can't wait for this game.....

yessir, we gotta keep that composure in piscataway

..........

Rutgers Preview By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com October 24, 2007 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A sea of red awaits West Virginia when it travels to Rutgers for a Saturday afternoon Big East clash against the Scarlet Knights at Rutgers Stadium. An overflow crowd is expected to watch Rutgers play its second Top 10-ranked opponent in consecutive games for the first time in 138 seasons of playing football. Last Thursday night Rutgers knocked off No. 2-rated South Florida, 30-27, in a game that turned on a Rutgers fake field goal that went for a 15-yard touchdown. Rutgers held South Florida to 115 yards rushing and just 10 second-half points. On Saturday, the 5-2 Scarlet Knights get another crack at a Top 10 team when No. 6 West Virginia arrives for a noon contest. The Mountaineers (6-1, 1-1) have won 12 straight over Rutgers since 1994 and all six since Rich Rodriguez and Greg Schiano both took over in 2001. “We haven’t beaten them – that is just stating a fact,” said Schiano. “Last year I thought we played very well – we were just a couple plays short of winning. When you’re playing at that level, it’s a very fine line.” The first two times Schiano and Rodriguez met in 2001 and 2002 the Mountaineers won by lopsided scores of 80-7 and 40-0. Rodriguez says it’s ridiculous even bringing up those first two games in the context of this weekend’s contest. “Everything has changed since then. Our rosters are different and their roster is different,” Rodriguez said. Schiano agrees. “I don’t think we were playing with the same weapons in the early years,” said the Rutgers coach, now 35-43 in his seventh season. Schiano has taken care of that through excellent recruiting. The Scarlet Knights have several big-time players to contend with on both sides of the football. The headline player is junior tailback Ray Rice, a 5-foot-9-inch, 205-pounder who is now second in Big East career rushing behind West Virginia’s Avon Cobourne. Rice leads the conference with 999 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. Last week against South Florida Rice ran 39 times for 181 yards. He has carried the football at least 34 times in each of the last three games and shows 109 carries for 471 yards and four touchdowns during that span. Rodriguez doesn’t believe having that many carries will be an issue for Rice because he’s been so durable in the past and has two extra days of rest heading into this weekend’s game. “He has nine days to recover because they played on Thursday,” Rodriguez said. “He’s strong and a well-built guy. He has taken his shots and has taken a lot of pounding before and it hasn’t affected him at all. I’m sure he will get a lot of carries on Saturday.” What West Virginia has to be particularly conscious of is not keying too much on Rice because just when they start to do that the Scarlet Knights will play action pass and throw the ball downfield to a pair of gifted receivers in Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt. Underwood is ranked second in the Big East with 789 receiving yards (20.2 yards per catch) to go with six touchdowns. Britt is eighth with 667 yards on 29 catches for an impressive 23.0 yards-per-catch average. It is rare having two starting receivers each averaging more than 20 yards per reception. “They have a lot of big plays in their passing game,” Rodriguez said. “They have a lot of explosive players and Underwood is one of them. We know about him and he stands out when you watch Rutgers on film.” Quarterback Mike Teel is 18-5 as a starter and is moving up the school record book in several categories. Teel is fifth in career passing yards (4,914), sixth in career completions (331) and seventh in career touchdown passes (28). This year the junior is second in the Big East in passing averaging 285.1 yards per game. Teel is completing 58.9 percent of his pass attempts (116 of 197) and has thrown 14 touchdown passes against just six interceptions. Rodriguez said his defense can’t afford to let Teel sit back in the pocket and pick the secondary apart. “You have to hurry the throw and hurry the routes,” Rodriguez said. “One of his best attributes is he knows the offense so well, and he’ll find the right guy.” Defensively, Rutgers likes to bring pressure and force teams into long yardage situations on third down. The Scarlet Knights are ranked third in the Big East in passing defense (170.4 ypg.), fourth in total defense (306.1 ypg.), fifth in scoring defense (18.6 ppg.) and fifth in rushing defense (135.7 ypg.). “They are a lot like us and they aren’t that big up front so they move a lot,” said Rodriguez. “Some of their schemes aren’t conventional and they move around a lot. They are very active, and they’ve replaced a couple guys from last year.” Linebacker Kevin Malast leads Rutgers with 55 tackles. Free safety Courtney Greene shows 54 stops to go with two tackles for losses and a pair of pass breakups. Defensive end Jamaal Westerman leads the team with nine tackles for losses and six sacks. “Coach Schiano serves as their defensive coordinator and everyone is on board,” Rodriguez said. “Their defense has worked well for them the last couple of years.” West Virginia, Rutgers and South Florida are right in the thick of the Big East race one loss behind 2-0 Connecticut. The Huskies have a big game at home against South Florida this weekend while 1-1 Pitt plays host to 1-2 Louisville. The goal of winning a Big East title is still very much out there for everyone. “I know we have a lot at stake,” said Rodriguez. “At the same time, you’ve got a bunch of teenage guys and you can’t let their focus get out of hand.” The Mountaineers are playing just their third ranked opponent on the road since 2002. It was in 2002 when West Virginia last defeated a ranked team away from home, knocking off No. 17 Pitt 24-17 at Heinz Field. The Scarlet Knights come into Saturday’s game ranked 25th in the latest AP poll. ABC will televise the game in a split national broadcast. The network will also show the Colorado-Texas Tech game at noon. Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire and Bonnie Berstein will handle the call.

i wana know whats up with devine, im hearing rumors of transfer n all sorts of !!

Originally Posted by AlCapone i wana know whats up with devine, im hearing rumors of transfer n all sorts of !!

its tru... he pissed... Rich Rod said all kinda !! about him getting touches, he was talking out his[..]... [pic] Noel has never sat on the bench and in all honesty Devine>>>>>>>Slaton, if he does leave WVU its between USF and FSU, maybe even Bama from what i hear...

u think he'll actually leave?

Originally Posted by AlCapone u think he'll actually leave?

all depends on Rich Rod... he could go to Juco for a year or redshirt for the year he has to sit... he was getting the ball you just cant take it away... he has been more productive than Slaton on his attempts and behind Harvin and Jackson he is one the most explosive players in the nation... So if he transfers it'll suck for WVU but no matter where he goes he'll be the man in the backfield

yea.. i wonder what slaton will be doin this offseason if he's gona come back or enter the draft...that'll play a big part in devine's decision too

Originally Posted by AlCapone yea.. i wonder what slaton will be doin this offseason if he's gona come back or enter the draft...that'll play a big part in devine's decision too

yea thats the big thing... I could see if slaton was alot better than him but Noel>>>Slaton, if rich rod could get him about 10-12 offensive touches a game i think he will stay...

somethings gota be up, i mean the first handful of games he was gettin the ball now its like he doesnt even exist....maybe he can get in vs rutgers in this 2nd half

^^ yeah, he's been in but not getting the ball...[pic]

yea the way Slaton's playin today he might not get the ball

real good win for us today [pic]
lets move up these polls

White & Slaton played great

good to see Devine end out the last 2 possessions of the game, he still got it hittin them holes quick

Keynotes from today's game:

West Virginia Passing
Patrick White: 10/16, 144 yards

West Virginia Rushing
Patrick White: 22 carries, 156 yards, 1 TD
Steve Slaton: 16 carries, 73 yards, 3 TD's
Noel Devine: 6 carries, 40 yards
Darius Reynaud: 1 carries, 6 yards
Owen Schmitt: 1 carries, 2 yards

West Virginia Receiving
Steve Slaton: 1 catch, 51 yards
Dorrell Jalloh: 4 catches, 44 yards
Owen Schmitt: 2 catches, 31 yards
Darius Reynaud: 2 catches, 11 yards
Jock Sanders: 1 catch, 6 yards

West Virginia Interceptions
Franchot Allen: 1 for 10 yards
Ryan Mundy: 1 for 32 yards

Recap

Rice sets Rutgers rushing record, but WVU coasts PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- With Pat White running the show and Steve Slaton racing sideline to sideline, No. 7 West Virginia (No. 6 AP) had no problem beating Rutgers (No. 25 AP) yet again. Slaton ran for three touchdowns, White rushed for 156 yards and a score and the Mountaineers kept their BCS hopes alive with a 31-3 win Saturday. "I think it puts us right where we want to be," Slaton said after West Virginia (7-1, 2-1 Big East) beat Rutgers for the 13th straight time. "We lost one Big East game and hopefully that'll be the last one we lose." The Mountaineers have Louisville, Cincinnati, Connecticut and Pittsburgh left on their schedule, and they should end up in a BCS game if they run the table. Slaton went from sideline to sideline on a spectacular 38-yard run for an early lead, and he scored second-half touchdowns of 1 and 6 yards to bury Rutgers (5-3, 2-2). White, who missed last year's wild 41-39 triple overtime win over Rutgers with an ankle injury, was even more impressive. He scored on a 1-yard run and drove defenders crazy with his elusiveness. The junior also hit 10-of-16 passes for 144 yards, highlighted by a 51-yard screen pass to Slaton to set up a touchdown. "The first time you see Pat, you think you have angle and you don't," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "He's such an explosive player, there are a lot of times when there are people around him where he outruns the angle or makes people miss. I'm glad he's wearing blue and gold." Rutgers thought it has closed the gap on West Virginia after last year's game, but this one was no contest. "We played an excellent team today and we got our butts kicked," said Jeremy Ito, who kicked a 39-yard field goal in Rutgers' worst loss since a 56-5 drubbing by Louisville on Nov. 11, 2005. The 3 points were its lowest total since a 42-0 loss to Notre Dame in 2002. What was even more disappointing was that the setback came a week after Rutgers knocked off then-No. 2 South Florida. "If we ever want to become the program we want to become, you have to win a big game, then another big game," said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. A year ago, the Scarlet Knights knocked off then-No. 3 Louisville and were upset the following week by Cincinnati. "We knew they were going to be up for it," White said. "We got up for them as well. We had to come out and play Mountaineer football for four quarters. That's something we did for the first time this year." West Virginia intercepted a banged-up Mike Teel twice, recovered two fumbles, and kept halfback Ray Rice from breaking any big runs. Teel has a bruised throwing hand. When Rutgers had its chances, it didn't convert in a game that was played in a heavy rain during the first half. With the Scarlet Knights trailing 17-3 in the third quarter, tackle Pedro Sosa was called for holding on a second-and-1 from the Mountaineers 14. Instead of getting a first-and-goal, the Scarlet Knights were pushed back and Ito was wide right on a 41-yard field goal attempt. West Virginia took over and went 75 yards. White and Slaton hooked up on the 51-yard screen on a third-and-13 from their 22. Slaton capped the drive by walking into the end zone for his 50th career TD. Slaton gave West Virginia the lead for good with his run late in the first quarter. Taking a handoff, he found his path around the left side blocked, cut back to his right, avoided a tackle and got into the corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead. The next West Virginia score was set up by a fluke play in the second quarter. Pat McAfee hit a line-drive punt from around his 40 that hit off Rutgers' Ramy Nubani, who was going back to block on the return. It was recovered by Mortty Ivy at the 31. Five plays later, White scored on a keeper. Rutgers had a chance to get back in the game on the next possession, driving to the Mountaineers 22. But Teel's pass to Tiquan Underwood in the end zone was broken up by Ryan Mundy's hit, and Ito settled for his 70th career field goal. McAfee got that score right back when his 42-yard field goal barely cleared the crossbar. It capped an 11-play, 60-yard drive that featured runs of 22 and 13 yards by White. Teel finished 14-of-30 for 128 yards, while Rice carried 30 times for 142 yards. "We got outplayed," Rice said after Rutgers lost for the third time at home and had its BCS chances ended by West Virginia for the second straight year. Had Rutgers beaten West Virginia last December, it would have won the conference title and the BCS berth.

i love watchin our defense this year....it feels great to have a top 5 offense and defense [pic]

hell yeah.. this past weekend was our best all around game :applause:
D been steppin up a lot lately, thats good to see...we still dropped like 2 possible int's that had me :banghead:

......

Upon Further Review By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com October 28, 2007 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said he was pretty pleased with his team’s performance when asked immediately after the Mountaineers’ 31-3 victory Saturday in Piscataway, N.J. A day later, Rodriguez was a little more cautious with his praise. “After watching the film we can play better than what we did. We made some plays at key times and we executed well at key times but there were other times when we didn’t execute well and had a missed[..]ignment,” Rodriguez said. “It was OK performance but we certainly feel that we can play better. We have played better at times during the season.” The defense limited a Rutgers team that came into the game ranked 13th in total offense and 21st in scoring offense to just 314 yards and three points on Saturday. Rodriguez was happy with the performance but won’t label that the best the unit has played this year. “I think they’re playing with more confidence. We’re not having a lot of missed[..]ignments and they’re making the plays at key times,” Rodriguez said. “From a scoring standpoint it was one of our best performances but from a total execution standpoint and how our players graded it wasn’t our best performance of the year. We can play better defensively than we did Saturday. “But our guys are playing with confidence and I think the big thing is that we’re making the key play at the key time to stop drives.” Rodriguez singled out several players on the defensive side of the ball that had good grades. “We had quite a few guys that graded out pretty well. Ryan Mundy graded out pretty well; Reed Williams, Mortty Ivy, Antonio Lewis, Eric Wicks, they graded out pretty well,” Rodriguez said. “We had a lot of guys that played pretty solid football and obviously when you limit a team like Rutgers to three points at their place despite the bad conditions in the first half you’ve got to be pleased.” Offensively, Patrick White had 144 yards passing and 156 yards rushing to accumulate 300 total yards. Steve Slaton scored three touchdowns including a tempo-setting 38-yard TD in the first quarter when he chose to cutback across the field when he didn’t see anything open on a stretch play to his left. Rodriguez liked the result but he isn’t sure cutting back is always the best way to do things. “Sometimes you get lucky with them and sometimes you don’t,” Rodriguez said. “Steve is fast enough to get by with it but there are also times when we don’t want him to cut back where if he would be a little patient or bang it in that area he may have the same result.” The play of the game, according to Rodriguez, was the pair of cut blocks offensive tackle Ryan Stanchek made on the same play to help spring Slaton to a 51-yard gain on a third-quarter screen pass. “It was just a great effort,” Rodriguez said. “Ryan is a great guy from an example standpoint to show everybody how you’re supposed to play the game with passion because on that play he got out in front and got a cut block. Then he got back up and got another one. “It’s hard to get one knockdown on a play and to get two just shows great hustle. I think the guys will enjoy watching that,” Rodriguez said. The coach noted that no major injuries came out of the game although it was discovered afterward that Noel Devine had suffered a slight concussion near the end of the game. Antonio Lewis also got hit in the head during the game but Rodriguez said both of those guys will have no restrictions this week. “Thor Merrow didn’t play. Quinton Andrews made the trip but he didn’t play. Will Johnson did not make the trip because of an injury and James Ingram is still out,” Rodriguez said. “Those guys are up in the air as far as their status for the next game.” The practice schedule this week will be relatively normal despite having an extra five days between games. “We’ll practice every day this week,” Rodriguez said. “There are a lot of things fundamentally that we can get better at. We won’t hit a lot. We’ll probably go in pads twice this week. We’ve had Thursday night games before and we’ll follow through that.” With Connecticut knocking off South Florida yesterday, second-place West Virginia resumes control of its own destiny in the Big East Conference. “I think our guys know that and we’ve been taking that approach since a few weeks ago,” Rodriguez said. “I told the guys that there’s a lot of football left and things might work out but you’ve got to take it one play at a time. “Nothing has changed. We’re going to take the same approach of one play at a time. We’re just two-thirds of the way through the season. We’re not worried about the fourth game, the third game or the second game, we’re worried about the first play of the Louisville game,” Rodriguez said.

byyeee week

time to gear up for the thursday night special vs louisville