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"Story arcs in contemporary drama often follow the pattern of bringing a character to a low point, removing the structures the character depends on, then forcing the character to find new strength without those structures." Wikipedia In the book still to be written about West Virginia University's all-everything quarterback, Pat White, the beginning and middle have already been shaped and defined. It's the end that is presently unknown. Mountaineer fans would like to think that the climax of the Pat White Story Arc has yet to come. That he's got one final season of dazzling performances and historic WVU wins in his left arm and two legs. That the Fiesta Bowl was the penultimate chapter in the saga of Our Hero- not the denouement. Webster's Dictionary defines the term "denouement" as, "the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work." We're hoping that the best and most satisfying conclusion of the climax in our story is not behind us. But let's start at the beginning, with a use of a college football fan's most dreaded phrase: "Dual quarterbacks" Following the graduation of 3-year starter Rasheed Marshall, former coach Rich Rodriguez couldn't decide on a clear-cut starter among his stable of quarterbacks, settling on a dual quarterback system that would feature playing time for both sophomore Adam Bednarik and redshirt freshman Pat White. Not much was known about White at the time, though I did include this statement about him in one of the earliest articles to appear on this website: Quote: Pat White- this kid really impressed me in the Spring Game. A redshirt freshman, he seemed to have the ability to move on his feet as well as make some nice, crisp passes. He seems to be the logical successor to Rasheed unless Coach Rod makes some sweeping changes to our offensive scheme. White was considered the "change of pace" QB to Bednarik's more conventional QB play. But it quickly became apparent that even though Bednarik's performances weren't lacking substance, the team would move the ball and score more often when White was in the game. A prime example of this phenomenon came against Maryland in a game at College Park, which featured an early Bednarik injury followed by a 24-point fourth quarter offensive explosion engineered by White in a win over the hated Terps. Eventually, Bednarik's inability to stay in the game due to injuries (probably related to the act that he played like he was Christian Okoye) paved the way for White to demonstrate his considerable talents on a full-time basis, most notably in the 2005 Louisville game. There, Bednarik went down early with an injury and the star of the game was Steve Slaton after his 6 TD's led to a 3OT thriller of a victory, but it was White who converted a number of key third and fourth downs, keeping the Mountaineers in the game, bringing them back from a 24-point deficit, and making the eventual game-winning pass on a 2-point conversion. And as if Mountaineer fans didn't have reason enough to love White by this point, he gave us this underwear-staining block in the UConn game, his first-ever start for WVU: For all the excitement White was bringing to the field, he wasn't even the most heralded freshman on his own team following his freshman season, taking a back seat to Slaton's brilliance both in the second half of the regular season as well as in the Sugar Bowl. Noteworthy, though, was the fact that White played a nearly flawless game in the Sugar Bowl against heavily-favored Georgia, finishing 11-14 for 120 yards and a TD through the air and 77 yards on the ground, and again converting a key third down deep in Mountaineer territory towards the end of the game to keep a Mountaineer drive alive, and the Mountaineers eventually won the game in a huge upset. Insomuch as the story of Pat White was concerned, let's just say that the first section gave no indication that White was to become any more than a very capable Robin to Steve Slaton's Batman.  "SEC speed? Meh." The middle chapters of White's saga can be summed up very easily: the Mountaineers usually win (and live up to their fans' ridiculously lofty expectations) when White plays the whole game and the rest of the team (meaning you, Steve Slaton) doesn't turn the ball over half a dozen times. When that doesn't happen (White hurt against USF, Pitt in 07, ridiculous fumbles in losing efforts against Louisville and USF in 06), WVU can look very, very average. Execrations were high entering White's sophomore year, both for the team and the quarterback, but White managed to exceed expectations on his end. He had an extraordinarily strong season, winning Big East Offensive Player of the Year, racking up 1,655 yards, 13 TD's passing and 1,219 yards, 18 TD's rushing. While losses to USF and Louisville that season were disheartening, White had arguably one of the guttiest performances of his career against UL. While his teammates were killing him with fumbles, he managed to finish 13-20 for 220 yards passing, with 125 yards rushing and 4 rushing TD's in an effort to get the Mountaineers back into the game. His line in the USF game wasn't nearly as solid, but he did lead a comeback in the final quarter that came up just short. The Mountaineers wouldn't lose another game that season, including the most statistically dominating performance of White's career at Pittsburgh in a 45-27 win that featured 204 yards, 2 TD's in the air, 220 yards, 3 TD's on the ground, and this hilarious mocking of the Pitt Panther Roar: WVU eventually wound up in the Gator Bowl against a strong Georgia Tech defense, and found itself in a 35-21 hole (thanks, defense) in the third quarter and without Steve Slaton, who exited early in the first quarter due to injuries. White, himself injured with various ailments, rallied the troops once again, though, riddling the GT defense to the tune of 9/15 passing for 131 yards and 2 TD's, and 145 yards rushing with 1 score. His play prompted ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. to note after the game in this Gator Bowl recap: "[White] is explosive, very tough and can take on defenders. He carried this team on his back -- and his legs -- and proved he is the true MVP of this team." He finished the season as the BIG EAST and WVU career QB rushing leader with 2,171 yards. And he was essentially the starting QB for only one and a half seasons.  "Whoops. I won't be needing this pose until 2008." Expectations were again very high for the Mountaineers in Pat White's junior season, but his heroics from the previous season had caused some attention that was once squarely focused on Slaton to be cast in his direction, even garnering some Heisman talk in the pre-season. He wouldn't disappoint, throwing for more yards, more TD's, and less interceptions than the year before, while running for more yards as well despite the fact that many teams WVU faced now considered White to be their primary defensive focus, not Slaton. WVU would eventually rise to #5 in the nation in national polls before losing to USF for the second straight year after White was injured in the second quarter. WVU went on to win their next 6 games, 3 of which against ranked teams. White dominated in nearly every contest, including 300 total yards passing and rushing and a TD against #25- ranked Rutgers, 328 total yards and 3 TD's against Louisville, 295 total yards and 2 TD's against #22 Cincinnati, and 293 total yards and 3 TD's against #23 Connecticut. In many ways, the 2007 Mountaineer football season will always be remembered for the crushing loss to Pittsburgh in the final game of the regular season as WVU sat at the #2 position in the BCS and poised to make an appearance in their first BCS Championship game. And that game saw Pat White lost to a dislocated thumb in the second quarter. He made a memorable attempt to return to the field despite his injury (I'll never forget the roar of the crowd when the PA announcer said the words, "Pat White has returned to the field"), but was stalled in his efforts to lead the team back into the game. The Mountaineers lost the game, lost their chance at the title, and then lost their head coach a few days later in a story you may have heard a thing or two about. The consolation prize at that point was a trip to the Fiesta Bowl against a #3-ranked Oklahoma team that many felt deserved to be in the BCS Championship game after routing #1-ranked Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game. WVU was a national joke. Their coach split town almost immediately after what would be considered one of the greatest chokes in NCAA history, and they were given little to no chance to beat the talented Sooners. And to top it off, Steve Slaton went down with an injury in the first offensive drive of the game for the Mountaineers that would be the last down he'd ever play in a Mountaineer uniform. But the Mountaineers still had Pat White. "Story arcs in contemporary drama often follow the pattern of bringing a character to a low point, removing the structures the character depends on, then forcing the character to find new strength without those structures." Their coach gone, their star running back hurt, and in the biggest test faced by the Mountaineers all season, White and the team found strength in themselves, in their abilities, in their beliefs, in their coaches, and in their fans. The statistics for White (10/19 176 yards, 2 TD's passing, 150 yards rushing) weren't as important as the heart shown on the field against a defense that was supposed to eat the Mountaineers alive. Again making key conversions on third downs, again driving his team down the field through sheer willpower, White and the Mountaineers beat the Sooners 48-28, restored their national dignity, and White was named Offensive MVP of the game. As if that wasn't enough, White's very public endorsement of then-interim Coach Bill Stewart for the head job was seen as many as an undeniable vote of confidence that carried more weight than typically associated with the opinion of a player still under scholarship. Stewart had White's blessing, and for many of us (myself included), that was enough.  "No, there won't be any tackling today, Sooners." So now the question remains, what can Pat White possibly do in his senior season for Mountaineer fans to judge as a satisfactory conclusion to what many already believe is the finest career in the history of the Mountaineer program? Will his senior season be the denouement of his story, the conclusion of business after the dramatic climax of last season? Or will this season bring this already storied on-field hero to a new height not previously reached? He faces his final season without the structure he's known for three years. Steve Slaton now plays in the NFL. Rich Rodriguez now coaches the Michigan Wolverines. Darrius Reynaud, his top receiver from the last two years, is a Minnesota Viking. He must find strength without that structure to reach the summit all of us as Mountaineer fans believe he can reach. The book on Pat White isn't finished by any means. But it's sure going to be fun to see how it ends. |
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**Warning: The following blog is extremely dorky and should be avoided by anyone seeking to have sex with a woman at any time in the near future.** Just when it is most dark, there is a light. Every year around this time, dorks like myself are granted a wish from the football gods in the form of EA Sports' annual release of its NCAA Football franchise. In this article from almost exactly 1 year ago, I noted that: "A long time ago, some insanely brilliant marketer at EA Sports decided that the middle of the summer would be a great time to release a college football game. And so it began that our interminable off-seasons would be less excruciating, simply because even if we didn't have REAL football, we could at least be playing video game football in the meantime." The same holds true today, which is the day before the release of NCAA Football 2009. My dorky heart is all aflutter anticipating the release of my Rite of Summer, a time in which I immerse myself in a world of fake digital recreations and simulations of my beloved Mountaineers. After all, if we can't have the Real Thing until August Freaking 30th (and some would argue even then that playing Villanova doesn't provide the Real Thing), we might as well wreck some fools with the Blue and Gold in a digital recreation of the magic of football season.  This proposed cover by Gameface25 is enough to make my knees buckle. This year, the Mountaineers have again been blessed with favorable ratings and quite possibly the fastest quarterback in the history of the NCAA franchise. (Anyone that can demonstrate a higher speed ranking than Patrick White's 92 on this year's game, post it in the comments section.) Suffice to say that anyone seen using the ridiculous talents of Patrick White on NCAA 09 is going to be forced to demonstrate their WVU fan credentials, as PW is going to be the cheesiest QB in the history of video games. For his part, Patrick White is rated as a 97 overall, tied for the 4th-highest rated player on the game, behind: 1. James Laurinaitis - MLB - Ohio State - 99 OVR 2. Tim Tebow - QB - Florida - 99 OVR 3. Rey Maualuga - MLB - USC - 98OVR (He and Chase Daniels are tied as the second-highest rated QB's behind Tebow.) As for the Top 5 Speed Ratings: 1. Percy Harvin - 98 SPD - Florida - WR 2. Trindon Holliday - 98 SPD - LSU - HB/WR 3. Jeremy Macklin - 97 SPD - Missouri - WR 4. Noel Devine - 97 SPD - West Virginia - HB 5. Derrick Williams - 97 SPD - Penn State - WR Noel Devine is no joke, suckas. For a Microsoft Excel worksheet with the full ratings for every player on every team in the top 25, click here:  Whether the taint has been removed from the gold jerseys yet remains to be seen. The NCAA 09 Top 10 is as follows: 1) Georgia - 99 overall (99 offense - 99 defense) 2) Oklahoma - 96 overall (99 offense - 94 defense) 3) Ohio State - 99 overall (99 offense - 99 defense) 4) USC - 94 overall (90 offense - 99 defense) 5) Florida - 94 overall (96 offense - 94 defense) 6) LSU - 91 overall (88 offense - 96 defense) 7) Missouri - 94 overall (96 offense - 92 defense) 8) West Virginia - 84 overall (90 offense - 80 defense) 9) Wisconsin - 89 overall (92 offense - 89 defense) 10) Texas - 89 overall (88 offense - 92 defense) As you can see in the above ratings, stopping other teams should prove challenging with WVU's 80 rating for defense, and you can see why if you check out their defensive roster at the above-linked player ratings. (Reed Williams is only an 87.) So there's all the information I feel like digging up for your similarly geeky fix before the official release of NCAA Football 2009 tomorrow. See you on the (fake) playing field.  Want to play online football with fellow Couchers and Couch Staff? Click here. |
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**You have entered the University of Michigan Athletic Center Chat**  dickrod: ARE YOU EFF WORDING KIDDING ME? YOU MEAN I'M NOT GOING TO WIN THIS LAWSUIT? dickrod's_legal_team: Listen, all the George Lucas magic in Hollywood isn't going to make it possible for you to avoid the fact that you signed on the dotted line of a contract that says you have to pay $4 million if you leave. funky_colemandina: Listen, those people are trying to depose ME now! MEEEE!!!!  my_favorite_martin: Well, let's just calm down now. I'm sure they'll be willing to listen if we give them a call and have a decent settlement offer ready. funky_colemandina: Sure thing, dipshit. We should all listen to the guy that hired moneybags over here and then let him play chicken with a bunch of pissed off rednecks. dickrod's_legal_team: Well, if we're finally ready to talk settlement, then I suppose I can get them on the phone and see what they'll consider. dickrod's_legal_team: /calls WVU_legal_team flaherty_gun: Say, what's happening there, sporto. dickrod's_legal_team: No time for chitchat, sir. We've come to discuss the possibility of a settlement. flaherty_gun: Well, I just so happen to be meeting w/ some WVU officials now. What did you have in mind? dickrod's_legal_team: What if we paid you... ALL THE MONEY? flaherty_gun: Hang on, let me run that by my people.**You have entered WVU Admin Private Chat** flaherty_gun: Uh, they want to pay us all the money. garrisowned: HAHAHAHA, THAT SHIT IS AWESOME #1_WVU_FAN: Hey, that's great. flaherty_gun: Wait, what are you doing here, Gov. Manchin? #1_WVU_FAN: Didn't you know I have to stick my nose in everything related to WVU athletics? flaherty_gun: I had kinda noticed that, actually. #1_WVU_FAN: I mean, it's not like West Virginia has any other problems or anything. flaherty_gun: Um... ok. I'm going to get back on the phone w/ Michigan now.**You have left WVU Admin Private Chat and re-entered the University of Michigan Athletic Center Chat** flaherty_gun: /snickering flaherty_gun: Ok, I think we can get this done. You pay us the 4 mil and we'll drop the suit. dickrod's_legal_team: WHEW! GREAT WORK, EVERYBODY! funky_colemandina: Wait, how is this a settlement? You just gave them everything they asked for! dickrod's_legal_team: Oh. Um... The University of Michigan is going to pay 2.5 million now and then the other 1.5 over the next 3 years is going to be Rod's! flaherty_gun: Alright... I guess if we have to... flaherty_gun: /openly laughing dickrod's_legal_team: Ok, we'll get the paperwork to you first thing. dickrod's_legal_team: /hangs up dickrod's_legal_team: Well, I think that went really well. my_favorite_martin: Woooooo doggy. Now we can play some FOOT BALL!!! dickrod: So does this mean I get to go install my 12 plays now? dickrod's_legal_team: Sure does, buddy. Go get 'em. funky_colemandina: God, why couldn't I be the President of Dartmouth or something.**Pitt_police_hata has entered the Chat**  Pitt_police_hata: What the hell? Why didn't anyone pay my buyout? my_favorite_martin: Who the hell is THIS guy?Want to play online football with fellow Couchers and Couch Staff? Click here. |
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In the end, it really was all about the money. According to numerous media outlets, (most notably this AP story), West Virginia University and former head coach Rich Rodriguez have reached a settlement agreement whereby the former coach will pay the $4 million buyout at issue in the nasty court dispute between the two parties. (How that is construed as a "settlement" is beyond me. That's like me settling my 75 dollar Comcast bill by paying them 75 dollars.) The salient details of the payment schedule are fairly surprising (and funny) themselves. According to this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article: "[Sources indicate that] Rodriguez will pay $1.5 million over a three-year span that begins in two-and-a-half years, with $500,000 due at the end of each 2010, 2011 and 2012. Michigan will pay $2.5 million immediately, and additionally is expected to pick up Mr. Rodriguez's legal fees."  An approximate analogy of WVU's legal victory over Rodriguez. The WVU Board of Governors must still approve the deal, but the AP article indicates that their approval is almost assured. That article cites university attorney Tom Flaherty as reporting that "the Rodriguez camp approached the university with a "significant and serious offer" within the past few days, and WVU responded with a counterproposal Tuesday." The settlement isn't a total victory for the university, as it still must pay its own attorney fees and isn't permitted to charge pre or post-settlement interest. The previously cited AP article notes that the decision to settle was related to a lawsuit WVU filed in a Michigan court last week asking a judge to order Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and President Mary Sue Coleman to testify in depositions related to the WVU v. Rodriguez case. At the end of the day, the agreement to meet the initially-proposed (and contractually stipulated) $4 million dollar buyout serves as a definitive victory not only for WVU, but for all NCAA schools held captive at the whim of fickle coaches and flimsy buyout clauses. At a time when it seems like the contracts of NCAA coaches aren't worth the paper they're written on, perhaps this settlement indicates a shift in the tide.  "Man, does this suck for me." So it appears that the long and nasty feud between WVU and its former favorite son is soon to end, and both sides will be able to move forward towards their respective 2008-2009 football seasons. And it also seems like Mountaineer fans are, as they have always said they would be, satisfied by the fact that Rodriguez is going to be forced to pay what he was obligated to pay. Ever since the onset of the bitter dispute between WVU and Rodriguez, the national media mistook WVU fans' anger over their coach's departure as that of a jilted lover. We were jealous. We were scorned. We wanted revenge. The truth was that while the initial sting of Rodriguez's departure was severe, most Mountaineer fans moved past the scorn on exactly the same date and time- January 2, 2008. After that, it became an issue of honor to us. Honor your contract. Honor your word. I said as much in this blog entry, noting that my stance on the ex-coach could "be summed up by a line in the movie 'Jackie Brown'- "Jackie can tell me any story that comes into her pretty little head, just so long as at the end of that story she hands me my motherf---ing money." Now it appears that the Rodriguez camp and his new employer are prepared to hand WVU their motherf---ing money, and all is well with WVU fans everywhere. I predict that you'll see the hate dissipate (although we'll still root heavily against Michigan), and even see a few positive things written by previously scornful WVU fans. That's just how we are. All we wanted was what was owed to us, to the university. After that, it's good riddance, Product Rodriguez. |
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In honor of the good news today, we are having an extra special photoshoppin' event. Choose either of these 2 pictures.  I'll kick it off.   |