Printable View
Thought I'd go ahead and create a thread for my West Virginia Mountaineers, as I plan to provide season-long updates on the team!
Code:2006 Schedule
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME
09/02 Marshall W 42-10
09/09 E Wash 1:00 PM
09/14 Maryland 7:30 PM
09/23 @ E Carolina TBD
10/07 @ Miss St 2:30 PM
10/14 Syracuse 12:00 PM
10/20 @ UConn 8:00 PM
11/02 @ #13 Louisville 7:30 PM
11/11 Cincy 12:00 PM
11/16 @ Pittsburgh 7:30 PM
11/25 South Florida 12:00 PM
12/02 Rutgers TBD
Slaton tops 200 yards rushing (again) as No. 5 WVU cruises
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Steve Slaton's sophomore season started the same way he ended last year -- with a big performance.
Slaton ran for 203 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead No. 5 West Virginia past Marshall 42-10 on Saturday.
Slaton, the nation's top freshman in 2005 with 19 rushing TDs, had his second straight 200-yard game. He set a Sugar Bowl record with a career-high 204 yards in a win over Georgia in January.
Slaton was the backbone of the nation's fourth-best rushing attack last season and he tore up Marshall (0-1) in just the second meeting between the state's two Division I-A schools since 1923.
"The line and I had a good game plan coming in and we just executed," Slaton said. "I have been here a year and now know better what the coaches want. I make reads better and I recognize defensive schemes and what they are trying to do to stop me."
During preseason practices, coach Rich Rodriguez protected Slaton, who wore a special white jersey with red numerals that limited contact on him.
Rodriguez let him loose Saturday. Slaton's 33 carries were one shy of a career high.
"I think I can sustain that for 12 games," Slaton said. "I feel good."
Rodriguez didn't realize that Slaton had 21 first-half carries until he heard an announcement over the stadium's public-address system.
"That's an awful lot of pounding on a guy," Rodriguez said. "We've got to be conscious of that."
West Virginia (1-0), which is 6-0 all-time against Marshall, scored on four of its first five possessions and totaled 312 rushing yards.
"I'm very surprised that they could run the ball on the defense like they did," Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. "I don't see any positives with this game because there's a lot of work to do. We need to work on everything."
Slaton surpassed 100 yards early in the second quarter and had 140 by halftime.
He had a 14-yard TD run around right end midway through the first quarter and scored untouched from 16 yards out after making a hard cut to the right late in the half for a 28-7 lead.
Slaton also had a 10-yard TD run negated by a holding penalty in the second quarter.
West Virginia, whose ranking was its highest to start a season, opened its normally quiet passing game a bit, too. Pat White completed 10-of-14 passes for 168 yards.
He found Brandon Myles with first-half TD tosses of 8 and 18 yards as West Virginia built a 21-0 lead. It was the first career multiple TD game for Myles, a senior.
"He's seeing the field very well," Rodriguez said. "Pat's got a great feel for the game. He's always had that. And as he continues to grow, I think he's going to get even more explosive in the passing game."
Marshall, limited to just seven first downs in the first half, went to its passing game late in the second quarter for its only touchdown.
Freshman tight end Cody Slate caught passes of 26 and 14 yards to give Marshall its best field position at the WVU 25.
Matt Morris then made up for a dropped pass in the end zone earlier in the game by grabbing a 21-yard TD toss from Bernie Morris. The pass initially was ruled incomplete but Marshall challenged and the play was overturned for a touchdown.
Morris and Slate helped make up for the loss of two other receivers. Hiram Moore was suspended for the game after a drunken driving arrest last month and 6-foot-6 Shawn Lauzon was lost for the season with a hip injury in preseason practice.
"You have to play with who you have," Snyder said. "It doesn't matter who you are missing."
West Virginia fullback Owen Schmitt scored on a 3-yard run midway through the third quarter to cap a 66-yard drive that was set up by an interception by freshman Quinton Andrews.
WVU backup quarterback Jarrett Brown closed the scoring on a 7-yard TD run with 1:13 left in the game.
Marshall is 1-7 against ranked opponents since returning to Division I-A in 1997.
"We've got to be more ready for the mental part of the game," Slate said. "You can't start off slow on a team like West Virginia."
Sorry Nick, but how did WV look? I see a Potential Bowl matchup between the two! :)
They looked to be in midseason form. Slaton is running on all gears, is beating everyone to the edge, and is juking like a kid hitting the triggers on their PS2 controller. White looks to have improved as a passer and has a better receiving corps than he did last year. Offensive line dominated against Marshall and will be lead season long by Dan Mozes, one of the best centers in the nation. Everything I hear about this team is they're more mature than last year's Sugar Bowl champs.Quote:
Originally Posted by RamsFan16
Defensively the 'eers looked solid but somewhat concerning. They're counting on Boo McLee and Eric Wicks to lead the team but both looked somewhat sloppy out there, Wicks especially. But they'll get better as the season goes on, especially Wicks. The Mountaineers run a 3-3-5 and depend on two strong safeties in their base package, and one of them was out last night. He should be back by the Maryland game.
Overall WVU looked good and with the unfortunate loss of Michael Bush tonight shouldn't have too hard of a time winning this conference, though I expect Louisville, Pitt, and Maryland to all give them a fight.
They looked impressive Nick. Slaton is a man among boys out there.
With less than five minutes left in the first quarter, Steve Slaton has already rushed for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns against Eastern Washington.
The man is a BEAST!
Can I provide Louisville Cardinals updates in this thread or should I start my own? We play Miami this week which should be a battle. Just playing with u Nick, even though I am a diehard Louisville fan. Should be fun battling back and forth this season.
THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY!!
It's a rainy day in Morgantown as my Mountaineers take on the Maryland Terrapins tonight at 7:30pm. WVU is boasting a two-game win streak over Maryland, and look to extend both that streak and their overall record this year to 3-0. Tune in for the Steve Slaton magic!
What no love for UCLA ?? lol:)
Just got back from the game, and I have one thing to say... Steve FREAKIN Slaton, ladies and gentlemen! That reverse field run was a thing of beauty. Send a copy of that to the Heisman committee RIGHT NOW.
Be sure NOT to include the fumble into the endzone and the negative yardage! He was actually over 200 yards at one point but finished with a meager 195 yards. Could you imagine what Slaton could do if he only had some speed?:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick
Pffft, that fumble was nothing more than Slaton's generosity in giving tight end Brad Palmer his first career touchdown. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by r8rh8rmike
Seriously though, I guess after the play Slaton told Palmer, "Don't say I never gave you anything." Hilarious!
OK, I got my little jab in, but I have to say, the Mountaineers and especially Slaton are very exciting to watch. Their overall team speed and explosiveness are amazing. Not many QB/RB combos that I can recall look more dynamic than White and Slaton.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick
The WV #5 ranking is more than deserved, but I think they'll get snubbed by the BCS at seasons end as a result of their schedule, which they obviously have no control over.
I agree, they're not playing a national championship schedule. Whether or not they're a national championship caliber team, I don't know. Louisville, Pitt, and Rutgers are all going to be challenges, but if this team doesn't go undefeated and then destroy whoever they face in their bowl game, the haters will lap it up.Quote:
Originally Posted by r8rh8rmike
The sad thing is, WV could very well go undefeated but end up like the 2004 Alex Smith led Utah Utes that went 12-0 after destroying Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl, yet only got a #6 BCS ranking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick
Who you play during the regular season is oh so important in the grand scheme of things.