Torch Bearers
Will 'E'ers Handle the Hype?
By Tony Cimaglia

The torch.

It's a symbol used frequently in the world of sports - an Olympic athlete can light one, an aging superstar can pass one down, and every so often, a team is expected to carry one.

As the Big East enters its third year of the post-Miami-Virginia Tech-Boston College era, one team will be relied on to shoulder the conference load and bring the league back to national respectability.

That team is the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Coming off an improbable 11-1 season - capped by an even more improbable 38-35 victory over SEC champion Georgia in the Sugar Bowl - the Mountaineers enter the 2006 campaign with lofty expectations. They have already been picked by the Big East media to win their fourth straight conference title, and they will undoubtedly be a top-10 preseason pick when the Associated Press poll is released August 19.

But can West Virginia, led by two sophomore superstars, carry the Big East torch in 2006, or will it just flame out?

"I think West Virginia is certainly capable," says Dennis Dodd, a national college football writer for CBS Sportsline. "I have them ranked No. 2 in the preseason behind Ohio State. They will definitely be a top-six team across the board coming in. They are the 'it' team right now. A very sexy pick."

In 2005, sexy was a word rarely used to describe the Mountaineers, with their power running game churning out 3,269 yards and their 272.4 yards rushing per game ranking fourth in the nation.

Leading that rushing attack was Big East Freshman of the Year Steve Slaton, who ran for 1,128 yards and 17 touchdowns despite not starting four of WVU's first five games.

WVU's second-leading rusher in 2005 was another freshman - quarterback Pat White - who ran for 952 yards and seven scores. Slaton and White, along with junior fullback Owen Schmitt (380 yards rushing, two TDs), will be the driving force behind the Mountaineers' quest for a shot at a national championship. "Slaton and White are still just sophomores, still learning and still getting better," said WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez at the recent Big East Media Day in Newport, Rhode Island. "It was fun to watch them mature and get better, and now we expect to get better as a team. And that's the key for us, for our guys to not just come back, but to come back better."

Rodriguez is entering his sixth season with the Mountaineers. He has compiled a 39-22 record with four bowl appearances, including three straight on New Year's Day.

But New Year's Day bowls and talk of a national championship are irrelevant if the Mountaineers don't handle their first order of business -- win a Big East championship.

"For us, we expect to compete for the Big East championship every year," Rodriguez said. "That's always our first goal and that's the only goal we talk about in general terms, as far as competing and winning a championship. We've been fortunate enough to have won a share of the last three, and that will be our goal again. And if we're not competing for it at the end, I'm sure our guys will be disappointed."

Disappointed like in 2004, when many predicted WVU to run the Big East table and perhaps go undefeated.

Instead, the Mountaineers won eight of their first nine games before losing their last three. They still won a share of the Big East title that year but fell way short of preseason expectations.

Can it happen again?

"The season hinges on trips to Louisville and Pitt," says Dodd. "WVU was hyped like this a couple of years ago and kind of laid an egg. But having seen them work for a couple of days this spring, with the native son there in Rodriguez and a veteran staff, I think they're legit."

Ever since Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College defected to the ACC, the Big East has struggled to maintain its status as one of the nation's elite power conferences.

But all of that can change if teams like WVU and Louisville can stay in the national spotlight.

"I think it's imperative that we have teams like that to carry the torch," says Bill Hillgrove, who has been the Pitt Panthers' play-by-play announcer for 32 years. "Teams like the Panthers will get better, Rutgers has gotten better, and a team I think can really make some noise, believe it or not, is Cincinnati. As some of the teams find their sea legs and try to improve, it's great to have black bears like WVU and Louisville stay in the polls and give the Big East some respectability."

The Mountaineers return 14 starters from last season - nine on offense - and that experience can go a long way in determining their success, says Hillgrove, who had a front row seat in 1976 when Pitt went undefeated and won the national championship.

"They (Pitt) had 40 seniors and a tremendous amount of senior leadership," said Hillgrove. "Time will tell the tale for West Virginia. It's really important to have seniors to keep people focused. I'm sure (WVU) has some seniors there who can take care of business and make sure the young guys keep their eyes on what's ahead."

What is ahead for the Mountaineers is a schedule that is weak on the surface, with their 12 opponents sporting a combined record of 61-75 from a year ago.

Only three teams on WVU's 2006 schedule had winning records in 2005: Louisville (9-3), Rutgers (7-5) and Division I-AA Eastern Washington (7-5).

"I think this is a team, more than any other team, that can be very successful because of what they have coming back and their schedule," says Dodd.

But is WVU one of the nation's elite teams, or is it just the best team in a conference that's simply not as good as it once was?

"I think the conference is on the rebound, mainly because of the two power teams and because everyone else is getting better," says Dodd. "It's kind of trendy right now to pooh-pooh them and say 'Oh, it's just the Big East.' But they're all getting better. Say what you want about the league, but WVU has earned to be where they are right now. They are not a fluke."

Hillgrove couldn't agree more.

"I really think WVU winning (the Sugar Bowl) was huge for the conference. Anybody who wants to criticize the Big East has to pause because WVU beat a national power in a BCS game," says Hillgrove. "You had a team comprised of young stars who went into a hostile situation (at the Georgia Dome) and beat a perennial power. They are one of the big boys, no question about it.

"It was really important for the Big East, and everybody in the league was rooting for WVU to win that game. I think it is a feather in the cap of the coaches and players that they can carry the flag of the Big East."

Or the torch.

Tony Cimaglia is the managing editor of the Mineral Daily News Tribune in Keyser, WV.