Confusion At Its Best…
While we’re in hibernation until August and the 2010 football season, we’re going to direct you over to a new site that we ran across recently called evilpitt.com. It’s funny and they can keep you occupied while we diligently wait to make fun of Lou Holtz and Ralph Friedgen this football season. Enjoy:
That's funny...I don't care who ya are.
WVU – ranked #16 in the country. Just beat a “Top Ten” team in Pittsburgh. Finished the season at 9-3 and second in the Big East conference.
Florida State University – not ranked. Finished 6-6 and tied for 6th in the ACC.
FSU made it to the Gator Bowl because FSU forced their coach to retire after another sub-par season. And, what happens? I don’t have to tell you. WVU takes a 14-3 lead and then fails to pile on points and allows FSU to dominate the second half and lose the football game. Throw on the dismantling of the WVU basketball team today, and you have what could be considered a very shitty day for Mountaineer fans.
WVU should not have lost to this Florida State team. Sure, they had the emotion of Bobby Bowden’s last game but, at the end of the day, WVU should have been a better football team. But, it wasn’t. Special teams was horrendous and the passing game never even got started…with or without Jarrett Brown. Once the Seminoles shutdown Noel Devine, the game was over. And WVU’s defense could not get a team off the field on 3rd down. Again.
This loss, coupled with the current state of the Sugar Bowl, is an embarrassment for the entire Big East Conference. I’m not sure what else to say about it at the moment. Is it coaching? I don’t know. But a 9-3 WVU should not have lost to this 6-6 Seminole team. It just shouldn’t have happened.
Taking the old “if you can’t beat them, steal their coach” approach, Notre Dame seems to have centered its coaching search on two candidate, UConn’s Randy Edsell and Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly, both members of the Big East Football Conference. The same Big East Conference that Notre Dame is 0-4 against in the last 2 years. But the same conference that the prestigious Notre Dame is too good to join for football. For such a horrible conference, every team wants our coaches (See: Rich Rodriguez, Bobby Petrino, Greg Schiano, Brian Kelly, Bill Stewart, Randy Edsell).
It looks pretty likely that Kelly is going to jump ship and join the Irish. It is being reported that there is a sitdown schedule tomorrow between Notre Dame officials and Kelly. I personally hope that Kelly decides to reject the offer from Notre Dame and reject it publicly after it has been made. And then Edsell to follow the same line. It’s unlikely but it would definitely be awesome.
It seems like an eternity ago, but just a few shows weeks ago people were talking about the University of Pittsburgh winning the Big East and going to a BCS bowl. Pitt was so highly regarded that a few moronic folks were talking about the possibility of Pittsburgh receiving an at-large bid for the BCS. Well, guess what? Pitt isn’t going to a BCS bowl. And Pitt isn’t going to a New Year’s Day bowl. Nope. Pitt is going to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC.
As funny as Pitt’s fall is (losing to WVU in Morgantown and then the *cough, cough* hearbreaker to Cincy), the funnier part is that Pitt had to beg the folks in Charlotte to take them. The Car Care Bowl wanted Rutgers because, well, Rutgers actually has fans. Pitt, not so much. So Pitt had to basically tell the Car Bowl folks that pairing them with UNC would sell tickets because UNC was close-by and would sell tickets. They didn’t promise that Pittsburgh would sell tickets but that UNC would. How sad is that?
So, the Wannstache and Pittsburgh are heading to Charlotte to play at home game for UNC. Pitt will bring their 600 fans down to watch the Wannstache choke again. Should be an entertaining to game…for people who dislike Pittsburgh.
It was Rich Rodriguez’s first year as the head coach at WVU and the Mountaineers were limping back to Mountaineer Field having lost 4 consecutive games and having a 2-5 record. And many Mountaineer fans were wondering if West Virginia would even post another win in the 2001 campaign. And then Rutgers came to town.
The Scarlet Knights were also sitting at 2-5. And they had lost at Temple 3 weeks earlier, which is about as bad as it gets in the Big East. WVU would also lose to Temple in a couple weeks following the matchup against Rutgers. This was truly a matchup between 2 of the worst teams in the country. A pillow fight for the ages. An anemic WVU vs. an anemic Rutgers. Only one could come out with their 3rd victory of the season.
Nearly 45,000 made the trip to see their beloved, yet awful, Mountaineers take on the Scarlet Knights on a beautiful November afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium (I don’t believe it was named that yet?). It should have been a close game. A snoozer but a close game, nonetheless. And then something happened…WVU’s offense came to life or Rutgers’ defense died. Can’t exactly be sure which one is true…but one of those things happened.
West Virginia not only beat the Scarlet Knights on November 3, 2001; they whipped the Knights like no one had in over 100 years. West Virginia set a Mountaineer Field record for points, eclipsing the previous mark of 69 against Cincinnati in 1989. The Mountaineers outgained the Scarlet Knights, 627-177, and set another Mountaineer Field record with 11 touchdowns. Brad Lewis completed just 9-of-11 passes for 175 yards for West Virginia, which rushed for 446 yards. The Mountaineers had a pair of runners go over 100 yards. Avon Cobourne rushed for 147 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries, while Quincy Wilson gained 129 yards on just six attempts.
On the other sideline, Rutgers couldn’t do anything right. Ryan Cubit completed just 4-of-14 passes and threw four interceptions for Rutgers (2-6, 0-5). Marcus Jones rushed for 105 yards on 30 carries for the Scarlet Knights, who committed eight turnovers. “To say the least, we did not play well today,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “We didn’t do much of anything well and it shows in the score.”
The scoreboard read 80-7 by the end of the beatdown. Neither Rutgers nor West Virginia would win another game following this bizarre shellacking. WVU would be embarassed by Temple in a 17-14 loss at Mountaineer Field.
Since then, Rutgers and West Virginia have both improved but Rutgers has yet to exact their revenge for the 80-7 loss. Rutgers has lost 14 consecutive games to the Mountaineers, dating back to 1994. Rutgers came closest to breaking the stranglehold on the Mountaineers in 2006 when the Scarlet Knights took the Mountaineers to triple overtime before losing 41-39 and missing out on an automatic BCS bid. Overall, the series decisively belongs to the Mountaineers by a record of 30-4-2. Too lopsided to even call it a rivalry. West Virginia owns Rutgers.
But every year, when this game rolls around, I remember that 80-7 day at Mountaineer Field. I remember the crowd laughing and enjoying the beating that WVU was applying to Rutgers. One of the few happy days to be a Mountaineer fan in that 2001 campaign. But I also remember thinking Rutgers would get their revenge someday. Now I’m starting to wonder if they truly ever will.
By losing their 4th consecutive game (hahahahah!! hahaha!), the Fighting Irish played their ways out of any chance for the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida which means a Big East school will play an ACC school. Before Pittsburgh lost to WVU, most people believed it would be the loser of the Cincinnati / Pittsburgh game who would get the traditional January 1st bowl. Now, it appears WVU has the inside track for another trip to Jacksonville if they defeat Rutgers.
WVU has always been a more attractive prospect for the Gator Bowl officials. If Notre Dame was ineligible for the bowl, which they are, WVU easily is the second best choice. West Virginia fans always travel well and the warmth of Jacksonville is a great attraction at the end of December / beginning of January. Pittsburgh fans pretty much suck and Cincinnati hasn’t developed a following yet. And Cincy fans would still be upset over the loss of the BCS bowl bid and probably too pissed to travel.
So, despite all the turmoil this year, if WVU can finish 9-3, it looks like it will be the Gator Bowl. That’s a far cry from the International Bowl in Toronto everyone was predicting a month ago. This is the last year for the current configuration as the Gator Bowl will switch to a Big Ten / SEC matchup in 2011.
A 34-14 loss to Rutgers likely ended Professor Krang’s career at Louisville, according to ESPN. Over the 3 years Kragthorpe has been with the Cardinals, they have posted a 15-21 record. That compare somewhat unfavorably to the 40-9 mark posted by Bobby Petrino from 2003-2006 and the 41-21 record from John L. Smith from 1998-2002.
It was a pretty quick collapse for the team that accompished a 12-1 record in 2006 and went to and won the 2007 Orange Bowl. But since Petrino left, the team has just completely fallen apart, going 6-6 in 2007, 5-7 in 2008 and now 4-8 in 2009 with little or no signs of improvement. And given the improvements and expansion of Papa Johns Stadium to hold 60,000, something has to be done to get butts back in the seats in Louisville.
According to ESPN, two heavily speculated coaches to replace Krang are Houston’s Kevin Sumlin and Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong. Other potential candidates include Texas Tech’s Mike Leach (Not gonna happen…), former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville and former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer. Multiple sources have told ESPN.com that Fulmer is interested in the job.
Personally, I think Louisville should see if Howard Schnellenberger wants to come back. He built the program once. Maybe he can do it again. Or maybe get Charlie Weis…I hear he may be looking for a job.
Play defense. Don't ask how...just do it.
West Virginia took care of business like they should have all season and beat #8 Pittsburgh. Bill Stewart went for it on 4th down a couple of times that many fans thought were questionable decisions but, in the end, he defeated the Wannstache and exacted some revenge for the 2007 debacle at Mountaineer Field.
While Pittsburgh will still play Cincinnati next week for the Big East title and the automatic BCS bid, it has to make Pittsburgh wonder whether they’ve truly turned the corner with their program. The Wannstache made similar failures as to what Rich Rodriguez did 2 years ago by becoming too conservative on offense and shitting his pants down the stretch. Instead of trying to exploit a WVU secondary that has shown issues, the Stache consistently attempted to run the ball directly at the WVU line. It didn’t work.
Pittsburgh falls to 9-2 this season while WVU improves to 8-3 and hopes to finish another 9+ win season when they visit Rutgers next week. It was a good game but, in the end, Pitt was simply left with shit.
The incomparable Jack Fleming would be proud
It’s that time of year again. We are approximately 60 hours from the greatest rivalry in all of college sports (if you live in Northcentral West Virginia). It’s the rivalry that makes the rest of the nation get up and say “What? Who?” Yes, it’s time for the 102nd addition of the Backyard Brawl between your 3-time defeated West Virginia Mountaineers and the one-loss Pittsburgh Panthers. Bill Stewart vs. Dave Wannstedt. Sleepy Eyes vs. Wannstache. A man in his 70s vs. a 70s-looking porn star.
Pittsburgh leads the series with an impressive 61 wins, 37 losses and 3 ties. But, in recent years, it hasn’t been as one-sided as those numbers look. West Virginia has won 15 of the last 26 and there were 2 ties. So, in all reality, Pittsburgh hasn’t won 17 of the last 26 (how’s that for working the numbers??) But the only 2 that really matter are the last two and they’ve both gone Pitt’s way. Do I need to remind anyone of the 13-9 debacle in Morgantown two years ago or the 19-15 crapfest up in Shittsburgh Pittsburgh last season? If I have to remind you, get lost.
Now West Virginia gets to play the role of spoiler. Pittsburgh is having its best season since 1982 and is looking at a potential BCS bid from the Big East. Really, I guess it doesn’t matter if West Virginia wins or not…either way they play Cincinnati for the Big East crown on December 5th. Tell me why anyone cares about this game again? Oh yeah, it’s Pitt.
It should be an interesting one in Morgantown on Friday night as the nation tries to find something else to do since it is a Friday night. But the people in Pittsburgh and West Virginia will be watching. Well, the people in West Virginia will be watching because the people in Pittsburgh could give two shits about Pitt. The 102nd Backyard Brawl: It’s happening whether you like it or not.
Bill takes a nap; Wannstache looks for snatch
In a game that somehow escaped my attention for the most part, Rutgers somehow figured out a way to lose to the hapless Syracuse Orange on Saturday. Rutgers looked like a team that could play with anyone in the league after their 31-0 victory over South Florida a couple weeks ago. The Scarlet Knights even jumped into the Associated Press Top 25. But then came the Orange who somehow found a way to beat Rutgers 31-13 and completely shutdown the Rutgers’ offense.
“I’d be naive if I didn’t believe [overconfidence] had a factor,” head coach Greg Schiano said Monday. “It’s a shame, because that’s a lesson we should know by now.”
Now Rutgers has to prepare to play another shitty team on Friday as they visit Papa Johns Stadium for an 11:00 a.m. kickoff against Louisville. The Cardinals will be ready to play since it will be Senior Day and probably their last game under the coaching of Professor Krang (Steve Kragthorpe). I thought Rutgers was a team that was ready to finish off the season in style and finally avenge their many defeats at the hands of West Virginia. Now I’m not so sure. Schiano better get back to beating wood or cutting trees or whatever the hell they do up in New Jersey.
I'm not the Syracuse Orange, you f*cker!
