Post by rainman on Sept 26, 2007 5:52:24 GMT -5
Win at USF would be Rod’s 100th
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Rich Rodriguez’s record for 15 years as a collegiate head coach is 99-60-2, so No. 5 West Virginia could give him his 100th victory by beating No. 18 South Florida (3-0) in Friday night’s Big East match-up at Tampa.
“(No. 100) doesn’t matter to me,” he said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “I’m hoping that I’ll be coaching here long enough that I’ll have a few more victories. Every victory you have, as I’ve told some friends who are in coaching, ‘You don’t want to ever get too high because high is never high enough and low, they’re always saying, is too low.’
“But if it’s my 100th Friday night, I’d be happy simply because it’s beating South Florida, we’d be 5-0, and we’d have won our first Big East game. That’s all.”
Asked whether he thinks this might be a low- or high-scoring contest, the veteran Mountaineer mentor replied: “I’ll take it 3-0, 2-0, 7-3, whatever it has to be. I just hope we’re on top. Not because what’s at stake but because of pride and it’s the Big East opener for both schools.”
He thinks both teams will be excited and ready to go when the kickoff goes up at 8 p.m. before a sellout crowd of more than 65,000 in Raymond James Stadium and an ESPN2 national television audience.
“This supposedly is the biggest game they’ve ever played,” Rodriguez continued. “And I’ve talked to our team about that.
“We’re highly ranked, and when you go somewhere, they’re going to sell out the stadium. I think it’s like the Yankees (in baseball). Every game they get a big crowd.
“Our guys have got to understand it’s going to be a hotdog environment down there. But, at the same time, you’d rather go into an environment like that than go to a place when there’s nobody and nobody really cares.”
The keys for West Virginia, which oddsmakers have installed as a seven-point favorite?
“Turnovers will play a key in it,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think either team has thrown an interception, and I don’t think either team has had a lot of fumbles.
“Obviously, it will be a highly emotional game. We want no negative yardage plays, and that includes penalties, tackles for losses and sacks.”
Rodriguez said any coach will tell you that if it’s second-and-13 or third-and-13, it’s hard to get a first down. He noted that South Florida is first in the Big East statistics for stopping teams on third downs.
“I think a lot of it is because they’ve gotten people on third-and-long situations,” he reasoned. “So we’ve got to stay out of those.”
Told that his team is a one-touchdown favorite, Rodriguez replied
“I don’t care about whatever people predict. But I’ll bet if you polled (analyzing TV games), they’d probably go 50-50 on who’s going to win this game.”
He expects the many Florida natives on the WVU squad will be especially excited. Some have not seen family or friends since July, and now they will be playing in front of them.
Those will have limited visits on Thursday after arrival and then in the hotel lobby on Friday.
Rodriguez said wide receiver Nate Sowers is returning to playing status and that both defensive line leader Keilen Dykes and wide receiver Darius Reynaud should be able to see more action than they have seen because of injuries.
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Rich Rodriguez’s record for 15 years as a collegiate head coach is 99-60-2, so No. 5 West Virginia could give him his 100th victory by beating No. 18 South Florida (3-0) in Friday night’s Big East match-up at Tampa.
“(No. 100) doesn’t matter to me,” he said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “I’m hoping that I’ll be coaching here long enough that I’ll have a few more victories. Every victory you have, as I’ve told some friends who are in coaching, ‘You don’t want to ever get too high because high is never high enough and low, they’re always saying, is too low.’
“But if it’s my 100th Friday night, I’d be happy simply because it’s beating South Florida, we’d be 5-0, and we’d have won our first Big East game. That’s all.”
Asked whether he thinks this might be a low- or high-scoring contest, the veteran Mountaineer mentor replied: “I’ll take it 3-0, 2-0, 7-3, whatever it has to be. I just hope we’re on top. Not because what’s at stake but because of pride and it’s the Big East opener for both schools.”
He thinks both teams will be excited and ready to go when the kickoff goes up at 8 p.m. before a sellout crowd of more than 65,000 in Raymond James Stadium and an ESPN2 national television audience.
“This supposedly is the biggest game they’ve ever played,” Rodriguez continued. “And I’ve talked to our team about that.
“We’re highly ranked, and when you go somewhere, they’re going to sell out the stadium. I think it’s like the Yankees (in baseball). Every game they get a big crowd.
“Our guys have got to understand it’s going to be a hotdog environment down there. But, at the same time, you’d rather go into an environment like that than go to a place when there’s nobody and nobody really cares.”
The keys for West Virginia, which oddsmakers have installed as a seven-point favorite?
“Turnovers will play a key in it,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think either team has thrown an interception, and I don’t think either team has had a lot of fumbles.
“Obviously, it will be a highly emotional game. We want no negative yardage plays, and that includes penalties, tackles for losses and sacks.”
Rodriguez said any coach will tell you that if it’s second-and-13 or third-and-13, it’s hard to get a first down. He noted that South Florida is first in the Big East statistics for stopping teams on third downs.
“I think a lot of it is because they’ve gotten people on third-and-long situations,” he reasoned. “So we’ve got to stay out of those.”
Told that his team is a one-touchdown favorite, Rodriguez replied
“I don’t care about whatever people predict. But I’ll bet if you polled (analyzing TV games), they’d probably go 50-50 on who’s going to win this game.”
He expects the many Florida natives on the WVU squad will be especially excited. Some have not seen family or friends since July, and now they will be playing in front of them.
Those will have limited visits on Thursday after arrival and then in the hotel lobby on Friday.
Rodriguez said wide receiver Nate Sowers is returning to playing status and that both defensive line leader Keilen Dykes and wide receiver Darius Reynaud should be able to see more action than they have seen because of injuries.
