Week 9: West Virginia at Rutgers

When these two last met, West Virginia celebrated a triple-overtime classic at Mountaineer Field that wasn’t decided until the hosts denied Rutgers on a two-point try in a 41-39 win.

Don’t be surprised if this one also goes down to the wire.

Both WVU and RU have seemingly righted themselves after losses. West Virginia bounced back from the 21-13 loss at South Florida with routs over Syracuse (55-14) and Mississippi State (38-14). And with USF’s defeat to Rutgers, the Mountaineers are back as the Big East’s top-ranked team and in the hunt for the conference title.

Still, however, West Virginia needs help to win that crown even if it wins out. Rutgers does not. Cincinnati, the lone Big East team to have defeated RU, has two league losses.

The big question heading into this sold-out contest centers on the teams’ quarterbacks.

WVU’s Pat White can have an electrifying impact on a game, but hasn’t finished any of the Mountaineers’ last three outings. Rich Rodriguez sat White out the second half of the Mississippi State game after the QB took a hard shot to his already-aching chest.

“I think he’ll be better,” Rodriguez said. “He could have played in the second half, but he was sore because he didn’t take a shot for the pain (before the game). I think the pain was bothering him a little bit, but with the lead we chose to keep him out.”

Last year, White missed the Rutgers game in Morgantown and backup Jarrett Brown led the Mountaineers to the victory.

White and Rutgers QB Mike Teel both have some nice stats. White’s pass efficiency rating is No. 6 nationally – two spots above Teel. The Rutgers signal caller has completed 58.9 percent of his passes and averages 285.1 yards a game through the air. He has 14 touchdown passes and but six interceptions. White, on the other hand, is the Big East’s No. 5 rusher, averaging 71.4 yards a game. He had a spectacular 64-yard score against MSU.

But Teel, like White, is injured. The Scarlet Knights’ QB has a lingering thumb injury that has continued to throb though the week.

“He can’t throw it right now as well as he’d like,” said RU coach Greg Schiano.

The injuries intensifies the spotlight on the league’s two premier backs – Rutgers’ Ray Rice, who is leading the Big East in rushing by averaging 142.7 yards, and West Virginia’s Steve Slaton, who is third averaging 107.4.

On Monday, Rodriguez tried to downplay the matchup.

“It’s not Ray Rice against Steve Slaton because neither one of them play defense,” said the Mountaineer coach. “I think a lot of times there’s too much made of this guy against that guy. They’re in different systems going against other guys, not themselves. I don’t know if a comparison is fair to either guy, but they’re both great players. It should be a lot of fun for the fans to watch.”

If the game becomes a run-off, though, WVU seems to have the advantage. The Mountaineers have the nation’s No. 2 and Big East’s No. 1 rushing attack with their spread option offense. West Virginia is averaging 304.1 yards per game on the ground. Rutgers, meanwhile, is fifth in the Big East against the run, allowing 135.7 per game.

The Scarlet Knights have the Big East’s No. 2 rushing attack, averaging 180.4 yards a game. WVU, however, is No. 1 in the league against the run, allowing an average of but 89.4 yards.

There are a bunch of wild card players in this game. RU junior Tiquan Underwood is ranked sixth nationally in receiving yards (112.7). WVU slot man Darius Reynaud is dangerous both catching the ball and on reverses. Defensive ends Johnny Dingle (West Virginia) and Jamaal Westerman (Rutgers) are tied at 17th nationally in sacks.

But the two wildest cards may be West Virginia’s secondary, which has drastically improved this season, and the Rutgers crowd. The Mountaineer secondary is now ranked fifth nationally against the pass, allowing but 165.3 yards a game. Michigan transfer Ryan Mundy has been a very pleasant surprise for the Mountaineers with 32 tackles, a pair of interceptions and three pass breakups.

The RU crowd, meanwhile, has been huge for the Knights against highly ranked teams. In the past 11 months, Rutgers has downed then-No. 3 Louisville and, five days ago, then-No. 2 South Florida.

Keep an eye on Teel’s passing. If the RU quarterback is OK, expect this one to be another nail-biter.

West Virginia by 3