My reaction to East Carolina (six days later)

I’ve held off on analyzing the West Virginia loss to East Carolina for almost a week — first because I was in that phase of not wanting to talk about the game at all, and later, because I knew I had a Friday column coming up in the DA and I figured that would be a good place to share my thoughts. Let’s just say my perspective on the game runs counter to the more positive approach of some of my colleagues.

I promise, though, that this will be my last reference to the ECU debacle. Henceforth, we’re going to look forward to the rest of the season.

I would have to say Bill Stewart and his players wish they were playing Colorado tomorrow instead of having to wait through another five days of hearing questions or comments on last week’s game. Alas, that is not the case — and truly, the team knows the extra preparation time to focus on making West Virginia better is pivotal.

Comments (1) : Sep 12th, 2008 by Patrick Southern
Filed under College Football : Tagged under , , , ,

One Response to “My reaction to East Carolina (six days later)”

  1. Mark Dean Says:
    September 13th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

    I know it looks gloomy, but it disappoints me watching so many people jump off the band wagon so fast I’m scared they’ll break an ankle. One game doesn’t define a season. One or two seasons don’t define a career. I’ve been a Mountaineer fan 20 years and watching them fall flat on their faces is nothing new to be honest (See also… USF ‘06 and ‘07, Pitt ‘07, your pick of bowl games between 1984 and 2006). We’ve heard much ado about the “new & improved” team… but with a #8 preseason ranking, could they really afford NOT to do a little preseason propaganda? Let’s take a REAL look at our team…

    The most alarming problems I’ve seen in games 1-2 are defensive. And how can you not expect that from a squad that lost so many starters, including all of our top tacklers? You can’t train new guys overnight into such a wierd (and in my opinion, terrible) scheme as the 3-3-5. The new guys just don’t have enough snaps under their belt to be able to function as a unit. It also doesn’t help that our only true defensive leader (Williams) has been sidelined for both games. Let’s be fair… 2007 was pretty much the ONLY season I haven’t seen the Mountaineer secondary be overly porous, ESPECIALLY since R-Rod installed that wacky Stack.

    Offensively… OK. Yup, we sputtered and shouldn’t have, but that happens from time to time. Saturday’s offensive performance is just plain the fault of the linemen. White was sacked three times, and when he wasn’t being sacked he was flushed. He couldn’t pass, Noel couldn’t run, and that is the fundamental responsibility of the linemen. But even if they DO allow some protection… I just want to mention we lost our top 2 recievers from last year, plus true leaders in Slaton and Schmitt. Yes, Noel is fast, but all he showed last year were flashes of potential… he has yet to prove he can handle a full-time starting job. So basically all we have left of our offense that’s truly proven is White and the O-line… and when one or the other has a bad day, a game like last week results.

    I think the main thing is our expectations were just plain too high. We were told the team was going to be better than it was, and we bought it. The truth is that this year was going to be a rebuilding year no matter WHO was going to be coach (speaking of, if anyone really misses R-Rod, i suggest you watch NBC right now to see him get pummeled by a team that won 1 game last year and remember that UM is coming off a bowl win of their own!)

    The truth is that it’s transition, it’s rebuilding, and growing pains happen. Stewart and his staff aren’t messiahs from on high, just a good group of guys trying to teach their own brand of football. Don’t damn him after one game - nothing happens overnight. Let’s come back in 2011 and have this discussion… it’s entirely possible I’ll agree with the haters. Just don’t abandon him as quickly and as fickly as you embraced him. For all the un-bandwagoners, I leave you with the following list of coaches and their first-year records at the school shown:

    Jim Tressel (OSU): 7-5
    Pete Carrol (USC): 6-6
    Bobby Bowden (FSU): 5-6, hated by fans and left after delivering 9-3 season and Peach Bowl win at WVU
    Joe Paterno (PSU): 5-5
    Woody Hayes (OSU): 4-3-2
    Lou Holtz (ND): 5-6
    Don Nehlen (WVU): 6-6
    Rich Rodriguez (WVU): 3-8

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