Post by elp525 on Nov 4, 2011 4:47:46 GMT -5
Friday November 4, 2011
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia is a 13 1/2-point favorite over Louisville on Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Field.
So what's the big deal about that?
Well, the Mountaineers had better enjoy it - being this "beast of the Big East," so to speak - because winning after moving to the Big 12 Conference (whenever that happens) is going to be more than a little bit tougher.
WVU (6-2, 2-1) began its biggest success in 2005, when Big East football added the Cardinals with Cincinnati and South Florida, a year after Connecticut moved into league football.
In the six-plus seasons starting with '05, the teams of Rich Rodriguez, Bill Stewart and Dana Holgorsen are 34-11 in conference play ... but haven't finished a season better than 5-2 since sweeping Big East foes (7-0) in 2005.
More to the point, however, is how West Virginia has been regarded in, yes, Las Vegas.
Including Saturday's game with Louisville (4-4, 2-1), the Mountaineers have been the wagering favorite in 40 of 46 Big East dates since 2005. In 2007 and '08, they were favored in every game, non-conference ones included.
In the last 86 games overall (including this Saturday), WVU has been the underdog only 11 times. The non-league favorites were Virginia Tech and Maryland in 2005, Auburn in 2009 and LSU last and this seasons.
In the Big 12 - and especially if WVU keeps non-league heavyweights like Florida State and Michigan State on future schedules - the Mountaineers are destined to be underdogs 11 times in two years, trust me.
At his Tuesday news conference, Holgorsen echoed what many Big East coaches have said in recent years as the conference has been torched repeatedly at the bottom of the BCS totem pole.
"The Big East is the most competitive conference I've been in. Period," Holgorsen said. "From top to bottom, it's the most competitive conference I've been in - within the conference."
Well, the oddsmakers would disagree, when it comes to WVU. Since 2005, WVU has been an average favorite of 9.9 points per game in league play, and that subtracts the point spreads in the six games in which the Mountaineers were 'dogs.
And at Mountaineer Field, West Virginia hasn't been a Big East underdog in six seasons.
The last time was the '05 trip by the Cardinals' program that will visit Saturday. U of L was a seven-point favorite in what became a Big East-memorable 46-44 WVU victory in triple overtime ... sort of the coming-out party for a quarterback named Pat White.
West Virginia's football reputation helped the Mountaineers mightily in the Big 12 membership bid. But among the 10 teams expected to play in the Dallas-based conference next season, eight have been ranked at one time or another this season.
The degree of difficulty will increase with the travel miles, so Mountaineer fans would do well to appreciate averaging 10 wins per season before it negotiates its way out of the Big East.
* * *
AS WEST VIRGINIA primes itself for a move to the Big 12 Conference next season, it's a good time to consider the Mountaineers' football performance in the Big East.
Going back to 1993, when the Big East began playing a full, round-robins conference schedule, WVU owns the third-best record in league history - and tops among the current members.
With this Saturday featuring four conference games for the eight members - the only Saturday with a full league schedule in 2011 - let's look at the conference standings in several ways:
(See graphic above.)
What's the point? Well, in each of the above, only four teams have winning records. Sustaining success in the Big East has been difficult for most programs, and the Mountaineers have pretty much enjoyed their time in the league.
Among current members, WVU is 10 games better than Pitt since the Mountaineers went on their current run of winning seasons in 2002, and eight games ahead of the Panthers since the new threesome joined in 2005.
The Mountaineers seem headed for a 10th straight winning season in conference play. If that occurs, WVU will be the only team in Big East history to do that (Miami was 3-4 in 1997).
West Virginia should appreciate what it's accomplished in the Big East. Life in the Big 12 - while WVU should be competitive there - isn't likely to be as perennially successful.
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia is a 13 1/2-point favorite over Louisville on Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Field.
So what's the big deal about that?
Well, the Mountaineers had better enjoy it - being this "beast of the Big East," so to speak - because winning after moving to the Big 12 Conference (whenever that happens) is going to be more than a little bit tougher.
WVU (6-2, 2-1) began its biggest success in 2005, when Big East football added the Cardinals with Cincinnati and South Florida, a year after Connecticut moved into league football.
In the six-plus seasons starting with '05, the teams of Rich Rodriguez, Bill Stewart and Dana Holgorsen are 34-11 in conference play ... but haven't finished a season better than 5-2 since sweeping Big East foes (7-0) in 2005.
More to the point, however, is how West Virginia has been regarded in, yes, Las Vegas.
Including Saturday's game with Louisville (4-4, 2-1), the Mountaineers have been the wagering favorite in 40 of 46 Big East dates since 2005. In 2007 and '08, they were favored in every game, non-conference ones included.
In the last 86 games overall (including this Saturday), WVU has been the underdog only 11 times. The non-league favorites were Virginia Tech and Maryland in 2005, Auburn in 2009 and LSU last and this seasons.
In the Big 12 - and especially if WVU keeps non-league heavyweights like Florida State and Michigan State on future schedules - the Mountaineers are destined to be underdogs 11 times in two years, trust me.
At his Tuesday news conference, Holgorsen echoed what many Big East coaches have said in recent years as the conference has been torched repeatedly at the bottom of the BCS totem pole.
"The Big East is the most competitive conference I've been in. Period," Holgorsen said. "From top to bottom, it's the most competitive conference I've been in - within the conference."
Well, the oddsmakers would disagree, when it comes to WVU. Since 2005, WVU has been an average favorite of 9.9 points per game in league play, and that subtracts the point spreads in the six games in which the Mountaineers were 'dogs.
And at Mountaineer Field, West Virginia hasn't been a Big East underdog in six seasons.
The last time was the '05 trip by the Cardinals' program that will visit Saturday. U of L was a seven-point favorite in what became a Big East-memorable 46-44 WVU victory in triple overtime ... sort of the coming-out party for a quarterback named Pat White.
West Virginia's football reputation helped the Mountaineers mightily in the Big 12 membership bid. But among the 10 teams expected to play in the Dallas-based conference next season, eight have been ranked at one time or another this season.
The degree of difficulty will increase with the travel miles, so Mountaineer fans would do well to appreciate averaging 10 wins per season before it negotiates its way out of the Big East.
* * *
AS WEST VIRGINIA primes itself for a move to the Big 12 Conference next season, it's a good time to consider the Mountaineers' football performance in the Big East.
Going back to 1993, when the Big East began playing a full, round-robins conference schedule, WVU owns the third-best record in league history - and tops among the current members.
With this Saturday featuring four conference games for the eight members - the only Saturday with a full league schedule in 2011 - let's look at the conference standings in several ways:
(See graphic above.)
What's the point? Well, in each of the above, only four teams have winning records. Sustaining success in the Big East has been difficult for most programs, and the Mountaineers have pretty much enjoyed their time in the league.
Among current members, WVU is 10 games better than Pitt since the Mountaineers went on their current run of winning seasons in 2002, and eight games ahead of the Panthers since the new threesome joined in 2005.
The Mountaineers seem headed for a 10th straight winning season in conference play. If that occurs, WVU will be the only team in Big East history to do that (Miami was 3-4 in 1997).
West Virginia should appreciate what it's accomplished in the Big East. Life in the Big 12 - while WVU should be competitive there - isn't likely to be as perennially successful.
