys. And all we told them for two weeks was that very thing.
"Sometimes you don't get through to them. And if that happens and it does wake us up to the point where we will do exactly what we're told from a coaching and a playing standpoint, then I'm all for it.''
The test begins today. Rutgers has seldom had much success against West Virginia. The Scarlet Knights have lost 16 straight to the Mountaineers and Schiano is 0-10 versus WVU. Rutgers has beaten WVU just four times in 38 tries and is 3-28 since the teams began playing regularly in 1980.
But if that makes Rutgers a big underdog then it's no different than last week. In fact, West Virginia was a two-touchdown favorite over a Syracuse team it had beaten eight of the last nine years. Rutgers is but a one-touchdown underdog.
And the Knights have the capability of doing to West Virginia exactly what the Orange did. They can put pressure on the quarterback (Rutgers is sixth in the nation in sacks), control the ball on offense and play solid on special teams.
Truth be told, though, the most intriguing matchup will be West Virginia's offense against Rutgers' defense. The Mountaineers have arguably the most explosive attack in school history but were throttled by Syracuse and its pass rush. If WVU's offense plays to its potential, it really doesn't matter what the team's defense and special teams do. This is a group that can outscore an opponent 75-74 if necessary.
But that means adjusting to Rutgers' inevitable pass rush, making plays and not turning the ball over.
"The thing most impressive about [Rutgers'] defense is how hard they play and how aggressive they are to attack the ball to get the ball out,'' Holgorsen said. "They lead the nation in turnovers. They've got 25 of them. We've got eight, if I'm not mistaken. They do a good job of that.''
More than anything else, though, West Virginia simply needs better effort. The hope within the program, again, is that last week was a wake-up call. Now is the chance the rectify that.
"We got embarrassed,'' defensive end Bruce Irvin said. "We've been exposed and the only people who can change that are us, and we have to do it this week.''
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - It didn't take long during Dana Holgorsen's weekly press conference before he spewed forth two sentences that were equal parts coachspeak and perhaps a dire warning about today's opponent.
"Rutgers is the same type of team as Syracuse,'' Holgorsen said. "They're well coached and they play hard.''
Now that might sound rather benign on the surface, but it also serves as a warning to both Holgorsen and his team: Coach better and play harder this week or risk the same fate as last.
Eight days after suffering an embarrassing 49-23 loss at Syracuse, No. 25 West Virginia (5-2, 1-1 Big East) pretty much puts its Big East championship hopes on the line today against Rutgers (5-2, 2-1). The 3:30 p.m. game at renamed High Point Solutions Stadium (formerly Rutgers Stadium) will be broadcast regionally by ABC.
How important is today's game? Well, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano rightly points out that in a league without a championship game, every game can be considered as such.
But for West Virginia it is much more than that.
The Mountaineers went into that Syracuse game riding high. They were 5-1, had lost only to No. 1 LSU in a game that was separated by six points in the third quarter. West Virginia was considered a prohibitive favorite to march through the rest of the season against a Big East slate that included no other ranked teams and cruise to a BCS bowl berth.
But that Syracuse loss was more than just a game in which WVU's offense, defense and special teams were exposed as flawed. It was a wake-up call that this team is far from one that can simply go through the motions in a mediocre Big East.
Or at least everyone involved with the Mountaineers hopes it was a wake-up call. After the loss last week, defensive end Julian Miller said he thought maybe it was just what West Virginia needed, and Holgorsen was forced to admit that Miller might be right.
"We try to prevent that on the front end. For two weeks all we told them was that Syracuse is a very well-coached football team that's going to think that they can win,'' Holgorsen said. "And they played harder, they played with more effort, they had more energy, more excitement than our guys. And all we told them for two weeks was that very thing.
"Sometimes you don't get through to them. And if that happens and it does wake us up to the point where we will do exactly what we're told from a coaching and a playing standpoint, then I'm all for it.''
The test begins today. Rutgers has seldom had much success against West Virginia. The Scarlet Knights have lost 16 straight to the Mountaineers and Schiano is 0-10 versus WVU. Rutgers has beaten WVU just four times in 38 tries and is 3-28 since the teams began playing regularly in 1980.
But if that makes Rutgers a big underdog then it's no different than last week. In fact, West Virginia was a two-touchdown favorite over a Syracuse team it had beaten eight of the last nine years. Rutgers is but a one-touchdown underdog.
And the Knights have the capability of doing to West Virginia exactly what the Orange did. They can put pressure on the quarterback (Rutgers is sixth in the nation in sacks), control the ball on offense and play solid on special teams.
Truth be told, though, the most intriguing matchup will be West Virginia's offense against Rutgers' defense. The Mountaineers have arguably the most explosive attack in school history but were throttled by Syracuse and its pass rush. If WVU's offense plays to its potential, it really doesn't matter what the team's defense and special teams do. This is a group that can outscore an opponent 75-74 if necessary.
But that means adjusting to Rutgers' inevitable pass rush, making plays and not turning the ball over.
"The thing most impressive about [Rutgers'] defense is how hard they play and how aggressive they are to attack the ball to get the ball out,'' Holgorsen said. "They lead the nation in turnovers. They've got 25 of them. We've got eight, if I'm not mistaken. They do a good job of that.''
More than anything else, though, West Virginia simply needs better effort. The hope within the program, again, is that last week was a wake-up call. Now is the chance the rectify that.
"We got embarrassed,'' defensive end Bruce Irvin said. "We've been exposed and the only people who can change that are us, and we have to do it this week.''
