This is what we've been waiting for! At the beginning of the year, the general consensus was that our offense would have to carry the load for the early part of the year while the defense was coming together. This game then would have been a measuring stick for the defense as we prepared do defend our Big East title. Well, both sides of the ball did come together and play well and it couldn't have come at a more important time as there is obviously still a lot to play for this season. We will need to continue to play this well if we are going to win the Big East.
Offense: A
Enough credit can't be given to Coach Mullen for the performance of the offense last night. The play calling and execution was as smooth as could be, using the many weapons that WVU has. If not for Pat White's pick and the terrible officiating on Auburn's first offensive possession, we probably would have hung 10-14 more points on Auburn. The offensive line did a tremendous job of limiting penetration and creating seems that Devine and others took advantage of all night long. I recall only one drop by WR's (which should have been a TD) and the blocking on the edges and downfield was tremendous. I suspect that we did not see Jarrett Brown so that his body may heal a little bit and we were still successful on short yardage situations with White and Devine converting on occasions. I hope that this trend continues and we see less of Brown so that he remains healthy if we need him. He's known for a long time that he would have to wait 'til '09 to get his time and the lack of playing time shouldn't bother him. Where were the penalties? This statistic shouldn't be under appreciated concerning the success of the offense last night. Pat White did look a little hesitant running the ball after his first successful run and only ended up with about 10 or 15 yards rushing on the night. That's a little concerning considering what is at stake for him.
Defense: B
Three terrible officiating calls were made on Auburn's first offensive possession on second down plays. Additionally, there was a terrible spot on a 3rd and 1 play on that drive as well. After that long drive and Pat White's quick interception, I was worried that our defense was going to get wore down and struggle as a result. They had been performing well but still having trouble stopping Auburn on 3rd down. Once WVU drove the ball 93 yards and the defense got a chance to catch their breath, they excelled for the rest of the evening continuing to shut down the running game especially. They didn't get a lot of pressure on Burns and he was able to create some space for himself at times. That's something for the coaches to keep an eye on for future games against those types of QB's. Tackling was also excellent. Both TD drives by Auburn started from inside WVU's 35 yard line.
Special Teams: D+
They didn't give up a blocked kick or a TD which is the most important thing. McAfee played very well in his duties. But there were 5 bad plays on special teams: 2 kick returns over 60 yards. 1 fumble on a punt return. 1 muff on a punt return. 1 onside kick successful against us. All of this needs to be addressed.
On to some basketball news. If you saw the game on TV, I'm sure you heard the conversation w/ Coach Huggins during the game. As was indicated, WVU was picked to finish 9th in basketball in the conference by the Big East coaches. Of course you all know this is not unfamiliar territory. Here is a breakdown of WVU's predicted order of finish and results for the last four years.
2005: WVU predicted 9th. Finished 7th and advanced to NCAA Elite 8.
2006: WVU predicted 5th. Finished 3rd and advanced to NCAA Sweet 16.
2007: WVU predicted 12th. Finished 7th and won NIT.
2008: WVU predicted 10th. Finished 5th and advanced to NCAA Sweet 16.
As you can see WVU has made the Sweet 16 in 3 of the last 4 years. One of only 5 schools in the country to do so and we had one of the top recruiting classes in the country. For such a strong league, the rest of the coaches sure don't seem to have a lot of foresight. (Coaches do not vote for their own teams in the poll)
The national TV schedule for WVU Basketball has also been released:
ESPN or ESPN2
Dec 9, Davidson (Jimmy V Classic in NYC)
Jan 22, Syracuse
Feb 4, Pitt
Feb 13, Villanova
Feb 26, Cincinnati
Mar 7, Louisville
WVU will also play on CBS against Ohio State on Dec 27.
4 comments:
I love the fact that we are consistantly underrated in basketball. I think it inspires the team. The difference between the 10th best team in the Big East vs the 5th best team is probably effort. Huggins will get the effort out of these guys. Talent wise, the Big East is just loaded. 10 teams in the tourney? Talent wise, easily. But will the committee's mind set let it happen?
I don't think the committee will let it happen. They don't want to hear the other conferences whine and it's too easy to exclude a 9th or 10th place team. Usually, half of the big conferences end up with a team that definitely deserves a bid not getting in. I suspect that the Big East will have at least one team on that list every year. It's unfortunate, because for the past decade, they have been unquestionably the most dominant conference in basketball. When you consider the NIT successes of the lower tier teams in the conference, the ACC doesn't even come close to comparing.
9th best eh... Hmm in any other conference this might seem a slight. Frankly in the Big East it is not. Talent is not lacking and the fact is that plenty of teams from the Big East will factor into the National Title Chase. Truth be told we haven't a clue what will come of this season I can only say that Huggins Young-ins looked pretty darned good. DaSean Butler should end up an all-big east first team-er when all is said and done and Wellington looks like a Giant this year. Things are looking fun for Hoops this year.
Da Geek
It does feel like a slight. But it would be hard to justify putting WVU ahead of anyone else except possibly Syracuse or Georgetown. Still, I don't believe that we will finish that low given that we have so many players back that won't need the learning curve adjusting to a radically different system that they went through last year. This feels like a team that will be on the edge of the preseason top 25 and should be NCAA Tourney-bound.
Post a Comment