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Watson leads Virginia past Flames, 77-58
 By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
Dec 31, 2002
 
Virginia coach Pete Gillen says that senior forward Travis Watson is not 100 percent physically. Watson agrees, saying that he rarely has ever been 100 percent in his UVa career.

Well, whatever percentage Watson is at, it was enough to lift Virginia past Liberty on Tuesday night at University Hall.

Watson, making his first start in nearly two weeks because of a sprained right ankle, scored 20 points and snared 15 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers past the Flames, 77-58.

"He's not in shape. He's been hurt a lot and he's just not in game shape," said Gillen of Watson, who appears to fit that description at times on the floor. "He does some great things but he gets tired. He's just not himself right now."

Watson essentially agreed with his coach, with a slight caveat.

"It's just basically the ankle right now. I know I'm not at 100 percent but it definitely hasn't been at 100 enough," said Watson, who did not play at Rutgers on Dec. 21 and came off the bench against Georgetown on Saturday.

Todd Billet, Devin Smith and Jermaine Harper each added 12 for Virginia, which captured its fifth-straight win and improved to 8-2. Ryan Mantlo led Liberty (5-6), playing without leading scorer Vincent Okotie, with 15 points.

The victory margin was Virginia's largest of the season. Previously, the Cavaliers had defeated both Chaminade and Kentucky by 14 points in the first two games of the Maui Invitational last month.

The win was also Virginia's 27th straight against non-conference, regular-season opponents at University Hall and improved UVa coach Pete Gillen to 14-0 against in-state competition in his four-plus seasons.

Virginia led 37-18 at halftime and expanded that lead to 52-26 when Keith Jenifer connected on a 3-pointer with 15:21 remaining. Jenifer finished with six points after connecting on a career-high two 3-pointers.

The Flames, however, gradually chipped away at the lead and when Gabe Martin made the second of two free throws with 5:36 left, the advantage was reduced to 63-49. The Flames could get no closer as Virginia held on to notch the victory.

"I thought we played a very good first half, holding them to 18 points. In the second half, we lost concentration. We got a little careless, a little anxious and were just trading baskets with them," Gillen said. "We should have knocked them down in the second half. Hopefully next time we are in that situation, we can keep them down."

Watson also used a boxing analogy in regard to his team's second half while Smith cited a general lack of intensity for his team's play. He hinted, and recent wins against Rutgers and Georgetown would seem to validate it, that Virginia has gotten a little caught in playing to the level of its competition.

"We got kind of comfortable and relaxed in the second half. We weren't as intense as we were in the first half," Smith said. "It's hard to keep the intensity for 40 minutes, but that's what we have to do. … Some games just make you want to play harder. You raise your play to the caliber of the team but we have to do that every game."

Virginia led 37-18 at the break after finishing the half on a 16-3 run in which it held Liberty without a basket for a 7:17 stretch. The Cavaliers held the Flames to just 29.6 percent shooting in the first half (8 of 27) while shooting 45.5 percent themselves, but just 2 of 11 from behind the 3-point arc.

Watson led Virginia at the break with 11 while reserve guard Jermaine Harper added eight.

Virginia hosts Wofford on Thursday before entering ACC play on Sunday at N.C. State. Liberty hosts Elon in its Big South-opener Thursday.

 

 

Cavaliers victorious, but not pretty doing it

Coach Pete Gillen says UVa plays "a little anxious, a little careless, a little selfish" against Liberty in its most lopsided victory of the year.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   CHARLOTTESVILLE - When a basketball team is five weeks into its season and hasn't won a game by more than 14 points, a 19-point victory should seem lopsided.

    Virginia wasn't completely comfortable Monday night with a 77-58 victory over Liberty.

    "We got a little anxious, a little careless, a little selfish," said UVa coach Pete Gillen, whose team had knocked off previously unbeaten Georgetown just over 48 hours earlier. "That was an emotional game Saturday and I guess it's human nature. Human nature kicked in today."

    The Cavaliers, ahead 52-26 after three straight 3-point field goals early in the second half, saw their lead dwindle to 14 before pulling away slightly for their fifth straight victory.

    Senior post man Travis Watson, still nursing a sore ankle, hit eight of nine free throws and finished with 20 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers (8-2).

    "He wouldn't be at Virginia if it wasn't for me," said Randy Dunton, a former longtime Liberty assistant who returned as head coach this year.

    "He came to my camp in Texas when he was a freshman in high school and, through one of my friends, ended up moving up this way. We go back quite a ways."

    Watson remembered Dunton from his days in Dallas, before his move to Campbell County, where he played for William Campbell High School as a sophomore.

    "That was a long time ago," said Watson, who spent his last two years of high school at Oak Hill Academy in Grayson County. "It's a long story."

    Watson injured his right ankle Dec.19 and did not play two days later, when the Cavaliers upset Rutgers 61-57. He did not start Saturday against Georgetown but came off the bench to play 30 minutes and contribute 16 points and five rebounds.

    "He's not in shape," said Gillen, whose team plays Wofford on Thursday night before entering ACC play Sunday at North Carolina State. "He's been hurt a lot. He's not in game shape, not springing. He does some great things, but he gets tired. He's a great player but he's not himself right now."

    At times Monday night, Watson seemed to have a lot of bounce. At others, he barely could get off the floor.

    "That's the way it is," Watson said. "We're playing every two days, it seems. You do the math."

    The Cavaliers used a 13-0 run to pull away to a 37-15 lead late in the first half, but Liberty (5-6) shot 52 percent in the second half after going 8-for-27 in the first 20 minutes.

    The Flames were without leading scorer Vince Okotie, a 6-8, 230-pound senior who has played sparingly since injuring an ankle Dec.18. Dunton wanted to make sure he was available for the start of Big South Conference play Thursday against visiting Elon.

    "We were feeling better than this five years ago when we were sitting in this press room," said Dunton, an assistant to Jeff Meyer in 1997-98, when the Flames shocked UVa 69-64 at University Hall.

    Point guard Ryan Mantlo had 15 points to lead three Liberty scorers in double figures. Devin Smith, Todd Billet and reserve Jermaine Harper had 12 apiece for UVa, which shot 34.5 percent in the second half (40.3 overall) and was 4-of-24 on 3-pointers for the game.

 

 

Watson powers U.Va.
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 31, 2002
VIRGINIA 77 LIBERTY 58


CHARLOTTESVILLE - Travis Watson's right ankle still hurts, and his conditioning has slipped. He doesn't jump as quickly or elevate as high as he did when the season opened last month. But he's still a force inside, as Liberty's post players will attest.

Watson scored 20 points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds in only 27 minutes last night to lift Virginia to its fifth straight victory. The final was 77-58 before 7,782 fans at University Hall.

"I felt all right," said Watson, who started for the first since getting hurt Dec. 19 against Gardner-Webb. "My ankle's still a little tender."

In addition to recording the 42nd double-double of his career, the 6-8, 255-pound senior had three assists, one blocked shot and one steal. The Flames (5-6) played without their leading scorer, 6-7, 225-pound Vince Okotie (13.8 ppg), who's injured.

"We're not the same group when he's not in there," Liberty's first-year coach, Randy Dunton, said. "Travis is just so big and so strong right now for our kids."

Dunton, whose team lost Saturday to Clemson, coached Watson at a camp in Texas when Watson, then living in the Lone Star State, was a high school freshman.

The final 15 minutes were among the sloppiest Virginia (8-2) has played this season. The Cavaliers so dominated the first 25, however, that the issue never was in doubt in the second half.

Against a stifling U.Va. defense, Liberty shot 29.6 percent from the floor and had 12 turnovers in the first half. At the break, the Cavaliers led 37-18, and they came out of the locker room with the same fire with which they'd entered.

After back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomore forward Devin Smith, sophomore guard Keith Jenifer made a trey to stretch Virginia's lead to 52-26 with 15:24 left. But the seemingly imminent blowout never materialized.

"I thought we played a very good first half," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said. "Second half, as has happened in the past, sometimes you lose concentration. We got a little anxious, a little careless, a little selfish, and we just kind of let it slip and traded baskets the rest of the way."

Liberty went on a 13-2 run to pull to 54-39 with 10:05 remaining. Virginia built its lead back to 21, only to see the Flames rally again. Liberty closed to 63-49 with 5:36 to play before U.Va. ran off nine straight points - six by Watson, plus a Todd Billet trey - to put the game away.

The Flames, who shot 52 percent from the floor after intermission, open Big South Conference play Thursday night against Elon in Lynchburg. Guard Ryan Mantlo led Liberty with 15 points last night, and forward Gabe Martin added 14.

"We feel like this program that was 324th in the nation [last season] has a chance to make a significant run in the Big South," Dunton said.

Four players contributed nearly three-quarters of Virginia's scoring. Billet, Smith and sophomore guard Jermaine Harper had 12 points apiece to join Watson in double figures. That was a season high for Harper, who came off the bench to play 21 minutes. Smith also had four blocks and three steals.

Jenifer, who made only two 3-pointers last season, hit that many last night, the best effort of his career. He's made at least one 3-pointer in each of his past four games.
 

 

 

Wise wants 'unfounded stereotypes' to stop
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise wants an apology from the University of Virginia after a halftime show by the school's pep band in the Tire Bowl lampooned West Virginia's rural image.

"This type of performance merely perpetuates the unfounded stereotypes that we in West Virginia are fighting so hard to overcome,'' Wise said Monday in a letter to Virginia president John T. Casteen. "The incident on Saturday was conduct unbecoming of the University of Virginia.''

During the Cavaliers-Mountaineers matchup at Charlotte, N.C., Virginia's independent pep band staged a parody of "The Bachelor,'' with a male Virginia student choosing between two female contestants.

One female, purported to be from West Virginia, had blue overalls, pigtails, a talent for square dancing and a dream to move to Beverly Hills, Calif. -- a reference to "The Beverly Hillbillies.''

Virginia officials said they plan to address the issue Tuesday. A West Virginia spokesman said school president David C. Hardesty would wait for Virginia's statement before issuing his own.

Leonard Sandridge, Virginia's executive vice president and chief operating officer, declined to say what, if any, sanctions could be imposed on the pep band. In previous years, officials barred the band from marching at halftime of home games.

"I wouldn't rule out any possible outcome, as we look more carefully at what has occurred and the reactions,'' Sandridge said. "The performance of the band was perceived as offensive by a number of persons -- Virginia fans as well as West Virginia fans. A performance that causes that kind of reaction is inappropriate.''

Adam Lorentson, the band's director, did not return telephone messages Monday evening.

Ken Haines, the Tire Bowl's executive director, said he approved a five-paragraph script presented by band officials before the game but decried the performance as "childish.''

"Their performance was more embellished,'' Haines said Monday from Charlotte. "The execution by the pep band was not in the same tone that we were led to believe. We were dismayed at the halftime performance of the pep band.''

He said the pep band is not welcome at future Tire Bowls.

"We'd be happy to have a Virginia marching band, if they should have one,'' Haines said. "Apparently, (the pep band) has a reputation for being rather unconventional.''

The pep band also lampooned West Virginia at halftime of a 1985 game in Charlottesville, Va. That performance, a parody of "Family Feud,'' included derogatory references to indoor plumbing and birth control in West Virginia.

School officials later apologized. Saturday's Tire Bowl, a 48-22 Virginia win, was the first football meeting between the two schools since that game.
 

 

 

Virginia completes turnaround season
JENNA FRYER
Associated Press
 

In all his years of coaching, Al Groh had never before experienced the celebratory dousing of water from his players.

That was before Saturday, when Virginia completed a turnaround season with a convincing 48-22 win over No. 15 West Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl.

Sure it wasn't the biggest win in school history. But the Cavaliers were coming off a 5-7 season and were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team ACC this year.

So the win over West Virginia meant the Cavaliers (9-5) had officially turned the corner on their rebuilding efforts.

"This game was not so much about the future," said Groh, sitting in his soaked sweat shirt oblivious to the chill coming from his first official "icing."

"This has been a remarkable team and a remarkable season."

Virginia proved that in the Tire Bowl, getting four touchdowns from freshman Wali Lundy to beat a ranked team for the fourth time this season and snap its four-game bowl losing streak.

And they beat the Mountaineers (9-4) without senior receiver Billy McMullen, who was injured two minutes into the game when he dislocated his left elbow.

McMullen's injury left Virginia without a single senior on an offense that used three freshmen. The Cavs punted on the possession after McMullen went out, then they regrouped on the sidelines.

"There was some talk about going out and winning it for him," Lundy said. "He was our leader, he deserved to be out there with a chance to finish the season out and he wasn't. So we went out and tried to win it for him."

From there, Virginia scored on every possession except their final one, when they ran out the clock on their comeback season.

"A couple of times I almost had tears in my eyes on the sidelines because our guys were playing so well," said McMullen, who finished his career with 210 receptions, seven shy of becoming the ACC's all-time leading receiver.

Groh said the way the Cavs rallied for McMullen showed the character of the team.

"Right from the start, their mentality has been whatever adversity and whatever obstacle might be put in front of them, they had a tremendous resolve to succeed," Groh said.

"Here's one of the best football players who's ever played in this conference, a guy who's kind of been the heart of our team for a while, and we just went on and played. That says a lot about the players' reliance on each other and not just one player."

Part of Virginia's determination came from an air of overconfidence they sensed all week in the Mountaineers. While the Cavaliers went to practice each day and kept their mouths closed, West Virginia griped about not being in a New Year's Day game.

"I don't think they took us quite seriously," said Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub, the ACC's Player of the Year.

Why would they? Virginia played 14 freshmen this season and eight redshirt freshmen.

But that's the plan Groh has had from the start -- play everyone now and get them experience for later. When he first told his team of the plan in the summer, few thought it would work.

"There was an unspoken feeling this guy is crazy or kidding himself -- you can't play that many freshmen," Groh said. "But they were talented, hungry and have an expectancy of doing well."

 

 

Virginia men's basketball dominates LU in first half
 By Robert Daski / The News & Advance
Dec 31, 2002
 
CHARLOTTESVILLE - It will be a happy New Year for Virginia's men's basketball team, though Liberty has to feel encouraged by its second-half play in its final game of 2002, Monday night at University Hall.

The visiting Flames battled back from a 26-point deficit to fall 77-58, cutting into UVa's lead when the Cavaliers endured a cold shooting spell in the second half.

Liberty (5-6) found its shooting touch in the second half by converting 52 percent of its shots from the floor as both teams scored 40 points apiece after halftime. The Flames drew as close as 63-49 before Virginia pulled away in the end.

"Wow," said Liberty guard Ryan Mantlo, who led the Flames with 15 points.

"I couldn't tell the difference," said Mantlo as he received a congratulatory tap from Virginia coach Pete Gillen. "We had to do something better in the second half. We missed some shots in the first half and that allowed them to get into transition. You can't do that against a team like this."

Virginia (8-2) found its rhythm in the transition game as Derrick Byars took a Keith Jenifer pass and put home a layup to put the Cavaliers ahead 16-9.

Virginia controlled the first half with runs of 9-0 and 16-0 to lead 37-18 at intermission. The Cavaliers shot 46 percent through the first 20 minutes to just 30 for Liberty.

"I thought we played a very good first half, holding them to 18 points," Cavaliers coach Pete Gillen said. "In the second half, we lost concentration - a little anxious, a little careless - and traded baskets with them. It was a tough game to play after an emotional Georgetown game. We should have knocked them out in the second half. Hopefully next time we are in that situation, we can keep them down."

Cavaliers center Travis Watson, a 6-foot-8, 255-pound senior from Brookneal, utilized his physical prowess to score 11 first-half points while fending off the Liberty defense.

"I just used my body well to try and score," said Watson, who knew Liberty coach Randy Dunton from his days of attending the coach's basketball camp in Texas.

Liberty center Jason Sarchet along with fellow forwards Gabe Martin and Glyn Turner drew the assignments of containing Watson down low.

"He's a tough player," Sarchet said. "He's big and strong. He's a kid that (shoots) well. We didn't check him when we needed to."

Four Virginia players finished with double-digit point totals. Jermaine Harper, Todd Billet and Smith all scored 12 while Watson finished with a game-high 20 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.

"We've gotten better as shooters," Virginia forward Devin Smith said. "Teams key on me, so if sometimes I made a cut and can't penetrate, then somebody has a better shot than I."

The Flames went to a smaller lineup with forward and leading scorer Vincent Okotie still feeling the effects of a sprained ankle suffered prior to Liberty's win over Florida Atlantic 11 days ago.

Okotie did not see any action on Monday, though he scored eight points in reserve duty last Saturday in the loss to Clemson.

"Obviously Vince is a very good player," Dunton said. "He would have been a tough matchup on this floor. He can shoot the 3 and score off the dribble. We tried to play him a little bit at Iowa and Clemson and he tweaked it a little bit. It is not worth us losing some conference games by playing him (against Virginia)."

Liberty guard Jeremy Monceaux, acting in a reserve role, was also charged with four fouls in the first 20 minutes. Monceaux would foul out in the second half.

Sarchet and Mantlo also joined their teammate with five fouls.

"Anytime one of our players gets in foul trouble, that hurts us," Mantlo said. "We're not real deep. We only have eight or nine guys right now. Jeremy's our starting point guard and for us not to have him on the floor really hurts."

s s s

Notes: The 1997 win during Dunton's first stint as Liberty's head coach was the Flames' only victory against an ACC opponent. … Liberty has gone to the free throw line just an average of just 19 times in the past three games after averaging 30 attempts before the Iowa game … Virginia is 18-1 all-time against the Big South. … Virginia guard Todd Billet is just 26 points away from 1,000 in his career. He spent two years at Rutgers before transferring to Virginia.

 

 

Wise demands apology over Virginia pep band’s routine
Tuesday December 31, 2002

By STAFF, WIRE REPORTS
 

Among those not amused by the University of Virginia pep band’s performance at Saturday’s Continental Tire Bowl: Gov. Bob Wise and the bowl game’s executive director.

Wise on Monday demanded an apology from Virginia President John T. Casteen after a halftime show by Virginia’s pep band lampooned West Virginia’s rural image.

“This type of performance merely perpetuates the unfounded stereotypes that we in West Virginia are fighting so hard to overcome,’’ Wise said in a letter to Casteen. “The incident on Saturday was conduct unbecoming of the University of Virginia.’’

Virginia’s student-governed pep band at halftime staged a parody of “The Bachelor,’’ with a male Virginia student choosing between two female contestants.

One female, purported to be from West Virginia, had blue overalls, pigtails, a talent for square dancing and a dream to move to Beverly Hills, Calif. — a reference to “The Beverly Hillbillies.’’

University of Virginia administrators apologized on a West Virginia morning radio show Monday and promised a full review of how the skit was approved by the school’s athletic department.

Pep band director Adam Lorentson, a third-year student, said Friday in Charlotte that the band planned a funny show but wasn’t aiming to offend. “We’re always told to not to stay out of trouble,” he said, “but we never do.”

Virginia officials said Casteen would address the issue today. A West Virginia spokesman said University President David C. Hardesty would wait for Virginia’s statement before issuing his own.

Leonard Sandridge, Virginia’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer, declined to say what, if any, sanctions could be imposed on the pep band. In previous years, officials barred the band from marching at halftime of home games.

“I wouldn’t rule out any possible outcome, as we look more carefully at what has occurred and the reactions,’’ Sandridge said. “The performance of the band was perceived as offensive by a number of persons, Virginia fans as well as West Virginia fans. A performance that causes that kind of reaction is inappropriate.’’

Adam Lorentson, the band’s director, did not return telephone messages Monday evening.

Ken Haines, the Tire Bowl’s executive director, said he approved a five-paragraph script presented by band officials before the game but decried the performance as “childish.’’

“Their performance was more embellished,’’ Haines said Monday from Charlotte, N.C. “The execution by the pep band was not in the same tone that we were led to believe. We were dismayed at the halftime performance of the pep band.’’

He said the pep band is not welcome at future Tire Bowls.

The pep band also lampooned West Virginia at halftime of a 1985 game in Charlottesville, Va. That performance, a parody of “Family Feud,’’ included derogatory references to indoor plumbing and birth control in West Virginia.

School officials later apologized. Saturday’s Tire Bowl, a 48-22 Virginia win, was the first meeting between the two schools since that game.

 

 

Letter from the Governor
Tuesday December 31, 2002

The text of West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise’s letter to University of Virginia President John T. Casteen:

I am writing to you on behalf of the people of the State of West Virginia to express my extreme displeasure with the performance offered at this Saturday’s Continental Tire Bowl by the University of Virginia’s pep band.

The Inaugural Continental Tire Bowl was a huge success and great event for both the University of Virginia and West Virginia University. Like the fans from Virginia, a large number of West Virginians traveled to Charlotte to see their team rewarded with a bowl game in a wonderful city and against a fine institution. I personally always have admired the University of Virginia for being an outstanding institution with a solid reputation. As a top-ranked university, UVA always has prided itself on forward thinking and high academic and social standards.

In short, the incident that occurred on Saturday was conduct unbecoming of the University of Virginia. This type of performance merely perpetuates the unfounded stereotypes that we in West Virginia are fighting so hard to overcome. I believe the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, is too fine an institution to allow such a classless act go unanswered.

Since the event on Saturday, my office has received numerous phone calls and e-mails from both current and former West Virginia residents who attended the game and were personally offended by the conduct of your pep band. The organizers of the Continental Tire Bowl, the City of Charlotte, and most especially the people of the State of West Virginia deserve an apology for this unfortunate incident.

Thank you for your consideration of my request on behalf of the people of the State of West Virginia.

Very truly yours,

Bob Wise

Governor

 

 

WVU fans angered by Cavalier pep band
Mike Connolly <mikeconnolly@dailymail.com>
Daily Mail Staff
Monday December 30, 2002; 10:01 AM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It's one thing to crush their football team. It's another thing to mock their state.
West Virginia fans are angry with the Virginia pep band for a Continental Tire Bowl halftime show that depicted WVU students as overall wearing hillbillies.
"The Cavalier pep band made me mad," said Scott Stewart of Shepherdstown. "I didn't appreciate how they downgraded West Virginia people. There is no need to disrespect anyone. It's just a ballgame."
The Virginia pep band performed first at halftime. When the band started mocking West Virginians, the Ericsson Stadium crowd, which was 70 percent West Virginia fans at kickoff, chanted "Get off the field! Get off the field!"
"You don't make fun of the band or the other school," said Dave Clark of Keyser. "We didn't make fun of Virginia."
The Virginia pep band calls itself a "scramble band." Unlike most college bands it does not march in formation, fall under the direction of the Virginia music department or play at halftime in its own stadium. The band is not allowed to play on the field at Virginia home games, according to its Web site.
"They've got a little dinky band and they made fun of us," said Clark. "Keyser High School's band is bigger than that."
The actions of U.Va.'s band was not surprising to Mike Boggs, who attended the last Virginia-WVU game in 1985.
Boggs said the band made fun of West Virginia women as all being drunk, barefoot and pregnant.
"They sent us an apology in '85 and said they'd never do it again," said Boggs, who has not missed a home game in 35 years. "Then they go and do it again this year."
U.Va. band student director Adam Lorentson could not be reached for comment.
 

 

 

Jack Bogaczyk
December 30 2002
Catch-up impossible for WVU
Jack Bogaczyk <jackb@dailymail.com>
Daily Mail columnist

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Much as Virginia tried, it just couldn't deliver that Saturday morning wake-up call to West Virginia.

If a noisy sellout crowd at Ericsson Stadium didn't do it, you'd have thought an early gadget touchdown pass by Cavaliers' pseudo-receiver Marques Hagans might have alerted the Mountaineers that the Continental Tire Bowl had started.

By the time Hagans returned a punt for a second-quarter Virginia touchdown, there was no shaking the Mountaineers from their somnolence.

So how will this Hagans guy go down in WVU football lore, as Marques de Sad?

When the opposing backup quarterback throws a touchdown pass and returns a punt for a touchdown -- and then isn't even the game's MVP -- you're in 48-22 trouble.

At the Continental Breakfast at Ericsson: Virginia was cooking up a tasty offensive omelet stuffed with everything but the fumblerooski. West Virginia was a giant pancake.

Virginia was becoming the first team in the ACC's 50-year history besides Florida State to defeat four ranked teams in a season. The Mountaineers were becoming the first of 22 WVU teams to allow a punt return for a TD in a bowl.
 

Who is Virginia's offensive coordinator? David Copperfield? And those West Virginia special teams? Are they coached by Bill Stewart or Martha Stewart?

Virginia was running reverses. WVU was pedaling backward. There's a Hummer tire- sized difference.

WVU's top hitter, linebacker Grant Wiley, had no impact. Lance Frazier led West Virginia's bowl tacklers. When your field cornerback is your tackle leader, you've sprung a leak.

The Cavaliers took WVU's impressive season -- 9-3 record, consecutive wins at ranked Virginia Tech and Pitt, No. 15 in the poll -- and left tread marks all over it.

U.Va. Coach Al "Miracle" Groh took a bunch of freshmen and nurtured them into what should be a 9-5 ranked team when the final poll is taken next Saturday.

"You can say they're young players, be patient, and then you can't expect too much," Groh said. "That's what we would have gotten."

WVU Coach Rich Rodriguez needs a couple of big-time recruiting years, and would do well to embrace that philosophy. The Mountaineers lose numerous significant seniors, including star Avon Cobourne. Six of the eight NCAA career rushers in front of him own Heisman Trophies.

Rodriguez's desire to build a Top 25 program must take root in an embarrassment that added to two decades of WVU bowl blowups. The Tire Bowl showed the Mountaineers what's really needed in Morgantown.

"At no point during the season did we say our program has arrived," Rodriguez's postmortem concluded. "You don't arrive until you line up and play poorly and still win."

In West Virginia's notable climb from 3-8 to 9-4, that didn't happen. Consider some telling stats.

WVU was 9-0 when it had fewer turnovers than its foe -- and 0-4 when it had more giveaways than the opposition. The four defeats were by a 23-point average.

You can't play catch-up when you don't have big-play personnel. That's what WVU lacked in the Tire Bowl, and what it needs if it wants a big-time future.