I knew someone would say it.

The 2005 West Virginia University Football campaign was arguably it's most successful in school history. A season that started in Syracuse, New York with little to no flair ended up with a Big East Championship, a Sugar Bowl win and a #5 Post season ranking in the AP Poll. Pretty impressive considering that the season ended with their pre-season second string Quarterback and fourth string Running Back stealing the show.

When the season ended and the fact that we beat a very good Georgia team on the road I said then that we basically return everyone for next season. ESPN did a 2006 Pre-Season poll for the 2006 season right after the bowl games and predicted us as #3.

Since then, the Nations best player, Vince Young from Texas, and a few other talented underclassmen have opted to enter the NFL draft a year early.

I had a hunch remembering back to Beano Cook picking the Mountaineers #1 in his ESPN pre-season special in 1988, that someone would pick us #1 for the 2006 season in a pre-season poll. 1988 was the year we managed to play and lose to Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl for the National Championship.

We return a lot of talented players and Rich Rodriguez offense is one that other teams are starting to take notice and really give it a hard look. We return two very exciting players in Pat White and Steve Slaton as well as a whole lot of talented and experienced players in a supporting cast.

Well, I thought we would have to wait until this summer to have someone confirm my hunch that someone would name us #1 in the Pre-season polls. I was wrong, it was confirmed for me, by get this, The 2005 National Champions University of Texas's hometown Newspaper, The Statesman. Happy reading.





The pre-preseason Top 25 in college football
Friday, January 13, 2006

Picking t
Nine days removed from the greatest Rose Bowl in history, the last of the multicolored confetti has floated back to the ground and Austin has finally come back down to earth.

Right. Who are we kidding?


This party may not end until, well, what time is Texas' season opener next September?

That's fine by us, but we ask for a brief timeout before the Longhorns are worshipped one final time on Sunday night as we offer our annual pre-preseason Top 25 football forecast.

And who better to climb college football's highest mountain in 2006?

The Mountaineers, of course.

Bear with us here. Every team we looked at has warts, but remember that Oklahoma was ranked 19th in the preseason when it won the title in 2000.

In a tight decision, we settled on West Virginia just ahead of 2003 BCS champion Louisiana State and resurgent Notre Dame. Filling out our top five are Ohio State and Florida.

There's not much not to like about the Mountaineers, whose bowl performance made them look like the strongest team in college football that didn't play in the Rose Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl, in which the Buckeyes beat the Fighting Irish. West Virginia put up a 28-0 lead on eighth-ranked Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and held on for a riveting 38-35 victory in the second-most exciting postseason game.

West Virginia has everything a team needs to stake its claim to No. 1:

Good head coach. Rich Rodriguez is quietly building a monster in Morgantown. Did you see his gutsy fake punt call to seal the win over Georgia?

Solid quarterback. Pat White turned down a baseball offer from the Angels and a football scholarship from LSU and quickly took over the reins of the offense. He's part of the new generation of mobile quarterbacks.

Sensational running back. Like White, Steve Slaton burst upon the scene as a freshman, showed a quick burst through the hole and broke Tony Dorsett's Sugar Bowl record with 204 yards rushing. This guy's a star.

Top receivers. The team's three best are back.

Winnable schedule. The Mountaineers trade in Virginia Tech for Mississippi State and will sleepwalk through Marshall, Buffalo and Maryland. Only possible potholes come at Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Less competition. West Virginia is easily the class of the Big East, and with the talent losses at Texas and Southern California, no dynasty remains intact.

LSU can make a strong case for winning its second crown in four years after ripping Miami 40-3 in the Peach Bowl. Eleven starters return, with quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell (coming off a shoulder injury and wrist surgery) and Matt Flynn back for their junior seasons. Running back Justin Vincent should be full speed after knee surgery, but he'll have to fend off Alley Broussard, returning after knee surgery as well.

Les Miles does have to rebuild his defensive line since only former Longhorn Chase Pittman returns. He'll also have to find two new linebackers, and the schedule is torturous with trips to Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Notre Dame has the likely Heisman Trophy favorite in quarterback Brady Quinn, the most underrated receiver in college in Jeff Samardzija and 17 returning starters. But the Irish are still too slow and lacking in defensive playmakers, and they have a grueling slate with USC, UCLA, Penn State, Michigan and Georgia Tech.

Had Ohio State not been gutted on defense — where all three linebackers, including A.J. Hawk, are gone as well as perhaps all four defensive backs — the Buckeyes would have entered September at No. 1. They do return quarterback Troy Smith, game-breaker Ted Ginn Jr. and running back Antonio Pittman but will miss wideout Santonio Holmes.

Florida lost star receiver Chad Jackson to the NFL but returns veteran quarterback Chris Leak among 14 starters. Now that Urban Meyer knows the SEC is a little tougher than the Mountain West, he'll be restocking with the best high school talent in the nation.

Auburn could make a bid with returning quarterback Brandon Cox, a strong secondary and a weak nonconference schedule. Texas will be much better than most expect because of 14 returning starters, including every skill position player — ahem — except one. (And tight end David Thomas.)

USC lost three guys who could be NFL All-Pros soon. Still, it could reach the national championship game given the wideouts, the defensive returnees and an influx of great recruits. Don't count on Oklahoma staying down with the cocksure Rhett Bomar at quarterback and Adrian Peterson hellbent for contact, the Heisman Trophy and an NFL pass after next year.

Most of all, remember, this is January.



With the Mountaineer Basketball team already proving they can beat any team at any location this season (Lost by 1 point to #2 Texas, Beat #8 Oklahoma and #3 Villanova, all on the road), 2006 is shaping up to be a very good year for West Virginia University Athletics.