Coming into the 2008 season, new head coach Bill Stewart said West Virginia’s defense – with eight new starters – would have to carry the offense in the early games.
He proclaimed on the Big East weekly media teleconference Monday morning that the defenders have really made the biggest difference in the 20th-ranked Mountaineers’ 6-2 start before Patrick White & Co. finally started to click recently.
Coordinator Jeff Casteel’s crew has shut out the opposition in the second half of five games to date. In the process, the defense has allowed only 14.8 points and 308.8 yards per game. WVU ranks among the nation’s top 15 in scoring defense.
The offense is averaging 25.2 points and 354.4 yards per game, thanks to its explosive come-from-behind performances in impressive victories over Auburn and Connecticut the past two weeks.
“We are playing good at times and not so good at times,”
Stewart readily admitted. “I think we continue to get better. The defense is clicking on all cylinders and has kept us in games.“
“But we’ve got another tough, physical game coming up Saturday.”
The Mountaineers, 3-0 atop the Big East standings, put the league lead on the line for the second consecutive week when Cincinnati, 6-2 and 2-1, visits Mountaineer Field/Milan Puskar Stadium.
Last Thursday night the Bearcats rose up and knocked South Florida out of the national rankings.
“Brian Kelly has been absolutely awesome with what he has done at Cincinnati,”
Stewart said of his second-year counterpart. “Tony Pike presents problems. He’s a big, strong quarterback.“
“They’ve got a lot of big weapons on offense. Our defense had better be ready.”
Stewart praised Jock Sanders, sophomore running back and slot receiver, who scored a career-high three touchdowns in last Saturday’s 35-13 win at Connecticut. He is the leading pass-catcher with 35 receptions for 263 yards and six touchdowns and rushed 30 times for 192 yards and two scores.
“He’s giving us explosive performances,”
the first-year head coach exclaimed. “What he can do drives opponents nuts. He brings so much to the table with his athleticism.”
“Jock is not really big. But he’s great to watch.”
Stewart also lauded All-America tackle Ryan Stanchek’s play as a leader on the offensive line. “He has a lot of knockdowns and pancakes, and he’s a wonderful young man,”
he said.
He expressed hope that the Mountaineers can keep their proper one-game-at-a-time perspective now that the team has regained Top 25 ranking. “Our guys want to win, particularly Patrick White,”
he said. “He’s such a competitor and a great young man.”
