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| Thursday, September 21 West Virginia has gone back to basics By Bill Doherty Special to ESPN.com | |||||
In a recent survey performed by Demographics Daily, Morgantown, West Virginia was voted the most livable small city in the United States. The college town is certainly more livable in 2000 than it was last fall for West Virginia
coach Don Nehlen -- who faced criticism everywhere from neighborhood bar stools to cyberspace.
Heck, planes dragging "Nehlen Must Go" signs even flew over Mountaineer Field during the course of last season as WVU went 4-7, marking just the fourth losing season in Nehlen's two decades in Morgantown.
This fall, it's a different story thus far as West Virginia (2-0) looks like one of the Big East's most improved teams, along with fellow unbeaten Pittsburgh (3-0). The Mountaineers' defense, which was a sieve in 1999, is much more stout in 2000, particularly against the run. The Mountaineers' defense has slowed down BC's Cedric Washington (31 yards on 13 carries), an All-Big East player in 1999, and Maryland's supposed Heisman candidate LaMont Jordan (38 yards, 18 carries) in their first two games.
"I've been very impressed in watching the game films of West Virginia's first two games," said Miami coach Butch Davis. "They're clearly one of the best teams that we'll play all year. Their speed on defense is impressive and their defensive front seven is bigger than it's been the last couple years with 240 to 245 pounds linebackers and 285-plus pound defensive linemen. We have a lot respect for Boston College's offensive line and West Virginia's defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage against them.
"They are so much better on defense than they were last season and they have a great one-two punch in running backs Avon Cobourne and Cooper Rego. Plus, they have a nice quarterback, a big offensive line and some dangerous receivers, including Khori Ivy, a guy we tried to recruit out of South Florida."
Boston College After a bye last week, Boston College (1-1) will play its home opener against Navy this Saturday at noon. Asked if a victory over his alma mater would be more meaningful than one over archrival Army, O'Brien (Navy, '71) said, "No, I'd rather beat Army than beat Navy. It's been ingrained in me for a long time." ... O'Brien said that there's a chance that defensive starters Antonio Garay and Marco Williams might both return from knee injuries against Navy. O'Brien said that Williams is further along in his recovery than Garay, though. ... Entering the Navy game, BC's William Green is fourth nationally in kickoff returns (34.25 yards per return). ... BC shouldn't have much trouble with winless Navy (0-2) especially after the Middies senior quarterback Brian Broadwater suffered a fractured larynx on the second-to-last play of a 40-13 loss to Georgia Tech. Broadwater is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Navy, whose projected starter, Brian Madden, went down with a season-ending knee injury in the spring, now will turn to its third quarterback, 5-10 junior Ed Malinowski, who will make his first career start at quarterback. "We have some tape on him," O'Brien said. "But he only threw three passes last season and most of them were in a running mode when he was running the option, so I don't know what quite to expect out of him." O'Brien said that Eagles' defense will prepare to face Navy's bread-and-butter option attack and will make adjustments on the sidelines, if Navy throws more than expected early in the contest. Miami During last week's bye week, Miami coach Butch Davis dismissed defensive tackle Adrian Wilson from the team for "repeated violations of team policy and team rules." Wilson, the team's top reserve at defensive tackle, had four tackles in Miami's first two games. ... The No. 12 Hurricanes, who resume action after a tough 34-29 loss at Washington Sept. 9, face another hostile road situation against an improved West Virginia defense. "I think their defensive front seven is maybe the biggest I've seen (in Morgantown) in the last couple of years," Davis said. "Don Nehlen and his staff obviously wanted to improve the defensive team speed at West Virginia and they've done that too." ... Miami enters the West Virginia contest ranked third in the nation in total offense (500.5 yards per game) ... How deep is Miami's arsenal of tailbacks? Clinton Portis, who is No.3 on the depth chart for the Canes, is averaging 14.9 yards per carry and is second in the Big East in rushing (112 yards per game). ... Thanks to the week off, Davis expects two of his better offensive linemen -- 6-5, 305-pound senior Greg Laferre and 6-6, 310-pound sophomore Sherko Haji-Rasouli -- back on the playing field. Laferre, a starter, and Haji-Rasouli, who was projected to play 50% of the time, have both missed the first two games of the season due to injury. Pittsburgh After last weekend's 12-0 shutout of in-state rival Penn State, the Panthers (3-0) are off to their best start in nine years. ... Junior defensive end Bryan Knight (6-2, 230) won Big East defensive player of the week honors for a second consecutive week. Knight followed up his four-sack performance against Bowling Green with a three-sack gem against Penn State last weekend. Not bad for a guy who entered the season with three career sacks and who started his career as a wide receiver. ... With his 11 of 19 passing for 272 yards and one score, John Turman, the nation's current leader in passing efficiency (195.7 rating), has nailed down the starting quarterback job over David Priestley. ... Pitt's quarterback of the future, ultra-mobile redshirt freshman Rod Rutherford, is being used in Kordell Stewart-like "Slash" role. He is playing some slot receiver, running some option quarterback and returning kickoffs for the Panthers. Against Penn State, Rutherford's 62-yard TD catch was the difference in the game. He also rushed for 32 yards as an option QB against the Nittany Lions. "He's a tremendous athlete and we feel that this role is the best way to utilize his athleticism while he learns the quarterback position," said Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris of Rutherford, a Western Pennsylvania prep star who chose the Panthers over Penn State two years ago. ... Pittsburgh's top recruit, bruising fullback Dustin Piciotti from perennial prep power Central Bucks West (Pa.) High School, might see his first action of the season this week at home against Rutgers. Piciotti, whom Harris predicted over the summer would probably be the team's starting fullback, suffered a concussion in the annual Big 33 All-Star Game (which pits the Pennsylvania all-stars against the Ohio all-stars) in late July in Hershey, Pa. Piciotti has had recurrences in Pitt's preseason camp and has been sidelined ever since. ... Making Pitt's shutout over Penn State even more impressive is the fact that the Panthers' defense starts only one senior (defensive tackle Mike White). Rutgers Rutgers senior quarterback Mike McMahon was knocked out of the game for the second straight year against Virginia Tech, although it wasn't contact this time that sent him to the sidelines with a strained right (throwing) shoulder with 7:50 to play in the third quarter of the Hokies' 49-0 victory. That's the same shoulder he had season-ending surgery on after being injured in the Knights' fifth game last year -- against Virginia Tech. This time, he was injured after throwing across his body while rolling left. "I felt a tingling in my arm. I was trying to make a throw that was tough to make," said McMahon, who underwent an MRI Monday to figure out if there was any further damage done to his surgically-repaired shoulder ... Other than McMahon's shoulder, the Scarlet Knights (2-1) suffered no other serious injuries, except for bruised egos. "Virginia Tech just jumped on us early like they have against their other opponents this season," said Shea. "We were down three touchdowns after one quarter and could never recover from that." ... Next up is red-hot Pittsburgh, fresh off a 12-0 shutout of Penn State. The Panthers enter the tilt quite confident. "We're going to beat up Rutgers!" Panthers sophomore receiver Antonio Bryant pronounced after the Penn State game. "Yeah, I said 'beat up.' I don't think they can play with us." Syracuse The Syracuse team held a players-only meeting during the bye week after they dropped a heartbreaker, 12-10 to Cincinnati Sept. 9. "Our kids quite often have these kind of meetings," said Orangemen coach Paul Pasqualoni, trying to downplay the significance of the meeting. "There's nothing unusual about that." ... Next up is a trip to East Carolina for the first of two consecutive nationally televised ESPN2 games for the Orangemen. "East Carolina is an excellent team," said Paqualoni, whose team hosts BYU after the East Carolina tilt. "They have an outstanding quarterback in David Garrard, excellent wide receivers, two fine running backs, a nice tight end and a very aggressive defense that blitzes a lot. It'll be a tough test for us." ... Making the East Carolina game even tougher is the fact that Syracuse heads there with a reshuffled secondary. Exactly how reshuffled will depend on the health of free safety Quentin Harris, who suffered a separated shoulder against Cincinnati. If Harris is unable to go, then junior Charles Burton will start in his place. Sophomore Keeon Walker (team-high 18 tackles in 2000) is the new starting strong safety. Willie Ford, a junior, moves from starting strong safety to starting cornerback opposite senior Will Allen ... Pasqualoni isn't the only one taking heat from armchair quarterbacks in and around Syracuse. Orange fans are also attacking quarterback Troy Nunes, who is 8-6 in his 14 games as a starter or semi-starter. Temple The Owls (2-1) won their home opener 31-14 over Bowling Green last Saturday. Temple running back Tanardo Sharps suffered a concussion in the victory over Bowling Green, but is expected to return this weekend. The Owls' biggest loss from that game could be Dan Klecko, the son of former NFL great Joe Klecko who went down with a sprained ankle and is doubtful for Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan. "It's an important game for us," said Temple coach Bobby Wallace, "because we've stressed to our kids the importance of having a winning nonconference record, especially given our nonconference failures in the past." ... The Owls are a 16-point favorite over Eastern Michigan. When was the last time Temple was that big a favorite in any sport other than men's basketball? ... Temple held Bowling Green to 26 yards on the ground and 190 yards in total offense last Saturday night. Temple enters the Eastern Michigan contest fourth nationally in total defense (197.3 yards per game allowed) and 12th nationally in pass defense (131 yards per game allowed), but still Wallace is concerned about his pass defense. "Eastern Michigan has a great quarterback in Walter Church, a guy who holds all kinds of school records," Wallace said. "This is the best passing team we've faced this year, by far." ... Against Eastern Michigan, Temple has a chance to go 3-1 for the first time since 1979, when they finished 10-2 and went to the Garden State Bowl. Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (3-0) has a bye this week. The Hokies have risen to No.4 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, but coach Frank Beamer is trying to squelch any premature national title talk. "It's so early in the season," Beamer said. "If this were pro football, we'd still one exhibition game still to go. So, while we're complimented by the high ranking, we're not reading too much into it yet." ... Beamer thinks that his offense has proven thus far that it's more than a one-man Michael Vick show. "Our running back Lee Suggs (7 rushing TDs in 2000) is a guy who is one step behind Michael Vick far as speed goes and has the size to run inside as well," Beamer said. "And Andre Kendrick is another tough runner. Our receivers Emmitt Johnson and Andre Davis have great speed and height. And our offensive line, tight end and fullback have been as solid as we can ask them to be." ... The Hokies will have shorter than usual practices this week to keep their legs fresh during the bye week. Next up for Tech is a trip to Boston College on September 30. West Virginia The Mountaineers (2-0) host 1-1 Miami in the most interesting game on the Big East schedule this week. After shutting down BC's Cedric Washington (31 yards on 13 carries) and Maryland's LaMont Jordan (38 yards, 18 carries) in their first two games, West Virginia will try to put the clamps on Miami's loaded backfield. "They have three great tailbacks, and I know the freshman kid they recruited [Willis McGahee] is as good as anybody," said West Virginia coach Don Nehlen. "They've just got an arsenal of running backs and I guess Butch Davis' biggest job is to keep everybody happy. Nobody in the country has the depth at tailback that they have." ... Backup tailback Cooper Rego, a Notre Dame transfer, has been a revelation for the Mountaineers. He rushed for 60 yards and one score against Boston College and then a career-high 114 and two scores against Maryland last week ... The Miami-West Virginia game isn't just a key game in the Big East standings; it's also for bragging rights in the Ohlinger household. West Virginia's punter/placekicker Jon Ohlinger is the older brother of Miami's backup punter Jesse Ohlinger. Bill Doherty covers Big East football for ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Big Ten notebook Big 12 notebook Big West notebook Conference USA notebook MAC notebook WAC notebook | ||||
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