Growing Pains, or a Sign Of Trouble For West Virginia in The Bayou?

Any West Virginia fan that tries to tell you they didn't look ahead at least a little bit during Saturday night's 20-14 loss at LSU is lying.

Already 3-0, with a suddenly less than imposing Big East slate ahead, it was impossible not to imagine what a win against the No. 15 team in the Country, in their house no less, could mean going forward.

Forget about winning the Big East, a win on Saturday and the Mountaineers could legitimately start thinking about an undefeated season, a top-10 ranking, perhaps even at least a mention in the National Title discussion. As it turns out, they weren't quite ready for all that.

Blame it on injuries, blame it on turnovers, blame it on coaching. Whatever you attribute their inability to get over the hurdle to, the bottom line is that West Virginia (coaching staff included) is not ready to win a prime-time game on the road in a hostile SEC environment. And you know what? I'm OK with that.

My friends who got my angry texts during the game won't believe that, and neither will my girlfriend who watched the game with me and could probably see the steam coming off my body as the clock hit zero, but the Mountaineers can grow from this.

In fact, West Virginia was probably fortunate to even be in the game, and probably wouldn't have been without LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson and his abdominal, JaMarcus Russell-esque performance. Still, when your team has a chance to upset an SEC power on the road and protect the honor of the Big East in the process, its a little tough to take.

Especially when you think about the fumble by Ryan Clark inside the 10, or the fact LSU committed more penalties than the Mean Machine in The Longest Yard, or that coach Bill Stewart decided to punt the ball right to Patrick Peterson, only the best punt returner in the country... sorry, I'm starting to get steamed again, back to the column...

History shows us however, that this loss could lead to bigger and better things. In 2005 the Mountaineers faced a similar situation at home against a much more prepared and more experienced Virginia Tech team that dismantled them in a  34-17 victory. It was one of the least inspiring games I ever attended, and to be honest, I spent most of the game tailgating. Despite the loss, the game allowed for two of West Virginia's young pups', Pat White and Steve Slaton, to get their feet wet and experience the intensity of division-one football.

I think its safe that getting those two some reps' worked out pretty well for the Mountaineers.

Whether or not the loss at Baton Rouge has a similar effect on Geno, Tavon, Stedman Baily, Coach Stew or any other of the not ready for prime-time Mountaineers remains to be seen, but the fact remains that that West Virginia is the class of the Big East, and should be not only representing the conference in a BCS game, but re-establishing themselves as National Title contenders. 

If that's the case, (and I think it will be), then maybe Mountaineer fans weren't wrong to look ahead on Saturday night, they just weren't looking ahead far enough.