Post by cviller on Sept 5, 2007 15:22:23 GMT -5
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
MORGANTOWN -- In case West Virginia University Coach Rich Rodriguez wasn't completely clear the umpteen other times he said so this year and last year, the former Mountaineer player doesn't believe his team has a rivalry with Marshall.
Yet.
In his four years playing for the Mountaineers and his first five seasons as the head coach, Rodriguez never met the Thundering Herd on the field. A contentious nine-year hiatus ended last year when WVU rolled at home. The two teams play for just the seventh time ever and the third since 1923 Saturday in the second year of a planned seven-year contract. WVU is 6-0 all-time in the series with a combined scoring advantage of 294-62.
"I don't think you can put a whole lot into it being called a rivalry," Rodriguez said. "I've always said it: If you play someone a lot with a lot at stake, then it becomes a rivalry. Because of that, I'm sure this will."
The difference, Rodriguez said, is there is little familiarity, to say nothing of ferocity, between the two teams. The two schools do share a state and battle for supremacy within its borders, but those traits aren't as strong as the ones that define WVU's other rivalries.
"You can't compare and say it's like Pitt because we've been playing Pitt for 100 years and now it's been a Big East game," he said. "Marshall, because it's instate and because of the intensity of it, it's probably going to increase every year."
* * *
WVU's normal pregame preparations for Saturday's game began with a certain abnormality.
In a break from Rodriguez's tenure-long tradition, and in the beginning of what is said to be a new pattern, the team met Sunday, had an off day Monday and then practiced and fulfilled its media obligations Tuesday.
"In the calendar week, we have one off day and for us it was always Sunday," Rodriguez said. "We changed it for a couple reasons, the first reason being we want to have a 24-hour rule where when the game is over, we talk about it, discuss it, review it and then 24 hours later, we move on."
So a day after defeating Western Michigan, 62-24, the No. 3-ranked Mountaineers met, worked out, broke a sweat, discussed and dissected the victory and then closed the book.
The media was subsequently instructed to only ask questions pertaining to the Friends of Coal Bowl, which starts at 11:02 a.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Monday was an off day, which complies with the NCAA rule stating a team must have one for every normal game week. The players simply came by for treatment, if necessary. Had it not been Memorial Day, when there was no school, the only other things the players would have had to do was go to class and their study halls.
WVU had previously taken Sunday off and crammed in the game review, practice and media session on Monday.
"We (used to be) a little hurried on Monday, and I also kind of like -- for good or for bad -- to see the players the day after the game and get a little sweat going, get a little lift in," Rodriguez said. "We felt more hurried finishing the previous game in preparation for Monday's practice, so we wanted to make sure we had enough time clearing out the previous game."
* * *
Rodriguez said senior linebacker Bobby Hathaway, who has a broken hand, will play Saturday after missing the opener. Junior college transfer linebacker Archie Simms has a hamstring, but should be OK. ... Eric Rodemoyer played so well at right guard in the second half that he'll likely start Saturday. Fellow redshirt freshman Derek Hayes started against Western Michigan, but will now be the backup. ... Rodriguez said the plan, for now, is to redshirt true freshmen offensive linemen Donnie Barclay and Gino Gradkowski.