By Bob Hertzel
MORGANTOWN — If the NCAA will pardon the expression, West Virginia’s football season has the feel of a playoff.
Four games — one and out.
That’s what it has come down to and it begins at noon today in Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium when Louisville comes to town.
The situation is this. West Virginia is 2-1 in the Big East Conference and the only way it has any chance to make a BCS bowl is to win the conference. The problem is that Cincinnati and Pittsburgh both are 4-0.
But the Bearcats and the Panthers have to play each other yet, meaning one is guaranteed a loss.
So, the situation is this, if West Virginia can beat both of them and everyone wins their other games, one of the three teams would have two losses, the other two would have one loss and WVU would hold a victory over that team.
“We have to win out and we know that,” said senior middle linebacker Reed Williams.
It is as simple as that and it begins with Louisville, a team that is not a contender but that stands between the Mountaineers and their ultimate goal, which is a Big East championship.
“We have a tough opponent coming in here this week that has everything to gain and nothing to lose,” Coach Bill Stewart said. “Our backs are up against the wall much like our last opponents (South Florida) were last weekend in their home arena. We just have to see how hard we play against the Louisville Cardinals.”
Louisville comes in at 3-5 but is winless in the Big East.
Stewart believes that is a mirage.
“I see a team that has a lot to gain and nothing to lose,” the Mountaineer coach said. “I see a team that can make plays. I saw them beat a very good Southern Miss team that will beat some people this season. Louisville is a dangerous ball club coming in here.”
What’s more it is a team is healing and that may have all three of its quarterbacks healthy this week to say nothing of running back Victor Anderson, who averages 5.6 yards a carry.
“These guys are good, they’re fast and they’re still Louisville,” Stewart said.
But no matter which of Louisville’s three quarterbacks play, no matter who carries the ball, what matters in this game is how West Virginia recovers from its devastating defeat at South Florida last week.
If Louisville plays its best game and WVU plays its best game, West Virginia wins.
“I don’t know what running back is going to play and I don’t care,” Stewart said. “If we don’t stay in our lanes and contain, we’re in trouble. We have to work on what we do, not what they do.”
Indeed, when you get down a four-game playoff, it is all about yourself. Play your best and there are no regrets.
West Virginia has to find a way to get Noel Devine unwound on the ground again this week after he was held to 42 yards by South Florida, effectively ending any Heisman Trophy dreams for this year.
Accomplishing that is an internal matter, not dependent upon how Louisville defends. If the Mountaineers block, if Devine makes the right reads, it will happen for it almost always does against Louisville on the ground.
Steve Slaton burst on the national scene against Louisville, Patrick White rushed for 200 yards against Louisville. It’s there for the taking.
The same goes defensively. This isn’t about who plays quarterback or runs for Louisville, it’s about how the Mountaineer defense bounces back from the loss at South Florida.
This is a game where cornerback Keith Tandy must scrape the burned flesh from his body acquired while being scorched twice at South Florida and regenerate himself into being the cornerback he was leading up to that game.
It’s about WVU stopping the run and limiting the pass, about eliminating big plays that have haunted them all season long so that they have a chance to win the game.
The season is one and out, and it doesn’t matter what comes after Louisville if that one isn’t put into the win column first.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
