Apparently we're not the only one with play calling issues

While innocently perusing the internets, I came across this diatribe from Kissing Suzy Kolber, which was intended to be aimed at the Vikings coach (who's name escapes me), but is equally applicable to our very own ball coach. I made a few choice edits which appear in brackets:

Thinking about which play to call, coach? Thinking about a shotgun lateral dumpoff pass on 3rd and 1? I bet you are. Let me just give you a little piece of advice. You see the big strong kid wearing #[10] over there on the bench? You know, the one who averaged [4.13] yards a carry on the [night]? The guy who only got 2 carries in the second half? The only good player [still in]on your offense? The one you apparently assume is made of peanut brittle? The only thing about this season that's keeping me from drinking a gallon of rubber cement? Here's a wild idea for you:

Use what works and don't run what doesn't.

Revolutionary? No. Its just common sense.

Rodriguez is like the crazy guy in undergrad who could do differential calculus, but failed arithmetic. He essentially invented a whole new offensive scheme being employed with great success from Florida to Oregon, but has forgotten fundamental play calling theory. For instance, I suspect that sometime during Coaching 101 the following maxim gets taught:

Overpower those who are small but fast. Outrun those who are strong but slow.

USF's fast defenders covered the field from sideline to sideline. The only chink in the armor appeared when we lined up for power football. The I-formation succeeded the few times it was used in gobbling up yardage. Similarly, Owen Schmitt averaged just a tad under 4 ypc. But ignoring the aforementioned fundamental maxim, we abandoned power football and returned to the full spread and attempts at outrunning a very fast USF defense.

Ok, that's it from me regarding USF. I promise.

It has to stop

The first time was just a little experimentation. Everyone else was doing it and everybody said how great it was. And boy did you ever get a rush that first time when everything clicked and you realized how good it could be. But then it was as if there was a tolerance building up. It used to be once a game, then once a half, then once a quarter. Now, well I think we all know what has happened now. It's all the damn time. You say you can quit anytime, but someone that is serious about quitting doesn't do it this much. We are only doing this because we care. Rich, you have to stop bubble screening.

Maybe you don't trust the receivers to run down the field, but still need to try to "pass." You want to spread that defense out as much as possible. But look how everyone, except ECU, is defending the screen this year. They aren't pulling linebackers out of the hashes. Instead they are walking safeties up. That means 11 guys are playing within 5 yards of the ball when it is snapped. It also means that both corners and safeties are playing on the balls of their feet, not their heels, because they are attacking the line. This makes running more difficult. And the bubble screen has just become a gateway pass anyway. First it was the regular bubble screen. Now we have 10 variants of rolling out, double screens, and play actions screens. None of these are a pure as the original screen. But it doesn't matter as long as you get that quick screen fix.

The first few weeks will be hard. There is going to be a lot of night sweats and trying to sneak out and have a quick screen after practice, but you have to remain strong. Passes can go over 10 yards in the air. You've done it before. Remember? Virginia Tech in 2003 had their backs broken by a play action bomb. I know there is the chance that throwing downfield can lead to interceptions or drops or worse another Chris Henry, but it can also lead to touchdowns and big plays and 7 men in the box instead of 9. Remember "instruments up?" The first step is always the hardest. Maybe we should start by running crossing patterns and outs. They are relatively close to the line of scrimmage so as to give you the rush of a screen and aren't that dangerous. So we'll talk soon about your progress. Oh, and leave your playbook. It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that right now you are sick and this is only going to make it worse.

Legitimate griping about polls

I'm freaking swamped at work today, but let me point out a few quick things.

Polls are somewhat important - from the slight effect on recruiting to the eventual effect on bowl seeding, with that in mind:

South Carolina's only loss is to undefeated #1 LSU.
Oregon's only loss is to undefeated #3 Cal.
West Virginia's only loss is to undefeated #6 USF.

In contrast,
Florida's only loss is to an unranked two loss Auburn.
Oklahoma's only loss is to an unranked two loss Colorado.

USF is now my favorite to win the Big East. Against Louisville, their two shut down corners will slow down Brohm and the offense will score often enough against that pitiful D. Rutgers was exposed by a decent Maryland team. Cinci is still a wildcard though.

Speaking of Cinci, I'll go on record now predicting that unless we start throwing the ball dowfield, we will lose again on Nov 24th.

Anyway, back to work.

Links and a Song to Make Us Feel Better

As we all drown our sorrow from this past weekends game/games, it might be a good time to remember that we weren't the only ones to have our national title hopes crushed. I do a thing over at the FanHouse called the College Football Songbook where I take the funniest happening in the college football world (always an upset to this point) and put it to song and video. And here's this weeks offering titled: America's Wang and the Tasty Tears of Upsets.



Also, I have been fortunate enough to be interviewed the past couple weeks on a new internet radio station dedicated to college football blogs called College Football Weekly. Man did I ever get it right about the South Florida defense. Ugh! Anyway, head over and give it a listen.

WVU-USF review

If you missed the game, congrats. If you watched, then you will understand why none of us are capable of posting a rational review of the game without simply spewing "fuck" over and over again, as in:

"Fuck, another fucking screen pass?"
"Fuck, another fucking turnover?"
"Fuck, why not fucking throw down field?"
"Fuck, you have one fucking job Dent, get the fucking ball to the fucking quarterback."
"Fuck."

I wish I had more to say, but invariably, coach Rodriguez, despite his alleged offensive genius, reverted to the same bullheadedness we have heretofore chronicled resulting in a perplexity that yields few coherent thoughts from this Bastard.

During the discussion with tummysticks the following day, in which we continued to ponder the lack of vertical passing game, we've come to the conclusion that RR simply has no faith in our receiver corps. We strongly suspect that Patrick White is capable of making throws. So the only explanation for the lack of downfield attempts is perhaps a deficiency at receiver.

At WR, we have Hogan and Reynauld, two sub-six-foot converted runningbacks who are speedy, great in space and can make the occasional catch on a crossing pattern, but with their small frames, do not impose physical difficulties upon covering defenders. Similary, Tito Gonzales serves little purpose other than downfield blocker or again, the occasional crossing pattern. Dorrel Jalloh has emerged perhaps our best true receiver, but at an even six feet, lacks the requisite height to battle for jump balls with corners. Wes Lyons, who had his best performance yet as a Mountaineer in the second half Friday night, has crazy height at 6'8", but lacks the break free speed at a reported 4.6 forty.

With the tools we have, however, there are certainly downfield pass plays which would presumably be effective against 8-9 man fronts. For instance, I have yet to see the Slaton wheel route which was so effective last year, particularly against Pitt. Similarly, with safeties coming up to the help against the run, get Lyons out on 15 yard flag or post pattern and simply throw the ball up. He has atleast an 8" height advantage over any corner. Watch Oregon play sometime. You'll see precisely what we're talking about. Preferrably, I would like to see Lyons and Jalloh on the outside with Reynauld in the slot. But we shall see.

Consider for instance, play action post to Reynauld from the slot. Immediate pressure on White could result in a dump off to Schmitt "lead blocking" the play action. If White has a moment to set up, two scenerios present themselves. One, the safeties will have bitten on the play action 9 out of 10 times. Reynauld is on an island, throw it up and let the kid make a play. If they haven't bitten, you still have the dump off to the wide out running a shorter route. (From my hazy recollection, this resembles the play upon which Reynald caught the TD. But we only ran it once. And late in the game when we had to.) I, of course, am no head coach, so I suspect RR has his reasons. I just wish someone would ask him about it. Maybe I should call in to his radio show this week.

Compare, for instance, the WVU offense circa 2004. The self-destruction to be, Chris Henry, with all the speed and hops of a potential NFL star, often stretch the defense vertical both scoring touchdowns on his own accord, but also, and more importantly, forcing the defense to take at least one safety out of the box. With the questionable play of our line, forcing at least one more defender to play the pass would certainly lessen the pressure on our front 5.

Additionally, we are beginning to believe that WVU is incapable, for inexplicable reasons, of maintaining long scoring drives. Perhaps with the inexperience of the line and the complexity of the plays and if contained to only 4 or so yards per play, which would be otherwise unstoppable, mistakes occur and the drive is prematurely stopped. If we ever play for a national championship, I would anticipate it to be against a good defense and if we ever want to win that game, we're going to have to be able to grind it out. Unfortunately demonstrated Friday night, we just can't do it this year.

I'd also like to point out that the majority of fumbles were caused more by the ability of the USF defenders and their perfect helmet on ball tackles than on the inability of our own runners. It certainly is a point of concern but I do not expect it to reoccur this horribly again this season.

Anyway, for an analysis better than any of us could objectively post right now, see SMQ for more details.

West Virginia thrives on creating indecision, isolating defenders, getting them overpursuing, off-balance and missing tackles in space, and USF had none of it. The Bulls kept contain, took proper pursuit angles and got the runner to the ground on the first opportunity on virtually every play.

Cock Gobblers!!!!

Fuckity Fuck Fuck Fuck! More coherent words when I'm sober.

Halftime Thoughts WVU-USF

-If I never hear Chris Spielman's voice again, it will be too soon. Chris, shut the fuck up! I have finally found someone that I hate to hear more than Mark May.

-Mike Dent, you have one job from hear on out. Ball to the quarterback in the air between the numbers and block if you can.

-As bad as White has played in the first half, I say stay with Brown. If all else fails, get Mr. Pink in there.

-I-formation seems to work like gangbusters. So naturally we don't run it again.

-USF offense nonexistent. Just don't turn the ball over and everything will be fine.

-My balls are itching so I need to step away. Trust me, it's a good sign, like Eric Estrada's character, Chili Bean, in the movie Midway.

-Oh yeah, FUCK YOU Chris Spielman!

Weekend Watching

Believe it or not they are playing games on a Saturday this week. What will they think of next? And what about all of the kids playing high school football? Or those trying to respect the Sabath. Shomer fucking shabbos. There are some big games out there this weekend and Lou Holtz is all ready to give them pep talks about marriage, business, bumble bees, your wife and the drummer, vertigo, trees, blimps, herpes blisters, and what ever else pops into his head during his rants of a man with a brain destroyed by an uncontrolled case of syphilis.

"Big week in the Pac10 men. Those who say we can't win haven't seen a prairie dog. Men they have social networks and kissing rituals. Plus they are adorable AND edible. Men when you are having sex with a hooker always remember that it isn't important for her to get off, since she is getting paid and that applies to stay at home moms as well men." Anyway on to the games.

Early games are just appetizers this week. Most ranked teams should have the game well in hand by half time. LSU plays Tulane, VT plays UNC, BC plays UMass, and Oklahoma plays Colorado. Take the extra time to sleep off that hangover from either celebrating or drinking away the sorrows after WVU plays tonight. Or take the little lady out for lunch to let her know you are sorry about not paying attention to her the last month or so on weekends and will make it up with a soup/salad combo. However, make sure you're home in time for the afternoon games.

Cal vs. Oregon--Oregon showed off more than ugly uniforms against Michigan. They unleashed the hellfire that is a spread offense willing to throw downfield. Oregon scored 32 first half points and put up 624 yards in that game. On the Season the Ducks are 4-0 and Dennis Dixon has thrown for 932 yards and run for another 291. Meanwhile Cal has been cruising since the Tennessee game with wins over Colorado State, La Tech, and Arizona. Desean Jackson has been held in check, but as teams have sent the entire secondary after him Lavelle Hawkins has gotten off for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns on 25 receptions. Cal is scoring 41.5 points per game and giving up 24.5. Oregon is scoring 48.5 points per game and giving up 21.5. The over/under is around 72.5. Enjoy.

Those of us in Big10 country will get the infinitely less enjoyable game of Michigan State v. Wisconsin. Both teams are undefeated. Sparty has been deadly on the ground with Javon Ringer and Jehuu Caulcrick both over 300 yards rushing on the year. When the ball goes in the air it is usually to Devin Thomas (370 yards receiving). Wisconsin has survived at UNLV and a scare from The Citadel for a half before taking Iowa in a 17-13 slugfest last week. PJ Hill has over 500 yards rushing for the Badgers. If you get stuck with this game it has officially become nappytime for the afternoon.

Alabama v. Florida State--One team was good a long time ago. The other was good a less long time ago. Bobby Bowden was Bear Bryants grandad. I give up this game isn't that exciting.

USC v. Washington--The first test for the Trojans wasn't much of a test. They had all the answers in advance for Nebraska in a 49-31 win that was 42-10 in the third quarter. USC uses about 50 different running backs in the 10th best rushing offense in the country and is limiting opponents to 64 yards rushing per game. Washington has faced one high caliber defense in Ohio State and managed a respectable 346 total yards but were unable to score and turned the ball over 4 times in a 33-14 loss. Washington must run and control the clock to have a chance otherwise USC will wear the Huskies down and out.

Finally, Auburn tries to save their season v. Florida. Auburn is 2-2 coming into this game and Brandon Cox has 6 interceptions. The Tigers are 91st in the country in turnover margin. The defense has been respectable (26th in the country) to attempt to offset the beleaguered passing attack (99th). Florida is 22th in total offense and 27th in total defense in a 4-0 start. However, despite holding Ole Miss to 2-11 on third down, having no turnovers, and over 100 more yards of total offense, the Gators trailed in the fourth quarter to the Rebels. Tim Tebow leads the Gators with 1096 passing yards, 358 rushing yards, and Chuck Norris random generators with 1.

It keeps getting worse for the Cards

In further proof that God is a spiteful god with a mean sense of humor, things have gotten worse for the Cards.

Sure, their season is going down the drain. We all know that. But now, former blue chip 3 star linebacker and career criminal Willie Williams has been dismissed from the team (ht: EDSBS). We briefly chronicled Willie during recruiting season. Williams had contributed 5 solo tackles, 4 ast. tackles, and 1 solo for loss, which is enough for 10th on the team this season.


And the Card Chronicle, who's having a rough time this year, reports that "Louisville lost a pair of top basketball recruits late Wednesday evening as Olek Czyz committed to Duke and Eloy Vargas announced that he's taking his game to Florida."

I guess at a certain point, you have to start feeling bad for them. Fortunately, we're not yet to that point.

Lou Holths Pep Speech to South Florida

We can only hope that this will be played to the Bulls right before kickoff tonight. As they are sure to be confused beyond belief and covered in spit. Transcript below.



Men, thith ith hoth fothballth.......Ruleths of lifth saysure growing or dying.....Bumble Bees! Aeronautical princsipalths say Bumble Bees can'th flyth! (wipes mouth) Bumble Bees can'th readth stho they don't listhen. Leth Go!

Update: video fixed. Damn WWL.

Coach Rod on ESPN

Somebody who has the time use this space to write up a second about DickRod on the ESPN talking about getting ready for the big game, and comparing the Mounties to the Yankees.
I actually have to go to worky now. Let's Go!

MLB Predictions Revisited- AL

Predictions /Results

EAST

1. Yankees 1. Red Sox (2)

2. Blue Jays 2. Yankees 2 gb

3. Red Sox 3. Blue Jays

4. Devil Rays 4. Orioles

5. Orioles 5. Devil Rays

CENTRAL

1. Tigers 1. Indians

2. Twins 2. Tigers

3. Indians 3. Twins

4. White Sox 4. White Sox

5. Royals 5. Royals

WEST

1. Angels 1. Angels

2. A's 2. Mariners

3. Rangers 3. A's

4. Mariners 4. Rangers

Trusting that you need no explanation of how the above chart works- I will dive right in and keep it brief. There is a football game tonight to write about.

I had the Yanks taking the East (which still is a possibility- two games back in the division with a wild-card clinched) and had the Red Sox third. That may have been due to personal bias. I would like to have seen the Jays put something together- at least more than Boston.

The Central I had given to the Tigers- and they probably should have won it. The Tribe got hot, stayed hot, and Sabathia pitched wonderfully all year. If you will notice, excepting the boost in the standings by Cleveland, the rest of the division wrapped up in just the order I predicted.

I called the Angels to win the West, and they did. The Mariners played a lot better than I expected them to- keeping it close much of the season. They fell like a lead balloon a couple weeks back. Good job to them, and lets hope they don’t sign Barry. Lets secretly hope no team signs Barry. Yeah, fuck you Barry.

Overall I have two teams solidly picked that made the post season from the AL. The Yanks, who haven't won the division yet- I stress YET and cross my fingers. Also the Angels, who everyone should have picked from February to take the West. The race is close for the best record in the AL. Four team race- Yanks two games off the the tie between Cleveland and Boston. I love October. Look for the NL prediction wrap up early next week.

More Site News

I would also like to welcome Johnny to our humble little blog.

In conjunction with his arrival, we are making some site changes such as including the blog poll stuff. So I'll be making some layout changes over the course of the day. Consequently, we may experience some occasional technical difficulties, but just check back in a few minutes if the site ends up all garbled.

Around the Conference Week 5

If you don't know what week this is, just ask Tron. Friday night marks the only Big East game between two conference teams as most schools are finishing up the out of conference schedules on Saturday. Every game is winnable for the Big East teams, but as we have seen so far this year, you never bet on Pitt, Syracuse, or Louisville.

Akron vs. UConn--UConn leads off for the conference on Saturday by taking on Akron. Akron comes in 2-2 with loses to Ohio State and Indiana and wins over Army and Kent State. The Zips are struggling on offense to say the least. The total offense is 111 with a rushing offense at 102 and passing offense at 111. The defense has not stopped the run (98th) but has played well against the pass (15th). UConn shocked Pitt last week by forcing 6 turnovers and jumping out to a 34-7 lead. Through 4 games, the Huskies have yet to lose and Tyloer Lrenzen has thrown for 880 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Miami (OH) vs. Syracuse--Syracuse attempts the unimaginable. After beating Louisville just a week ago, Syracuse now goes for a second straight win versus Miami (OH). Last week, Syracuse piled up 465 total yards with 423 yards passing en route to the victory over the Cardinals. The 423 yards came on only 17 pass completions which says more about Louisville than it does Syracuse. The rushing offense has fallen to 118 in the country and the defense is now 112th (105 rushing and 103 passing). The Orange scored more points against Louisville than their first three games combined. The RedHawks are also 1-3 with a win over Ball State and then losses to Minnesota, Cincy, and Colorado in succession. Miami averages around 333 yards of total offense (88th in the country) and gives up about 500 yards (111th) so look for a titanic battle in this one, which has some how been left off of the ABC game of the week.

Maryland v. Rutgers--Maryland is 2-2 and still an unknown. The Terps beat Villanova and Florida International then lost to WVU and Wake Forest the last two weeks. WVU averaged 7.4 yards per carry versus the Terps in 353 rushing yards while WF ran for 178 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. Rutgers will try to match those numbers with the 16th ranked rushing offense at 228 yards per game. In addition Rutgers is passing more efficiently as they are the 19th passing offense in the country behind the number 1 qb in the country in effeciency Mike Teel. Of course all of this has come against Buffalo, Navy, and Norfolk State so the competetion hasn't been intense yet.

Louisville v. NC State--The Cardinals are at a fork in the road. They can either start working their way back to respectability or they can quit. Given the state of the defense (104th against the pass and 90th overall) it may be easier to quit. The Cardinals are averaging 619 yards and 50 points per game and have two loses. NC State beat Wofford (who beat Appy State, who beat Michigan) so the only things keeping the Wolfpack from a high ranking are loses to Central Florida, BC, and Clemson. NC State is getting gashed against the run to the tune of 247 yards per game but have been pretty good against the pass at 161 yards per game. Of course most teams have quit throwing after building a lead. Louisville won't, and can't afford to, do that even if they are up 30.

Pitt v. Virginia--Pitt has UVA and Navy in a row and could win or lose both without surprising anyone too much. LeSean McCoy is averaging 6.4 yards per attempt on offense. That's it for Pitt on offense. The Panthers are only averaging 22 points per game with a schedule that included Eastern Michigan, Grambling, and UConn in three of the four games thus far. Pat Bostick is the present and the future and has responded with 4 interceptions to 1 touchdown. Virginia has a blowout loss to Wyoming and then has rattled off three straight wins all in conference. The Cavs are horrible on offense averaging under 300 total yards per game and less than 20 points and are average on defense. The defense has given up more yards than the offense has generated (357 per game) but UVA has found was to win despite also losing the turnover battle on the season.

Cincy v. San Diego State--In the final Big East conference game of the week, Cincy travels to see Ron Burgandy and take on the Aztecs. San Diego State is 1-2 with loses to Washington State and Arizona State by big margins and last week a blowout victory over Portland State. The Aztecs will throw the ball all over the yard and are averaging more than 300 yards passing per game. The Bearcats are number 1 in the country in turnover margin, but have given up some yards through the air (221 per game). The only real concern for Cincy is that they are ranked for the first time since 1976 and have Rutgers next week. This is a trap game that could be closer than most would guess because of those factors.

Owen Schmitt Approves This Post

You guys really have no idea what you are getting yourselves into do you? Likewise I guess I can give you guys a buffer period. Since I do the first down cheer every night before I go to bed, and before every meal, I tend to rub some people the wrong way. And yeah, that whole "Fuck!" thing. Such a beautiful word, and it has so many different meanings. (The following are not my words. I just don't think I should link to the page they came from until I'm sure you guys aren't going to kick me out)

Fraud : "I got Fucked at the car dealership"
Dismay: "Oh Fuck it"
Trouble: "I guess I'm really Fucked now"
Aggression: "Don’t Fuck with me pal"
Difficulty: "I don’t understand this Fucking question"
Inquiry: "Who the Fuck was that?"
Dissatisfaction: "I don’t like what the Fuck is going on here"
Incompetence: "He's a Fuck up"
Dismissal: "Why don’t you go outside and play hide and go Fuck yourself?"

I'm sure I'll fit right in at the Bastard Sons of Pinfall Marks Cheep-ass Tailgate 2007. Anyone up for Black Label beer bongs? Ummmmm!

If you guys ever hear me utter the words, "Hey! Watch my cannonball!", please make sure I'm standing in front of a large body of water. And preferably not standing on the Star City bridge. M'kay?

Life interrupts, but in all seriousness thank you for having me on board! I'm looking forward to it.

Here Comes Johnny

I welcome Johnny to our humble site. Not so much with open arms... I am not quite ready to hug it out. I like the idea of adding to the Bastard family. I do approve of the things I have read from our newest addition, and especially like Pink Floyd references. They make me so happy. Johnny may well change his mind once he meets up with our little tribunal. Especially once he meets OS. Not kidding at all. Definitely if they happen to meet at a golf outing and share a cart. Once McGoo drives him over a cliff and through a pond on the first hole only to get angrily silent for the last seventeen- Johnny may well decide to reopen his solo affair. I hope he gives us enough time to get through the First Annual Bastard Sons of Pinfall Marks Cheap-ass Tailgate 2007. We could certainly use another guy to chip in on the goodies. I have personally pledged a case of Natty Light. LPTS is in for some cheap plastic bottle o' booze- or is it vice versa? Anyway- maybe Johnny will sponsor a 40 oz. or something.

I am a Bud Heavy guy myself, but do approve of Coors Original. Coors light is awful. Cheers.

Site News

One of the first WVU related sites I would regularly read was the Mountainlair which was well written and used the word "fuck" a lot. In the writer's Blogger profile he listed Gates of Fire as his favorite book and it's the only book I've ever finished that didn't have pictures or a Hardy Boy within. So when OS asked me the other day if I minded if Johnny, the one man gang at the Mountainlair (site not place), joined our gang of misfit toys I of course immediately said "Am I being replaced?" When OS informed me that in fact I couldn't be replaced because he needs me to get good seats for football games I was on board. The additional writer means more for you to read, some of which may even exclude inside jokes about white shoes, the gasiness of OS, or other OS related humor. At least until Johnny gets a chance to meet him. Then all bets are off. The only downside is the obvious pseudonym of "Johnny." As many of you know my real name is Francis letsplaytummysticks (it's Scandanvian), Brave Sir Robin is an old family name from Robin's traveling gypsy family and Option Spread is such a common Appalachian name I grew up with three Option Spreads in my neighborhood alone. So to this "Johnny" I say hello and welcome to the group.

Game Week--USF

This week the Big East has its first in-conference game matching ranked teams for the year and will do so in prime time in front of a national television audience with a few people desperate for a WVU win. Of course it is also on a Friday so that takes a little wind out of the sails. That's right the first big game for WVU this season takes place opposite Painkiller Jane, Moonlight, the Ghost Whisperer, and Meerkat Manor (called one of the saddest Meerkat's ever). Fans of these shows with kids playing high school sports will be glad to know that many of the high school games in the state of West Virginia are being moved to Saturday to accommodate fans of Numb3rs WVU football. This game will mark the first game of the year that a member of this site did not attend. But fear not as I have dispatched my newly Florida residing parents (already unable to cope with temperatures below 70, much faster in the 40, and storing up on guns and coke for the winter) and longtime reader/commenter/drunken fool Wolf to the game to give us insight into the USF big game experience. Wolf has guaranteed pictures unless he either a) gets too drunk to take pictures; b) trades the camera for more alcohol c) falls down and breaks his camera (falling down is a common experience for him when drunk) or d) says "fuck it" and sleeps through the game never leaving his house. Really it's a crap shoot. Now on to the game.

USF is the ninth largest university in the United States with a total enrollment of almost 45,000. USF has been around since 1959 and maybe put the cart before the horse as there is not even close to enough campus housing as only about 5,600 of the students live in university residence halls. Even the football players try to commute from as far as possible. One positive outcome is highly successful campus bookstore selling only books on tape. The football program started in 1997 and has been in 1-A since 2001 with Jim Levitt as the only head coach in the school's history which also makes him the winningest coach in school history. The WVU game will mark the first sell-out in the history of the USF home games. Last year South Florida beat WVU in Morgantown behind a defense that allowed 310 total yards and forced 4 turnovers. In that game USF was able to shut down both Slaton and White (combined for 60 yards) with a strategy of playing man to man on the receivers, getting penetration from the ends (especially Julmiste who is not on the team this year), having the interior defensive line hold the line without over penetrating, and using linebackers and safeties to play assignment football and fill all of the gaps. On offense the Bulls were led by Matt Grothe's 279 passing yards and his 47 rushing yards.

This year the defense will probably try the same strategy as corners Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams are back and as seniors are both considered shut down corners with NFL potential. WVU must be able to get big plays through the passing game as once again USF will put those corners on islands and bring everyone else against the run. In order to pass effectively, however, WVU will need to block George Selvie. Selvie leads the nation with 8.5 sacks and has at least 1.5 sacks in every game this year. The defense as a whole ranks 7th in the country (13th run, 14th pass) and has 7 interceptions in three games. Offensively the Bulls have been sluggish thusfar with an offense ranked 70th in the country (58th rush, 65th pass). The leading rusher has been Freshman Mike Ford with 181 yards this season with 4 touchdowns. He splits time with Benjamin Williams who has 117 yards and the two are complemented by Grothe adding 88 yards. Grothe has also thrown for 652 yards with Taurus Jhohnson leading the team in both receptions and yards. Should the game come down to a kick the Bulls are screwed unless someone takes out Delbert Alvarado before Friday.

At least the night game keeps the team and fans out of the Hard Sun (and yes this is just a blatant excuse to post the following song from Eddie, but I don't care).

Happy Tuesday Morning

In honor of Tummysticks birthday, I offer this pic of him watching the ladies. I am not positive of the date, I know it is soon. Maybe today... I have a secretary that handles those things. I should call and ask.

Rock bottom--Pitt

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh a stunning loss to UConn has left Dave Wannstedt with a career record of 13-14 at Pitt. Losing to Ohio in 2005 was a nadir, but it was the the first season for the Stache. Losing to UConn last year was bad, and kept Pitt from a bowl, but there weren't really big expectations. This is the third full year for Wanny. He put together recruiting classes ranking 38 in 2005, 21 in 2006, and 26 in 2007. His current class ranks 33rd. The problem isn't the lack of talent within the program so what could it be? Let's compare Pitt with UConn over the last three years of recruiting. 2005 for the Huskies was a tie for 79th in the nation, 2006 was 85th, and 2007 was 65th. The last two season have resulted in two Husky wins including by 20 on Saturday.

The Panthers committed 6 turnovers in the loss and brought in Pat Bostick, the qb who left the program a few months ago, and let the freshman throw the ball 41 times in the second half. Besides threw for 230 yards and three interceptions before losing all sensation in his throwing arm due to overuse. The only first half score came on the back of LeSean McCoy who was coming off of back to back 100 yard games. He had 11 carries total in this game as the Stache decided to give the ball to LaRod Stephens-Howling instead. Some are now questioning this decision including the Post-Gazette here:

The Pitt band's halftime performance usually includes several numbers from the "Sound of Music."

After the latest performance by the Panthers, however, director Jack Anderson might want to consider finding the sheet music from Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" and make it a staple because the Panthers are sinking like the Titanic.

The Panthers lost, 34-14, to the Connecticut Huskies last night before 40,145 at Heinz Field in one of the low points of the Dave Wannstedt era.

And Joe Starkey here:

I thought I saw Pitt's best player, tailback LeSean "Shady" McCoy, standing on the sidelines for the first series of the second half, even though he was the Panthers' only viable option in the first half.

I can't recommend the Starkey article enough as he completely chronicals a list of coaching failures from the game. Finally check out Pitt Blather for more fallout including:

1/3 of the way through the season and this team still has no clue and neither do the coaches.

Pitt now has two losses to UConn, a loss to the Ohio Bobcats, and is 0-8 against USF, Rutgers, Louisville, and WVU losing by an average score of 17 points. But on the plus side Dave has singlehandedly brought the pleather lettermens jacket to the forefront of sideline attire in Pittsburgh.