I guess, THAT wasn't enough, either??

[billybud]

I was impressed by WVU's first quarter...Maryland's D line was letting the LB's get blocked 2 yards off of the LOS and the Terp's safety was not playing position well.

What surprised me is that WVU was held to 7 points in the second half and that Slaton and White were in the game until the end. Maryland made a few defensive adjustments and WVU made mental mistakes and didn't look good the second half.

It was a WTF first qtr for Maryland...although they outscored WVU the following three quarters (like Georgia), the huge WVU first qtr was too much to overcome.

All in all, a nice 21 point win for WVU and for Maryland, holding WVU to 7 points in the second half may give them a needed boost. A win-win.

[billybud]

WVU's running game was on and Slaton had a great night. The WVU passing game netted 43 yards.

The 40 or so yard gains on big runs by Slaton and White made a big difference in the first half. Big holes, nifty running.

[colorado_loves_football]

I guess that STILL wasn't enough to prove that WVU deserves it's lofty ranking??

Computers don't know crap about football....and the geeks that program them know even less.

WVU won last night.....they beat the spread....Steve Slaton ran amuk.....

I suppose, now what will be required will be an undefeated season...and a beat down of one of the darlings of the football world. But I'm sure....even after that....the computers and the football guru's will have a bevy of excuses all ready.

The game really wasn't 'in hand' until Pat White scored the final TD for the Mountaineers. One reason, IMO that W. Virginia isnt ranked any higher (Kirk Herbstreit mentioned it) is their defense is 'suspect'. It goes back to last year's Sugar Bowl, when they were clearly 'in command' of the game, only to let Georgia back in it.

I thought the Terrapins played pretty hard. They lost, obviously, but even when they made that 'catch', there was still some hope, however small, they would rally and maybe even win. I'm taking nothing away from W. Virginia, but they haven't shown me, they are NC material.

[billybud]

Have to disagree....the game was in hand within the first 15 minutes.

WVU had a great first quarter, a pretty good second qtr, and a bad second half.....but the game was well in hand after the 1st qtr.

[Spence]

West Virginia's defense is suspect, but so is the defense of the #1 team. At some point West Virginia has to be given credit for having a top ranked team. Maybe national championship caliber, maybe not, it is too early to tell. But at this point in the season it is to early to tell about anyone yet. No team looks unbeatable.

[colorado_loves_football]

Have to disagree....the game was in hand within the first 15 minutes.

WVU had a great first quarter, a pretty good second qtr, and a bad second half.....but the game was well in hand after the 1st qtr.

The game was 'in hand' but the outcome wasn't until relatively 'late' in the game.
Maryland kept scoring. You guys refer to the half-time score a lot, but not so much the final score. No, Maryland didn't 'challenge' W.Virginia, but W. Virginia's defense never 'sealed' it, W.Virginia's offense did.

I think that's the likely reason W. Virginia is ranked #5 overall (a very good ranking). You need both components (offense & defense) to wage a national championship title run. I'll be convinced if (and when) they beat Louisville. Until then, I'm a skeptic.

[Eric]

I was impressed by WVU's first quarter...Maryland's D line was letting the LB's get blocked 2 yards off of the LOS and the Terp's safety was not playing position well.

What surprised me is that WVU was held to 7 points in the second half and that Slaton and White were in the game until the end. Maryland made a few defensive adjustments and WVU made mental mistakes and didn't look good the second half.

It was a WTF first qtr for Maryland...although they outscored WVU the following three quarters (like Georgia), the huge WVU first qtr was too much to overcome.

All in all, a nice 21 point win for WVU and for Maryland, holding WVU to 7 points in the second half may give them a needed boost. A win-win.

Come on, billybud, everyone slacks off when they're leading by 24 points at halftime. At the intermission, Rich Rodriguez sounded disappointed by penalties or something

[billybud]

Intensity is hard to maintain...but, WVU played badly in the second half. And with their first string still playing.

Shut down to 7 points in the half by sloppy playing, penalties, etc. Not to mention that Maryland made some nice defensive adjustments.

I would have been more impressed with WVU had they played better the second half. Not taking anything away from a great first quarter...96 yard returns, long runs by Slaton and White all contributed to a monster quarter.

But..was it just one of those quarters where everything went right?... or did the Eers have a letdown after being so far up? Only a game against a very good defense will answer that.

[Eric]

We all know that Maryland stinks for an ACC team. Slaton was just amazing in the 1st half. It must be annoying to be a Mountaineer fan because they will be questioned and questioned and questioned until whichever bowl game they get in. Now with Michael Bush out, it will be "oh not to take anything away from the Mountaineers, but,...."

I just think the questioning should be put off to the side for now. Against an average football team, a rivalry no less where everything should be "throw the records out the window" kind of thing, they just ran over them and made the Terps look like a D2 team.

Every team loses its focus when it's up big. When Hollenbach threw the interception in the 3rd quarter I believe, when Maryland began to show a pulse, that's when West Virginia knew it had the game in hand. The knockout play on 4th and goal really put the game away.

There are plenty of examples where a miserable team plays a great one and the great team lets up on them. Look at Tennessee; they were demolishing Cal (not to say that they are a sorry team) and stopped scoring when the game was 35-0. Ohio State in week 1 could have scored 70 points against Northern Illinois that game but just finished the game instead of pouring it on.

[Spence]

I agree. Ohio State, even with Smith in the game, was sloppy in the second have. When guys know the game is over, it is hard to convince them to keep working. You may be able to make them buy the Lou Holtz speech in the first half, but once they find out for themselves, nothing the coach says will matter.

[billybud]

Oh...I don't disagree Eric...there is just speculation with WVU because they won't play a game that offers a finer definition until November.

Most other top 5 teams will have played a test by then...if USC or Texas or Notre Dame didn't have a test until two months into the schedule, there would be more speculation about them as well.

If Texas was scheduled to play OSU in November and if Texas had played Kansas and Colorado, winning handily, we might be wondering how good Texas would be with a top defense.

The schedule always plays out. And it will tell.

[openSkies]

... Maryland went 5-6 last year, and had a scare against William & Mary this season.

I don't care how bad you could've beat them (yes, I know everyone slacks off 2nd quarter)... I still don't care.

Va Tech, in my opinion, should not have moved up when we beat Northeastern, UNC, or when we defeat Duke this weekend. I don't care if we win 100-0, it doesn't matter. They all suck. As does UMaryland.

[billybud]

Babs wrote:

Why do quarterbacks make that funny step motion right before the snap?

Babs...when in the shotgun (the QB is several yards back from the center who hikes the ball), the QB stamps his foot to let the center know he is ready to take the snap.

When the QB is under center, he may put his footback as a signal to start a player in motion...a RB or WR who may run parallel to the line of scrimmage but not toward it.

[Spence]

Or he saw a big bug.

[mountainman]

off topic but I don't want to start yet another topic...I have some DUMB questions and you guys seem to know what the deal is.

Why do quarterbacks make that funny step motion right before the snap?

Usually it's a signal for an offensive player to reset their position or to go in motion. Some of the reasons an offense does this is to cause the defense to adjust, to cause confusion on defensive assignments, create mis-matches, create overloads, create blocking angles or double team blocking opportunities, etc, etc.