How much does WVU miss Richy Rod?…..A TON!…..Bill Stewart is certainly a respectable guy, and an awesome grandpa too, I’ll bet. He is NO Richy Rod though, and the Mountaineers are going to fall back into the unranked abyss for a spell. At the very least-for the short term! Everyone was all wrapped up in the fuzzy-warm story of how Grandpa Bill took over the team amidst the turmoil of Richy jumping ship, and destroyed Stoops’ Sooners in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl game. The last great game they’ve played!

That memory might be all these mountaineers have to grip to, as they watch the changing of the Guard in the Big(L)East. Cincinnati has the direction and the Coach, to become the staple Big(L)East team for the next decade! That is, of course, unless BEE-rye Kelly decides his paychecks are too small and jumps off and into Notre Dame…and obviously that’s a valid concern. Still, with RECORD numbers of student filling the ranks, and a sizable bank account (figuratively speaking) left over from the Nancy Zimpher years, UC could secure Kelly with a powerful contract that just might keep him in town. Now, it “might” come at the expense of the Basketball program!….As were the days of yore, when Huggy-Chicken ran the roost and Football was intentionally suppressed! The smart people seem to think Cronin is just WAITING to fill the void after Pitino retires from Louisville. Apparently lowering the basketball budget is also something Mick sees (and now FEELS) as part of the pending UC future.
Back to WestVirginny!…..They were handed an 11-point loss to Offensively challenged Auburn, on “The Plains”! and now, they’re bragging about beating Colorado (HEY!,..Colorado, how do you miss 3 FG;s in one game?)! Yeah, the same team that Toledo hung 54 on (Colorado), the Mountaineers are boasting about beating by eleven! THAT’S how much they miss Richie Rod, even if they’ll never (pride and hatred) say it!
Oct. 1
at West Virginia 35 … Colorado 24
Noel Devine ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run and Jarrett Brown connected with Jock Sanders for a six-yard score and Brad Starks for a 48-yard touchdown as West Virginia won a sloppy game. Colorado stayed alive on a 36-yard Rodney Stewart touchdown run and got a 29-yard touchdown catch from Scotty McKnight, but three interceptions, three missed field goals from Aric Goodman, and two short touchdown runs from West Virginia’s Ryan Clarke were too much to overcome. The Mountaineers turned it over four times, all on fumbles.
Player of the Game: West Virginia RB Noel Devine ran 22 times for 220 yards and a touchdown
Colorado: Passing: Cody Hawkins, 27-52, 292 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Rodney Stewart, 21-105, 1 TD, Receiving: Scotty McKnight, 9-98, 1 TD
West Virginia: Passing: Jarrett Brown, 12-19, 148 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Noel Devine, 22-220, 1 TD, Receiving: Brad Starks, 3-68, 1 TD
What It All Means: West Virginia gave Colorado several chances to take over the game, but the Buffs didn’t take advantage. The defense couldn’t slow down Noel Devine and the Mountaineer running game, but the bigger problem was CU’s own ineffectiveness on offense. Cody Hawkins threw 52 times, but the passing game only gained 292 yards with three rough interceptions. To have any chance at Texas next week, the offense has to be perfect while the defense can’t give up the big plays it allowed in Morgantown.
Richie Rod, on the other hand, has seemingly weathered the early storm and has his team “on-the-grow” in Ann Arbor (who Buckeye fans think is a whore,…???). Some much he might even get that “comped” round of Golf in this year, at the University course he’s wanted so badly.(It’s a private course you know: http://www.worldgolf.com/courses/usa/michigan/annarbor/university-of-michigan-golf-course-private.html). You do have to look past that close game against Indiana to FULLY appreciated the Phoenix Richie is experiencing!
What does this all mean?….It means UC is in the driver’s seat BABY!, the one left empty by WVU, Louisville, and USF primarily. Rutgers is strongly considered the next best team (now) in the conference, and of course UC destroyed them IN New Jersey(What exit?) a few weeks ago! ….UConn, Pitt and Syracuse are out looking in, and this was supposed to be a DOWN year for Kelly’s Hero’s; following an Orange Bowl season that saw all but one defender leave! Mardy Gilyard and Private Pike have made it look easy, but they’ve had a lot of help too! This team could be scary good if they’re able to maintain this focus and keep this Coach. So much in fact, that the Basketballer fans might just get over the loss of the POWERFUL CUSA teams from years past! They were paper-tigers anyway!…under .500 in the Tourney, only one Final 4?….The Football team will beat that with another BCS Bowl appearance THIS year!