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Firing On All Cylinders
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East Carolina was supposed to be the team that slowed down West Virginia's running attack to the point that some in Mountaineer Nation believed Saturday's game might be a classic "trap" game before facing #18 USF on Friday. Well, so much for that. The Mountaineers looked more cohesive, more focused, and more talented than ever before against the Pirates, amassing nearly 600 yards of total offense (almost 400 on the ground against the vaunted rush defense of ECU), 6 touchdowns, and precisely 1 punt. Patrick White had one of the best games of his career, completing 20 of 22 passes for 186 yards and 2 TD's, rushing for 44 more yards (and two scores) as well. WVU methodically picked apart the ECU defense like Ralph Friedgen at a hog roast, but the story of the game may have been the resurgent Mountaineer defense. Granted, ECU's offense certainly doesn't represent the biggest challenge the Mountaineers will face this season, but the defense limited the Pirates to only 9 first downs all day, along with 160 total yards and only a garbage-time TD to boot. The domination by the WVU defense can be seen in the drive chart for the Pirates, which reads: Punt, INT, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Turnover on downs, Punt, TD  A fitting motivational poster for the Pirates. The ease with which the Mountaineers handled the Pirates, as well as the focus shown by a team that certainly couldn't have helped looking ahead to this Friday's showdown with #18-ranked South Florida, demonstrated that this team might not only be more talented than last year's bunch, but it might be more mentally mature as well. Game Notes: - Brandon Hogan was impressive in his first real action for the Mountaineers, catching 6 passes (all of which were little WR screen passes) for 44 yards. He was heard afterwards to remind children to train, say their prayers, and eat their vitamins.  The first of many Brandon/Hulk Hogan jokes. - The star of the game may have been Darrius Reynaud, who had 54 yards receiving with 2 TD's, and had one of the more spectacular rushes you'll ever see on an end-around to set up WVU's first TD. He's been a little banged up, though, as a result of a shoulder strain received in practice. He should be able to play against USF, though. - The star of the defense was Mortty Ivy, who had a key interception and a monster sack to his credit on the day. Ivy's performance was so impressive, he made his first career appearance in The Wire this week. - Noel Devine was decidedly less spectacular in this game than in his previous three appearances, notching only 11 yards on 7 carries. Oddly, I see this as a positive, considering the hype and expectations that were being placed upon his every carry. Sometimes a little disappointment is good for an 18-year-old. (As evidenced by my prom night. ZING!) Stay tuned this week for a series of articles and features on the South Florida |
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| MarshallSucks | Posted: 9/24/2007 4:51 pm Updated: 9/24/2007 4:51 pm |
Pitt Hater   Joined: 7/27/2006 From: Beckley, West Virginia Posts: 2402 |
 Re: Firing On All CylindersHow about a Brandon/Hulk "Who Da Man" feature?
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| blohillbilly | Posted: 9/24/2007 9:42 pm Updated: 9/26/2007 2:17 pm |
WMITC   Joined: 11/16/2006 From: Buffalo, NY Posts: 2364 |
Re: Firing On All Cylinders Quote:
Sometimes a little disappointment is good for an 18-year-old. (As evidenced by my prom night. ZING!) Sometimes you're a f**king funny guy Jude.  |
