Bill Stewart Must Go (dot) COM

Everything needs a conspiracy now.  9/11?  Conspiracy.  Underwear bomber?  Mystery man on airplane.  Economic meltdown?  Government conspiracy to take control of our lives.  Uggs?  No explanation.

So it’s no surprise that many in Mountaineer Nation have been saying the fix was in on the Gator Bowl long before yesterday’s loss.  I’ve heard several people over the past few weeks state, matter of factly, that there was no way WVU stood a chance and that college football would never allow Bobby Bowden to leave with a loss (see Don Nehlen, Music City Bowl, Nehlen’s prior bowl record).

It’s nearly impossible to say whether there was some collusion that allowed FSU a better chance that WVU to win the Gator Bowl.  One of the more tangible things to look at is the penalties.  Looking at penalties, Florida State was penalized more than twice as much as WVU.  FSU had 7 penalties for 69-yards while WVU was penalized 3 times for 29-yards.  Hard to see that as an official conspiracy.

There’s really nothing else that would point to some elaborate conspiracy that allowed Bobby Bowden his final triumph.  At the end of the day, WVU was outcoached by a man who is 117 years old and slept through the 3rd quarter.  And, really, that’s not surprising.  WVU has played with zero emotion and intensity all year.  And they had nothing to play for in the Gator Bowl.  While the team on the other side was playing for an embattled coach that is likely to never be on the sideline again.  Who had the inspiration?

If you want to cling to a conspiracy theory for why WVU lost the Gator Bowl, that’s cool.  But send the evidence.  I just saw a team that was whipped by a bad 6-6 Florida State.  Nothing more, nothing less.

From the ESPN.com article, Ann Bowden had this quote:

“Eat your heart out, Florida State,” Ann Bowden, the coach’s wife, said afterward. “Eat your heart out.”

I’m not exactly sure what that means.  Nevermind…I take that back.  She thinks because everyone was so nice to Bobby at the Gator Bowl, they’re going to regret him leaving.  Ann, dear lovely Ann, the only reason everyone was so nice to him was because they knew he was leaving.  It gives them one last chance to say goodbye.  And they were winning.  Do you think the FSU faithful would be yelling BOB-BY, BOB-BY if they were losing (as they should have been)?

Also, it became obvious that Bowden was just sticking around to beat Paterno.  In his postgame conference, he had this to say:

“How about them 22 wins I got at South Georgia College? How come that don’t count?” Bowden said, talking about where he was from 1956-58, before heading to Samford. “I know it doesn’t count NCAA, but will somebody mention, please, that I have 400 wins during my lifetime?”

Bobby, those wins don’t count.  And how about those 14 wins that should be stripped from your record because of the cheating scandal at Florida State?  Why are we still counting those?  I’m not sure if you saw the Outside the Lines report about FSU and the cheating scandal, but it was pretty blantant and, from what they were saying, probably continues.  And Bobby Bowden was fully aware of what was going on.

Yes, Bobby Bowden probably deserves better than being forced into retirement considering what he has done at Florida State.  But Bobby is also far from an angel.  Remember that Steve Spurrier labeled Florida State as “Free Sneakers University” for a reason.  And Bowden was in the middle of all of that.  He deserves the tribute and he deserves some accolades but don’t pretend Bobby Bowden was the most honorable and terrific coach ever.  He was great but far from perfect.  Now I’m going to go back to being pissed off at Bill Stewart for losing…thank you.

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.

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 trip to Morgantown and a 19-16 loss to WVU is the topic of today’s conversation with Dave Wannstedt’s infamous trademarked mustache, Wannstache.

WARNING:  This conversation became quite contentious and contains profanity.  Your eyes have been warned.

	ROD: How do you feel this morning, Wannstache?
	WANNSTACHE: What the f*ck kinda question is that? How do you think I feel? We just got beat by West F*ckin’ Virginia and Mr. Magoo. I feel like shit. How do you feel this morning?
	ROD:  Actually, terrific.  Thanks for asking.  It looked like Pitt had a pretty good gameplan defensively and held WVU in check for most part but then you let Devine escape for an 88-yard run that really changed the game.  What happened?
	Let’s get something right, douchbag.  I didn’t l et anyone run 88-yards.  I would have made the f*ckin’ tackle at the line of scrimmage.  I wouldn’t have blown my coverage.  Okay…does that make sense to you? I wouldn’t let Noel Devine run for 88-yards. But I’m attached to this face of this snowblower and can’t make a tackle. Do you understand that I’m saying?
	Sure…I’m feelin’ ya. What did you think when Bill Stewart went for it on 4th-and-goal early in the game instead of kicking the easy field goal?
	Well, unfortunately, I guess I thought the same thing Dave thought. “This is gonna be too easy.” Shit, the fans were booing their own team. They were going for fourth and whatevers. It didn’t appear they were gonna stand much of a chance. I figured if we made a field goal, we’d win by 3. They weren’t going to score…at least that’s what I was thinking.
	So you thought it was over when you scored in the second quarter?
	Can you hear the words coming out of my mouth? Yes, I thought 3-0 would be enough to beat the tobacco-spitting, coon-huntin’, rifle-shooting Mountaineers. Damn hillybilly, redneck bastards.
	Sounds like you don’t like West Virginia.
	What’s to like? Bunch of assholes, really. I’m sure you saw they were the rudest fans in the country. They are relentless. Eat Shit Pitt, Eat Shit Pitt. That never gets old. Go take a shower and brush your teeth, you f*ckers. Did you know rat feces is a delicacy in India?
	Does that really matter? Anyway, take me through the final minutes and the field goal that cost your #8 Panthers their lofty ranking.
	I thought Stewart was sleeping over there. He had time to get a little closer and run at least one, if not two, more plays to get closer for their freshman kicker. I never thought that doucher would make a 43-yard attempt. And since Stewart didn’t get any closer for, I figured we were going to get to see a public hanging at Mountaineer Field before overtime. The fans would have rioted if Bitancurt misses that attempt. You know it. I know it. And I wanted to see it. Obviously he made it and now I’m pissed.
	Looking back, what would you have done differently?
	Hmmmm…that’s hard to answer Rod. Are you a f*cking moron? I would have won that damn game. Cheesus, what the f*ck kind of question is that? I would have won the game. Listen, here’s the deal…we struggled down the stretch because I was cold and Dave forgot my customized warmer (yes, we have a mustache warmer). I couldn’t help him with the playcalling and that cost us a chance at a win. Yes, I am mad about that.
	Where do you go from here?
	I can tell you’re the product of a West Virginia education because you’re an absolute moron. Ummm, let’s see: We now get ready to play Cincinnati for the Big East Championship and the automatic BCS berth. See, what you WVU morons don’t realize is we don’t give a f*ck about this game. Win or lose we still get to play for a BCS berth. Cincy’s the only game that counts. You guys are like a zit that won’t go away but it doesn’t really matter.
	If it doesn’t matter, why are you so mad?
	This interview is over. Dave promised a special mustache ride for some dude down the road that I have to attend. Best of luck in the KFC Mashed Potato Bowl or wherever the hell you end up. And, please, take me up on that shower request. Douche.

And that was it…the Wannstache left quickly following the interview and was clearly upset by the whole series of events.  Probably the most angry I have seen the ’stache in awhile.  It was obvious that he truly resents WVU and Mountaineer fans.  I thought about not releasing this interview but I think it sheds light on by who and how Pittsburgh football is being run.

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

The overs and unders for tonight’s “Backyard Brawl” between West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh:

• No. of 13-9 references by Pitt fans:  832
• No. of fans cursed by me for saying 13-9:  17
• No. of accidents on I-79 heading northbound after game:  2
• No. of accidents on I-79 heading southbound after game:  13
• Percent my testicles shrink due to cold:  73%
• No. of Charlie Weis references during the game:  7*
• Average No. of teeth for Mountaineer fans:  4.75
• Average No. of jobs for Pittsburgh fans:  .5
• No. of timeouts each team is given for each half:  3
• No. of timeouts Bill Stewart forgets he has:  3
• % of non-student seats used:  85%
• % of student seats used:  60%
• Final Score:  WVU 13 – Pittsburgh 9

*Why would they talk about Charlie Weis?  Because he’s at Notre Dame and Lord forbid we make it through another conference’s games without hearing about Jabba.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote a very interesting article regarding West Virginia’s recruiting ventures into Western Pennsylvania.  As anyone who follows WVU football knows, West Virginia has relied heavily on Western Pa. recruits in the past to field a competitive team.  Major Harris, Marc Bulger, Mike Logan, Rasheed Marshall, Solomon Page, Pat McAfee and Mortty Ivy are just a few of the players WVU has plucked from the Pittsburgh area.

It seems Doc Holliday and the Mountaineer staff have taken their priorities and placed them in southern states like Florida, Virginia, Alabama, etc. and away from Western Pa.  Out of the 18 commitments the Mountaineers have at this point, none are from Western Pennsylvania.  The closest was a defensive back that the Mountaineers lost to Rich Rodriguez and Michigan.

The article is a good read and it’s interesting to see how West Virginia’s recruiting area is moving away from the place it has been for decades.  Whether that is a good or bad thing is yet to be seen.  It seems like Wannstache is doing well with his Pennsylvania recruits.  Hopefully WVU does as well with recruits from all over the South.

It didn’t take long for #8 WVU to dispose of Long Beach State in the first round of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, California. Casey Mitchell led the Mountaineers with 18 points in the 85-62 win.  Walk-on Jonnie West, son of NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West, had a career-high 11 points.

The Mountaineers are still without Devin Ebanks, who is missing games due to undisclosed personal reasons.  We would never speculate on why Ebanks is missing…if you want that, just go visit the message boards.  It’s apparent our one source that he knocked up the Lady Mountaineer wasn’t right…or, at least we don’t think it was right. 

The Mountaineers now await the winner of the Texas A&M / Clemson matchup, who they will meet at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.  The game will be televised on ESPN.