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West Virginia University ended the 2007 season with a bang, and rolled the Oklahoma Sooners to a 48-28 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl...

West Virginia Football: 2008 Preview

by Marcus Linville (Contributor)

16

2712 reads

Sports

March 29, 2008


West Virginia University ended the 2007 season with a bang, and rolled the Oklahoma Sooners to a 48-28 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Many critics have questioned the upcoming season as a rebuilding year or a down year due to a few of the following reasons.

One, WVU has a new head coach Bill Stewart. He is a down-to-earth great guy and is an ideal father figure. But that doesn't mean he knows the game of football. He has been a very reliable assistant in the past, and has the opportunity before to be a head coach at VMI but had an under .500 overall record.

Not only is he a questionable head coach, but can he recruit? The Mountaineers are not in trouble talent-wise for the next two years or so but the future after that is up in the air. Former coach Rich Rodriguez and Recruiting Coordinator Tony Gibson had the recruiting edge in Florida and built a program for getting great athletes in the past, can Stewart continue that though?

Two, WVU lost seven defensive starters to graduation. They had one of the premier defenses in the nation last year with the 3-3-5 set, but after you lose two of the three lineman up front, two linebackers, and three defensive backs it could take a year or so to rebuild that defense back up to its old self.

Three, Rich Rodriguez and Calvin Magee installed the spread offense as the face of the program. Everyone in the nation is aware of the abilities of quarterback Patrick White and the spread offense has been the most appropriate for his success. What new offense will Bill Stewart run for Patrick White & Co.?

They have been in the same style and spread for three years and now he wants to change and make Pat learn a new offense for his senior season? That is risking a lot and could definitely determine a successful season's outcome.

These decisions are on the shoulders of Bill Stewart now and only he can determine the season West Virginia will have in 2008. I truly believe he will figure it out and learn from mistakes this time around, and WVU will overcome all the critics and controversy and win the Big East crown once again.  The talent this year that West Virginia returns is too much on offense and the defense will not be as good but will hold their own and continue to get better all year. 

Attention all BCS Bowls, save a spot for the Mountaineers in January!

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16 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. tom michael about 1 year ago

    i doubt very seriously that wvu will be back in a bcs bowl... I never heard about stewart changing the offense. He just says he wants to pass more,,,, we heard that last three years. and it didn't happen. Bill Stewarts head coaching gig at vmi was a pure diaster. Not only did he not win, he also had a discrimination issue what there. I am still wondering about the staff he has assembled. None have been or offered a head coaching job on the collegiate level.. So , are they as great and Bill wants us to believe. Leftover talent will help bill, but he failed to land a running back that can back up Devine, if in fact , he stays eligible , and healthy. Kearns is a huge question. Will he even qualify? Bill will probably be around three years, and then the alumni will run him off. His down home ah sucks attitude will work as long as he has RR's talent around, and then, wow, i don't know.I just hope it works out for bill and wvu, we don't need to regress to subpar seasons the Nehlen was content with... let's go eers.

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  2. Chris D'Aniello about 1 year ago

    White, Slaton, and Noel Devine will comprise the second best(to Clemson's thunder-and-lightening) back field in the nation. Depending on how other teams in the Big East such as L'ville and UConn perform, WVU should have a shot at a great record and may be in the consideration for a bowl game.

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  3. Jordan Starling about 1 year ago

    Slaton is going pro i thought?

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  4. Tom Freeland about 1 year ago

    It sure appears Tom doesn't have his facts straight. I always love how people pretend to know anything about a program.

    Terence Kerns (4 star prospect) 225 lb back w/ 4.3 speed...will qualify. Both him and Jock Sanders both will be great additions to the backfield. Oh...and in case you missed those games where Slaton was injured...happened frequently in some of the bigger games (S. Florida / Oklahoma / G. Tech) it was Pat White that took over w/no RB. They have plenty of talent that can run the ball...probably more now than when they had just White/Slaton.

    As far as Marcus' comments about future commits. Have you not seen the for '09 start? (Thanks to Doc Holliday / Stewart & Co.) Tajh Boyd (#120) and Logan Heastie (#22 on rivals) commitments, both 4-star recruits, are just the beginning of a great '09 recruitment class. In reference to Stewart's coaching days at VMI...name one coach that has had a great season there in the past 10 years? It's predominantly a military school...nothing like a AF/Navy/Army team...

    WV will win the Big East again this year and should again, unless significant injuries effect them, will be back in a BCS game.

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  5. Jeff Allen about 1 year ago

    The Big East is such a weak conference from 2 to 8, WVU should once again have a good chance to roll through the conference schedule.

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    • Ryan T about 1 year ago

      Jeff,

      Are you kidding me you are a Buckeye fan and are talking about a conference? Get real buddy, go back to a Buckeye page where your arguments mean something.

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    • Jeff Allen about 1 year ago

      That's exactly what I'm saying. The Big East is a weak football conference. Even weaker than the Big Ten in recent years. West Virginia is good. The rest of the conference is garbage.

      Ohio State will win three more national titles before WVU ever appears in a national title game, though.

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  6. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    I live in West Virginia, and I received my bachelor's degree from WVU. I would put my education and my intelligence up against you any day of the week. You are such a moron.

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  7. Ryan T about 1 year ago

    Just let everyone keep saying what they want about West Virginia, they have done it for years and it hasn't hurt us yet, it just makes us stronger. I think our football AND basketball program has done enough in the last few years to shut these big mouths up. You do notice how there is no Oklahoma fans talking shit any longer nor are they any Duke fans raising hell. It always seems to be the Ohio State fans that always talk shit. They have a great program but that's not enough for them, they feel like they have to trash talk WV and bring us down as people to make themselves look even better than what they already are. Get over it Buckeyes you will never win another NC sorry. I know WV never has but we are fine with that status.

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  8. Jeff Allen about 1 year ago

    For real man. I mean, WVU has some really cute bowl wins to boast about. Not multiple national titles like Ohio State, but you know...some cute wins. You should just enjoy them. Every program can't be on Ohio State's level. Just accept the fact that your team dominates a barely-BCS conference and that Ohio State dominates them across the board in all facets of life.

    There's nothing wrong with being beneath Ohio State. It's quite common, actually.

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    • Ryan T about 1 year ago

      QUOTE: I mean, WVU has some really cute bowl wins to boast about. Not multiple national titles like Ohio State, but you know...some cute wins

      wow...you really are bad at this aren't you. Didn't Ohio State lose their NC games the last 2 years? Yeah, I thought so. So, how can you talk about WV beating Oklahoma and Georgia as OK wins. You are so crazy man. How biased can you and the Buckeye nation be?

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    • Jeff Allen about 1 year ago

      The Georgia & Oklahoma wins are arguably WVU's best wins ever. And that's, you know...cute.

      But I mean....they're just bowl wins. They aren't national championships. Ohio State has multiple national championships to boast of.

      So like I said...there's nothing wrong with being far, FAR beneath a program like Ohio State - your little bowl wins are cute. Really, they are. But I mean....they're just bowl wins.

      Cute little program you've got over there in West Virginia. Real cute.

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  9. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    At least WVU was winning its bowl games, while Ohio State was getting embarassed.

    I would rather my team beat Oklahoma than lose (badly) to LSU or Florida, any day.

    Ohio State's recent bowl past is either losing or playing teams like Oklahoma State or Kansas State in a bowl game.
    Not much to really speak of since the 2002 season, and now I think we all know that Miami wasn't that much of a challenge.

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  10. Ryan T about 1 year ago

    Alright Rod and Jeff, I'm ready to quit the arguing, you guys are fans like I am and besides your coach made a remark I can only respect him for ever about...

    http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080404/SPORTS06/80403082/1048/SPORTS

    way to go Jim, beat those Wolverines.

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  11. Anonymous about 1 year ago

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