Post by rainman on Oct 11, 2007 5:57:38 GMT -5
Rodriguez not happy with tempo so far
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— West Virginia University’s came into the 2007 football season bent on playing at a faster pace.
At the halfway mark, however, coach Rich Rodriguez cites tempo as something with which he’s not fully content.
“At times this year I’ve been pleased with the tempo, and at other times I haven’t been,” he said earlier in the week.
“It’s something we continue to work on. It’s a point of emphasis for us. And not just our offense but our defense as well.”
Both phases are accustomed to doing that in practice and he doesn’t see any reason why that can’t carry over consistently to games.
“Practicing fast, playing fast and being able to control the pace is important,” Rodriguez stressed. “I think we can get better at it.”
With an open date on the schedule, after six games in 36 days, the Mountaineers are spending some time working on that this week.
o o o o o o
What’s really an upset in NCAA Division I-A football?
Well, for starters, how about lowly Stanford, a 41-point underdog, knocking off then-No. 2-ranked Southern Cal?
Then there was an unforgettable season’s opener at Michigan, a 36-point favorite, and Appalachian State emerged victorious.
Making those two totally unexpected triumphs all the more remarkable is the fact both came on the road.
Rich Rodriguez has been saying for some time that there’s greater parity in college competition today than ever before.
What’s more, he thinks any among the 119 Division I teams with 85 scholarships has a shot at winning as an underdog.
“People think it’s just coachspeak, and you say anything can happen,” he said. “But maybe we’re seeing more of that this year than in the past couple years.
“I think you’re going to see more and more of this in the next few years.”
Who could argue against such thinking, based on what was a stunning September and October of surprises.
“What’s amazing is that you’re seeing a lot of these on the road — so-called upsets at the other teams’ places,” Rodriguez said.
“So that shows you right there that the margin for error is decreasing each and every year.”
o o o o o o
WVU’s highly successful mentor will tell you that he thinks major colleges could use more than 85 scholarships.
“There’s less stockpiling of troops,” he noted recently. “You’re getting more and more young guys coming out and playing.”
In other words, there’s a cutback in redshirting generally. WVU, for one, wants to play every freshman it believes the school can win with.
And it seems to be getting a higher level of recruits.
“Sometimes people say, ‘Well, they’ve got a bunch of five-star recruits,” Rodriguez said.
“Who’s to say who’s a five-star or who’s a two-star until you get them in a program?”
By the way, he also thinks there shouldn’t be any Top 25 rankings until the leaves begin to turn and a few games have been played.
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— West Virginia University’s came into the 2007 football season bent on playing at a faster pace.
At the halfway mark, however, coach Rich Rodriguez cites tempo as something with which he’s not fully content.
“At times this year I’ve been pleased with the tempo, and at other times I haven’t been,” he said earlier in the week.
“It’s something we continue to work on. It’s a point of emphasis for us. And not just our offense but our defense as well.”
Both phases are accustomed to doing that in practice and he doesn’t see any reason why that can’t carry over consistently to games.
“Practicing fast, playing fast and being able to control the pace is important,” Rodriguez stressed. “I think we can get better at it.”
With an open date on the schedule, after six games in 36 days, the Mountaineers are spending some time working on that this week.
o o o o o o
What’s really an upset in NCAA Division I-A football?
Well, for starters, how about lowly Stanford, a 41-point underdog, knocking off then-No. 2-ranked Southern Cal?
Then there was an unforgettable season’s opener at Michigan, a 36-point favorite, and Appalachian State emerged victorious.
Making those two totally unexpected triumphs all the more remarkable is the fact both came on the road.
Rich Rodriguez has been saying for some time that there’s greater parity in college competition today than ever before.
What’s more, he thinks any among the 119 Division I teams with 85 scholarships has a shot at winning as an underdog.
“People think it’s just coachspeak, and you say anything can happen,” he said. “But maybe we’re seeing more of that this year than in the past couple years.
“I think you’re going to see more and more of this in the next few years.”
Who could argue against such thinking, based on what was a stunning September and October of surprises.
“What’s amazing is that you’re seeing a lot of these on the road — so-called upsets at the other teams’ places,” Rodriguez said.
“So that shows you right there that the margin for error is decreasing each and every year.”
o o o o o o
WVU’s highly successful mentor will tell you that he thinks major colleges could use more than 85 scholarships.
“There’s less stockpiling of troops,” he noted recently. “You’re getting more and more young guys coming out and playing.”
In other words, there’s a cutback in redshirting generally. WVU, for one, wants to play every freshman it believes the school can win with.
And it seems to be getting a higher level of recruits.
“Sometimes people say, ‘Well, they’ve got a bunch of five-star recruits,” Rodriguez said.
“Who’s to say who’s a five-star or who’s a two-star until you get them in a program?”
By the way, he also thinks there shouldn’t be any Top 25 rankings until the leaves begin to turn and a few games have been played.
