Post by cviller on Oct 4, 2007 7:55:28 GMT -5
Posted By John Antonik: October 3, 2007 (3:28 pm)
There are three undefeated teams in the Big East Conference. And all three – Cincinnati, South Florida and Connecticut – are one, two and three in turnover margin. Is that just a coincidence? Rich Rodriguez doesn’t think so.
“Not only is it a change of momentum, but the change in field position is critical,” Rodriguez said. “There are other things coaches will tell you offensively when you have good field position as opposed to being backed up. There are so many things that are safer to do.
“Defensively, you are more at risk when you are backed up: you have to blitz a little more and put more pressure and that leads to big plays,” Rodriguez said.
For the most part West Virginia has been pretty good at holding onto the ball. Just two years ago in 2005 the Mountaineers were seventh in the nation in turnover margin at plus-14. So far this year, West Virginia is sixth in the Big East at plus-two.
“Turnovers and negative yards are two things that we stress more than anything offensively that we cannot have,” Rodriguez said. “The games that we’ve lost over the years are the games when we’ve been bad in both of those categories: turnovers and negative yardage plays.”
Just the Facts
Posted By John Antonik: October 2, 2007 (8:55 pm)
Sometimes things just fall into your lap, like this one from Birmingham News columnist Ray Melick whose contribution to the intelligence of his readership falls just short of Bull Connor.
Melick’s explanation for the rapid rise of schools like South Florida, Rutgers and, yes, West Virginia, is because these schools can accept academic non-qualifiers. Melick argues that college football recruiting is no longer an apples-for-apples proposition. Some schools with lower admission standards can accept outstanding prospects that other institutions can’t.
He also writes that conferences such as the SEC have “pushed for legislation that would increase the NCAA’s minimum standards.”
Melick’s column is based on statements made by Alabama coach Nick Saban. According to Saban, the distribution of players is not equitable throughout the country.
“I think there are six guys starting on South Florida’s defense (that) probably could have gone to Florida or Florida State but Florida and Florida State couldn’t take them,” Saban said, implying that schools like South Florida actively seek out non-qualifiers as a means of getting better quickly.
USF coach Jim Leavitt rightfully took exception to Saban’s fuzzy logic and Melick’s lack of fact checking Tuesday afternoon. Leavitt said only two of his players were accepted as non-qualifiers. One starts and the other doesn’t.
Furthermore, Leavitt pointed out quite accurately that the Big East instituted a rule two years ago denying the acceptance of partial and/or academic non-qualifiers in any sport.
Incidentally, the SEC presently does take partial and non-qualifiers. In fact, according to SEC bylaws a school can admit up to four non-qualifiers a year including two in football. The other sports are only permitted one non-qualifier per year.
What Birmingham News subscribers read on Tuesday morning was simply wrong.
Sadly, one more telephone call by Ray Melick could have gotten it right.
Former Offensive Guard Dies
Posted By John Antonik: October 2, 2007 (2:04 pm)
I received the very sad news today from Jeff “Soup” Campbell that former WVU offensive guard Jerome Taylor died last Saturday night in Dallas from leukemia.
Taylor came to West Virginia from Hargrave Academy after earning all-state honors at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, W.Va. The 6-foot-4-inch, 300-pounder also played basketball and ran track at Greenbrier East, and spent two seasons in the Mountaineer program in 1998 and 1999 before a back injury ended his career.
Taylor was just 28.
Ratings Bonanza
Posted By John Antonik: October 1, 2007 (7:10 pm)
Word has come down from the Big East office in Providence that last Friday's West Virginia-South Florida telecast on ESPN2 rated a 2.72, and ranks as the highest rated and most-viewed Friday night college football game ever on ESPN or ESPN2. It broke the most-viewed Friday record set last year by the West Virginia at UConn game on ESPN, which rated a 2.02.
Equally impressive was the fact that the WVU-USF game was the second highest rated and second-most-viewed regular season college football game ever on any night on ESPN2.
The Mountaineers are not strangers to high television ratings. Last year the West Virginia-Louisville game set an ESPN record for the highest-rated Thursday night telecast reaching 4.9 million households. It was the second-most viewed regular season game in ESPN history.
Preseason Polls Meaningless
Posted By John Antonik: October 1, 2007 (5:22 pm)
Do you remember a few weeks ago when West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez was talking about how meaningless early-season football polls were? Well, it looks like the old ball coach was on to something.
Our sports information graduate assistant Nate Zinn did a little research and discovered that seven of the nation's preseason Top 10 teams already show losses through the first month of the season. Two teams – No. 5 Michigan and No. 10 Louisville – have dropped out of the Top 25 completely.
AP started the season with USC at No. 1 and has since switched to LSU after the Trojans struggled at Washington last weekend. Wisconsin began the year seventh and has inched up to fifth despite all of the losses. Those three are the only ones that started the year in the Top 10 and remain unblemished.
No. 3 West Virginia, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 Florida, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Virginia Tech and No. 10 Louisville have all hit the mat.
Ohio State, 10th in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, has moved up to fourth in both polls while California, 12th in both preseason polls, is now third in both.
Before the season is finished there will most certainly be even more shuffling.
Maybe they had it right 40 years ago when the first poll didn’t come out until October. Just now we’re beginning to find out which teams are good and which teams are not.
White "Day-to-Day"
Posted By John Antonik: October 1, 2007 (10:58 am)
Rich Rodriguez said on Sunday afternoon that quarterback Patrick White will be “day-to-day” this week in preparation for this Saturday’s game at Syracuse. White took a helmet to the thigh late in the second quarter of last Friday night’s game against South Florida and spent the remainder of the game standing on the sidelines.
“Pat White began treatment,” Rodriguez said Sunday. “He didn’t do anything (Sunday). We will see how it gets better during the week.”
White completed 12 of 18 passes for 100 yards and ran nine times for 36 yards including the 18-yard rush to the South Florida 17 that caused the injury.
A deep thigh bruise limited running back Steve Slaton in last year’s Gator Bowl.
“(Pat) may wake up tomorrow on the day off and get better. It’s one of those things you can’t predict so we’ll see,” Rodriguez said.
The coach listed some other ailments that came out of last Friday’s physical game against the Bulls.
“Tito Gonzales sprained an ankle,” Rodriguez said. “He should be OK by Saturday but he won’t practice today. Ovid Goulbourne has a hamstring again. He’s probably out this weekend. James Ingram was out for the last game and he probably won’t be ready this weekend either.”