Post by elp525 on Sept 16, 2011 5:08:00 GMT -5
Friday September 16, 2011
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The return of Maryland to West Virginia's football schedule last season after a two-year absence was a very good turn of events.
The fact the series is under contract through 2017 is a plus, as is the Maryland decision to play its 2013 home date with WVU up I-95 at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL Ravens.
To call what some label the "Border Series" a competitive one would be a major understatement, and with a deeper reference than the slim wagering spread on the 2011 meeting.
The Mountaineers lead the series 24-21-2 entering Saturday's 48th meeting - but only because WVU has won the last five dates ... after Maryland had won four in a row, including a Gator Bowl thumping to end the 2003 season.
West Virginia (2-0) has won 62 games in the last six-plus seasons, and you could make a good argument that the tone setter for the big success by the Mountaineers under Coach Rich Rodriguez started six years ago (tomorrow) at Byrd Stadium, at noon.
WVU was coming off an 8-4 finish in 2004, but had lost its last three that season. The '05 season began with offensive struggles in a 15-7 win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, then a 35-7 win over Division I-AA Wofford in Morgantown.
Rodriguez's team headed to College Park having uneasily ended then-Terps Coach Ralph Friedgen's "ownership" of WVU with a 19-16 win - in overtime - in 2004 at Mountaineer Field. However, WVU hadn't won at Byrd Stadium since 1997.
What happened that Sept. 17 was an eye-opener and it became a statement game for Rodriguez's program. WVU ran roughshod over the Terps for 301 yards in a 31-19 victory.
Quarterback Pat White - making his own personal statement in his first big game in relief of injured Adam Bednarik - came off the bench to direct three fourth-quarter scoring drives for the Mountaineers.
Freshman running back Jason Gwaltney - who knew then what was to befall him not long after? - scored WVU's first and last touchdowns. The Mountaineers let a 21-16 lead become a 21-19 game in the fourth quarter, but an 11-minute bulge in time of possession wore down the Terps.
And Rodriguez saw the future.
"I think our best football is still ahead," the former WVU coach said afterward. "We messed around and made some mistakes here and there, but you're going to expect that with a young team. Thankfully, it was a lesson learned and we still got a win."
In a phone call with me earlier this week, Rodriguez recalled that WVU had beaten Maryland in overtime at home in 2004, "but before that, we'd gotten absolutely killed every time (four games from 2001-03).
"I remember we had to run the football to win, and we did, really controlled the clock. It was a big, big confidence builder, and it was important because we had a lot of young guys, too."
He recalled the steamy afternoon and the fact that Maryland's band was seated in the stands "way over in the corner by our locker room. How could they see the game? What's up with that?
"And (running back) Stevie Slaton wasn't even playing yet," Rodriguez said, laughing. "That shows how smart I was. I don't even have Stevie in the game and Pat isn't starting. I didn't get smarter until later, I guess."
That game seemed to send a message on what was possible for WVU. Neither team was ranked, but that didn't diminish the significance of the triumph in how the Mountaineers looked in the mirror after a grind-it-out road win over a foe that had been a nemesis under Friedgen.
Those Mountaineers started a run of three consecutive 11-win seasons, followed by three nine-victory years. Only Boise State, Ohio State and Virginia Tech join WVU with at least nine wins in each of the last six seasons.
That game, folks, was a Fridge-sized victory in WVU annals.
n n
ONE OF the intriguing aspects to the continuation of the WVU-Maryland series is how coaching changes at both schools might affect the scoreboards in the coming years.
To be sure, new Maryland Coach Randy Edsall wants to improve significantly on his career mark of 1-6 at Connecticut against the Mountaineers, the lone victory coming in overtime last season - and one that lifted the Huskies to their first Bowl Championship Series berth.
Dana Holgorsen steps into the series with West Virginia owning five straight wins - found under Rodriguez and the last of those last season under Coach Bill Stewart at Mountaineer Field.
The coaching dynamic between Friedgen and Rodriguez was interesting, especially since they took over their programs in the same season, 2001.
Friedgen went 31-8 in his first three Maryland seasons, beating WVU soundly four times - as Rodriguez recalled - in those 2001-03 years. Then, things started to sag for the Terps (44-42 in his last seven seasons, and a $2 million buyout for 2011). Friedgen often was criticized for winning with previous Coach Ron Vanderlinden's players, but not sustaining the program.
Once Rodriguez and Friedgen filled the rosters with their own recruits, WVU took control of the series. Rodriguez also had Edsall's number as the latter built UConn from I-AA and into Big East football membership.
To be fair, Maryland's program also was knocked down a couple of notches once Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College moved from the Big East to the ACC, just as the Mountaineers took advantage of the absence of those programs - most notably Miami - to become the Big East's most consistent football success.
I've always thought Maryland should have a top ACC program perennially. It has the Washington-Baltimore metro area, with its large number of prospects, in the backyard. It neighbors Pennsylvania and Virginia, states with plenty of major college talent.
WVU has gotten its share of Maryland talent - and recall that Slaton was snubbed by the Terps before starring in old gold and blue.
It's going to be compelling to see how Holgorsen and Edsall compete on the field now for the series edge and off the field for talent like Baltimore native Tavon Austin, right?
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The return of Maryland to West Virginia's football schedule last season after a two-year absence was a very good turn of events.
The fact the series is under contract through 2017 is a plus, as is the Maryland decision to play its 2013 home date with WVU up I-95 at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL Ravens.
To call what some label the "Border Series" a competitive one would be a major understatement, and with a deeper reference than the slim wagering spread on the 2011 meeting.
The Mountaineers lead the series 24-21-2 entering Saturday's 48th meeting - but only because WVU has won the last five dates ... after Maryland had won four in a row, including a Gator Bowl thumping to end the 2003 season.
West Virginia (2-0) has won 62 games in the last six-plus seasons, and you could make a good argument that the tone setter for the big success by the Mountaineers under Coach Rich Rodriguez started six years ago (tomorrow) at Byrd Stadium, at noon.
WVU was coming off an 8-4 finish in 2004, but had lost its last three that season. The '05 season began with offensive struggles in a 15-7 win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, then a 35-7 win over Division I-AA Wofford in Morgantown.
Rodriguez's team headed to College Park having uneasily ended then-Terps Coach Ralph Friedgen's "ownership" of WVU with a 19-16 win - in overtime - in 2004 at Mountaineer Field. However, WVU hadn't won at Byrd Stadium since 1997.
What happened that Sept. 17 was an eye-opener and it became a statement game for Rodriguez's program. WVU ran roughshod over the Terps for 301 yards in a 31-19 victory.
Quarterback Pat White - making his own personal statement in his first big game in relief of injured Adam Bednarik - came off the bench to direct three fourth-quarter scoring drives for the Mountaineers.
Freshman running back Jason Gwaltney - who knew then what was to befall him not long after? - scored WVU's first and last touchdowns. The Mountaineers let a 21-16 lead become a 21-19 game in the fourth quarter, but an 11-minute bulge in time of possession wore down the Terps.
And Rodriguez saw the future.
"I think our best football is still ahead," the former WVU coach said afterward. "We messed around and made some mistakes here and there, but you're going to expect that with a young team. Thankfully, it was a lesson learned and we still got a win."
In a phone call with me earlier this week, Rodriguez recalled that WVU had beaten Maryland in overtime at home in 2004, "but before that, we'd gotten absolutely killed every time (four games from 2001-03).
"I remember we had to run the football to win, and we did, really controlled the clock. It was a big, big confidence builder, and it was important because we had a lot of young guys, too."
He recalled the steamy afternoon and the fact that Maryland's band was seated in the stands "way over in the corner by our locker room. How could they see the game? What's up with that?
"And (running back) Stevie Slaton wasn't even playing yet," Rodriguez said, laughing. "That shows how smart I was. I don't even have Stevie in the game and Pat isn't starting. I didn't get smarter until later, I guess."
That game seemed to send a message on what was possible for WVU. Neither team was ranked, but that didn't diminish the significance of the triumph in how the Mountaineers looked in the mirror after a grind-it-out road win over a foe that had been a nemesis under Friedgen.
Those Mountaineers started a run of three consecutive 11-win seasons, followed by three nine-victory years. Only Boise State, Ohio State and Virginia Tech join WVU with at least nine wins in each of the last six seasons.
That game, folks, was a Fridge-sized victory in WVU annals.
n n
ONE OF the intriguing aspects to the continuation of the WVU-Maryland series is how coaching changes at both schools might affect the scoreboards in the coming years.
To be sure, new Maryland Coach Randy Edsall wants to improve significantly on his career mark of 1-6 at Connecticut against the Mountaineers, the lone victory coming in overtime last season - and one that lifted the Huskies to their first Bowl Championship Series berth.
Dana Holgorsen steps into the series with West Virginia owning five straight wins - found under Rodriguez and the last of those last season under Coach Bill Stewart at Mountaineer Field.
The coaching dynamic between Friedgen and Rodriguez was interesting, especially since they took over their programs in the same season, 2001.
Friedgen went 31-8 in his first three Maryland seasons, beating WVU soundly four times - as Rodriguez recalled - in those 2001-03 years. Then, things started to sag for the Terps (44-42 in his last seven seasons, and a $2 million buyout for 2011). Friedgen often was criticized for winning with previous Coach Ron Vanderlinden's players, but not sustaining the program.
Once Rodriguez and Friedgen filled the rosters with their own recruits, WVU took control of the series. Rodriguez also had Edsall's number as the latter built UConn from I-AA and into Big East football membership.
To be fair, Maryland's program also was knocked down a couple of notches once Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College moved from the Big East to the ACC, just as the Mountaineers took advantage of the absence of those programs - most notably Miami - to become the Big East's most consistent football success.
I've always thought Maryland should have a top ACC program perennially. It has the Washington-Baltimore metro area, with its large number of prospects, in the backyard. It neighbors Pennsylvania and Virginia, states with plenty of major college talent.
WVU has gotten its share of Maryland talent - and recall that Slaton was snubbed by the Terps before starring in old gold and blue.
It's going to be compelling to see how Holgorsen and Edsall compete on the field now for the series edge and off the field for talent like Baltimore native Tavon Austin, right?
