What The Experts Are Saying

Lets look around the nation and see what the experts are saying about WVU this fall.



From Athlons-

No. 5: West Virginia

Under Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia is sustaining success like never before. The Mountaineers have now won 38 games over the last four years, the most in any four-year period in school history. A Big East championship and pieces of two others have also come in that time, and it’s not about to stop.

West Virginia was the nation’s second-best running team last fall with Steve Slaton and Patrick White terrorizing opponents with their speed, and both are back as juniors in 2007. Slaton ran for 1,744 yards and 16 touchdowns. White ran for 1,219 yards and 18 scores. Slaton averaged 7.0 yards per carry, White 7.4. And fullback Owen Schmitt also is back after a 351-yard, 5.4 per-carry, seven-touchdown rushing campaign.

White also can throw the ball, having finished second in the Big East in passing efficiency. Had he thrown one more pass (he needed 180; he threw 179), he would have qualified for the national chart and finished ninth in passing efficiency. He completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,655 yards and 13 touchdowns. And his favorite receiver from 2006 — wide receiver Darius Reynaud — is back for his senior year. Reynaud caught 39 balls last year with a pair of touchdowns. He is also one of the nation’s most dangerous kick returners, posting a 27.1-yard average on 30 returns with another score.

Center Dan Mozes, the 2006 Rimington Award winner, is gone, but three OL starters return. All-conference tackle Ryan Stanchek will anchor the unit.

A pair of first-team All-Big East performers — tackle Keilen Dykes and strong safety Eric Wicks — are the headliners on defense. Dykes is about a cheeseburger shy of 300 pounds and a disruptive force in the middle. Wicks posted team highs with 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Free safety Quinton Andrews also returns after leading the team with 80 tackles and five interceptions. Reed Williams and Bobby Hathaway are the glue in the linebacking corps.

The focal point of the schedule comes in late October-early November with a trip to Rutgers and a visit from Louisville in consecutive matchups.


From Fox Sports

Rich Rodriguez has built a program in Morgantown that now expects to win championships every year. Everyone's trendy pick to challenge for a national title in 2006 fell short, losing to Louisville and South Florida in November, but it's no longer going out on a limb to think the Mountaineers can win it all.

From the moment Coach Rod spurned Alabama to remain at his alma mater, West Virginia took yet another big step in the fight to remain an elite program. With one decision to stay put, WVU suddenly became a destination job and not quite the stepping-stone many thought it'd be for Rodriguez.

He and his coaches adapt to their personnel and develop talent about as well as any staff in the country, and now they're getting more and more of the top-shelf players to fit the system. Of course, it helps immensely that QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton will also be back for their junior years to build around.

White and Slaton create a speed advantage that few, if any, defenses can contain even when they know what's coming. Even scarier than their past performances is what's lurking on the horizon now that White has shown signs of improvement as a passer to go along with his game-breaking running ability in the open field.

Helping the stars is all the returning experience with plenty of starters and seasoned backups to both sides of the ball. The key will be finding replacements for last year's leading tackler, Boo McLee, and a pair of graduating offensive linemen, most notably Rimington Award winner Dan Mozes. The Mountaineers never have a shortage of run blocking road graders, but losing offensive line coach Rick Trickett to Florida State won't make the transition any easier.


West Virginia has won 11 games in each of the last two seasons and back-to-back bowl games for just the second time in school history. That head of steam, coupled with a veteran roster should mean another big run in the Big East title race. With the right breaks, the Mountaineers will be shooting for even more.

From The Sporting News
Why not West Virginia?

It has been close in recent years to sitting atop college's football mountain.

Now, West Virginia is ready to seal the deal. That's right, the Mountaineers are a good choice to make it 10 different BCS champs in 10 years.

They deserve it having won at least a share of the Big East title three times in the last four years.

And the Big East deserves it, which would cap a stunning ascent for a league that many felt wasn't worthy of an automatic BCS bowl berth just a few scant years ago.

"We no longer are a Cinderella," says Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese.

West Virginia has shown it can play with the big boys in recent years, dumping the likes of 2005 SEC champ Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and 2006 ACC runner-up Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl.

Nine for Nine
In the nine years of the BCS system, there have been nine different champions.
2006: Florida
2005: Texas
2004: USC
2001: Miami
2003: LSU
2002: Ohio State
2000: Oklahoma
1999: Florida State
1998: Tennessee

It all begins and ends on an offense that's as deadly and explosive as any in the nation. There's not one -- but two -- Heisman Trophy candidates: QB Patrick White and RB Steve Slaton. While West Virginia is noted for its deadly spread/read option run game, don't underestimate the passing of White, who has improved his precision and savvy each season. And White has a cache of capable targets, headed by Wes Lyons and Darius Reynaud.

But what makes WVU an even sexier pick to win the BCS title game in New Orleans is its defense.

To be kind: the West Virginia defense has been, well, average under Rich Rodriguez. But it's a veteran-laden crew with promise that's loaded with the athletic ability to make coordinator Jeff Casteel's 3-3-5 scheme thrive. If coverage in the secondary tightens ... look out.

The road blocks? There are three big ones: games at Maryland, at South Florida and at Rutgers. And a home tilt with Louisville figures to be cumbersome. Still, this is a manageable menu of games, further fueling optimism in Morgantown.

Another reason to like WVU's chances: There's no Big East title game to trip up the Mountaineers.

And then there's Rodriguez, who deserves to be mentioned in any conversation of "best coaches in America." He combines unmatched ability to X and O with an engaging personality that allows him to connect to his player and staff.

Yeah, why not West Virginia?