Staff, wire reports
Note: Because of lack of space, all five previews of today's college games are included in this file....In addition, features on West Virginia wide receiver Alric Arnett and Virginia Tech cornerback Victor "Macho" Harris are available at the e-edition or in the actual newspaper...
West Virginia
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) � With West Virginia�s speedy offense coming to town, Skip Holtz jokingly asked East Carolina�s groundskeepers to leave the sprinklers on at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and turn the grass field into a mud pit.
That might not be necessary. Tropical Storm Hanna could take care of it for him.
The rain-producing storm system expected to strike the North Carolina coast hours before Saturday�s kickoff might provide the most convenient way for the upset-minded Pirates to neutralize the eighth-ranked Mountaineers (1-0) and their run-heavy spread offense that under new leadership is trying to beat teams through the air, too.
�Hopefully, but Pat White and those guys, they�re some good backs,� linebacker Quentin Cotton said. �We�re not banking on the weather. We�re just going to have to come out and limit the mistakes. We know with the rain that we�re going to come after them a little bit, but they�re some great backs. I think they�ll be pretty well prepared for playing in the rain.�
The teams could face brutal conditions in Greenville, which lies directly in Hanna�s expected path up the Atlantic seaboard. The storm could drop several inches of rain on the area and turn the Mountaineers� pursuit of an eighth straight victory in the series into a slopfest.
�The snow, the sleet and the rain � I love to throw it,� West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. �We know where we�re going. They don�t. We know where we�re going, get your feet under you, don�t stride enough, keep your base, make your cuts more precise. ... I�ve never bought it where you can�t pass the ball in the rain. If it�s a monsoon and if Hanna goes nuts on us, we�ll be throwing a bucket around I guess.�
Of course, West Virginia has more to worry about than the weather. Under Holtz, East Carolina�s program has made significant strides, bouncing back from years of laughable play under the previous regime to move to the brink of its first Top 25 appearance since 1999. The Pirates (1-0) are coming off a 27-22 victory over then-No. 17 Virginia Tech in which they returned a blocked punt for the winning score in the final minutes.
Not that they�re still dwelling on it.
�We�re smart, man,� Cotton said. �We know that we�re 1-0. We didn�t win a conference championship by beating Tech. We didn�t win a national championship. Beating V-Tech didn�t get us to a bowl game.�
No, but following it with a third straight upset, including last year�s Hawaii Bowl victory against Boise State, would give the Pirates the kind of postseason resume that could lead to one of the high-profile BCS bowls � if they finish unbeaten, that is.
But first, East Carolina�s veteran defense must figure out a way to keep the Mountaineers� offense under control.
After holding West Virginia to fewer than 200 yards rushing in both 2005 and �06 � the only team to do it twice during that span � the Pirates last year were exploited with efficiency, allowing nearly 600 total yards in a 48-7 rout in Morgantown.
And, Stewart�s Mountaineers are trying to be significantly more balanced than they were under former coach Rich Rodriguez. New offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen�s misdirection offense worked to perfection last week; against a Villanova defense committed to stopping the run, White threw a career-high five touchdown passes in a 48-21 win.
�We threw the ball more than people expected of us, but that�s because we had to,� Stewart said. �If they come in and load the box, we think we have an answer. If they don�t load the box, we think we have an answer. If they mix it up, then we have a chess match, and we kind of go from there.
�We�re going to try to do what we do � run and pitch and catch when we want to...If we got guys that we can get the ball to, we�re going to do it.�
Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) � The quarterback situation has gotten most of the attention so far this season at Virginia Tech, especially since Frank Beamer only waited a week before scrapping plans to let Sean Glennon have the position and to redshirt Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor, Beamer said this week, will add a running dimension to the quarterback spot that the Hokies were clearly lacking in a season-opening 27-22 loss to East Carolina.
The new plan is to have Glennon and Taylor share the job, as they did last season, but the onus to improve beginning with Saturday�s game against Furman doesn�t even start there.
�It�s ultimately on us,� offensive guard Nick Marshman said. �It�s an offensive line thing that we need to make sure we�re moving the guys off the line of scrimmage and getting the holes open for the running backs.�
Marshman is one of four starters back on the line, which struggled last year and again against the Pirates, when the Hokies managed only 104 rushing yards. During the game, they also lost their fifth starter, tackle Blake DeChristopher, to a leg injury. He�s expected to be out two to four weeks.
Even though the linemen stayed at school and worked together over the summer, Marshman said, �there�s still stuff we need to work on.�
The line�s play is always key for an offense, but perhaps even more so for the Hokies, who lost all four of their top receivers, as well as one-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference tailback Branden Ore, following last season. Developing a running game that can grind out yards would make everything easier as the rest of the offense gains experience, Beamer said.
�I don�t think with young receivers you want to rely on throwing the football 40 times a game,� he said.
Furman coach Bobby Lamb expects Virginia Tech to be eager to avenge last week�s loss when it takes on his Paladins, an upper-tier Championship Subdivision team.
�I think we are probably going to play a very angry Hokie team after what happened last week,� he said.
Beamer, though, indicated he is taking nothing for granted with the Paladins, who defeated Mars Hill 62-14 in their season opener.
�There are I-AA teams and there are good I-AA teams, and this is a good I-AA team,� Beamer said.
Virginia Tech and Furman haven�t met in more than 60 years, when both were members of the Southern Conference.
The Hokies� traditionally stalwart defense may be less formidable than in recent years, having lost seven starters to graduation and the NFL after last season. But they�ll have the services this week of senior cornerback Victor Harris, who missed the first game with a sprained foot. The former star high school tailback could also see some snaps on offense.
�Virginia Tech has a lot of guys starting for the first time, and it showed against East Carolina,� Lamb said. �I think they�re basically going to get back to basics and try to just mash us on offense.�
That would be just fine with Beamer.
Marshall
By GARY FAUBER
for the Daily Telegraph
BECKLEY � It cannot be overstated � Marshall must slow down P.J. Hill if it is to have any success at No. 11 Wisconsin today.
When the teams meet at noon Eastern time at 80,000-seat Camp Randall Stadium, job No. 1 for the Thundering Herd (1-0) will be to stop the Badgers� running attack. Wisconsin (1-0) racked up 404 yards on the ground last week in a win over Akron.
Hill, a 5-foot-11, 236-pound junior, is the No. 1 back. He ran for 210 yards and two touchdowns against the Zips for his second career 200-yard game.
Hill is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
�What he has showed me on film is his ability to get in the open field and make people miss,� Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. �And he�s a pounding back.�
And, as Snyder went on to point out, Hill is not alone.
Zach Brown, a 5-foot-11, 207-pound sophomore, ran for 87 yards and a score against Akron. He ran for 568 yards last season as a freshman.
�They don�t miss a beat when (Hill) is not out there,� Snyder said.
Slowing down the Badger run will be a huge task for a Marshall defense that hopes to be much improved from last year, when opponents rushed for 191 yards per game.
The Herd held Illinois State to 98 rushing yards in last week�s 35-10 victory.
�Marshall has changed up dramatically on offense from what they did a year ago, and then defensively (they have) a new defensive coordinator (Rick Minter), but coach Snyder is a defensive guy, so he�s got those same principles,� Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said.
The Herd debuted its no-huddle spread offense last week. Freshman quarterback Mark Cann was 11-of-22 for 161 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in his first start.
Both touchdowns went to senior Darius Passmore, including an 88-yard bomb with 25 seconds remaining in the first half. The play was No. 6 on SportsCenter�s Top 10 Plays of the Day, the third time in two seasons Passmore has been honored as such.
Sophomore running back Darius Marshall posted his first career 100-yard day, running for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Wisconsin quarterback Allan Evridge, a senior transfer from Kansas State, completed 7-of-10 passes for 75 yards, one touchdown and one pick against Akron. He did not have tight end Travis Beckum to throw to. Beckum, a candidate for several awards, was held out because of injury but will play today.
� E-mail: gfauber
@register-herald.com
Concord
By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
ATHENS � Another offensive juggernaut will line up opposite the Concord University defense today as the Mountain Lions seek to break into the winning column at Hickory, N.C., taking on the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Concord (0-1) opened the season with a 77-14 home loss to Carson-Newman and gave up 722 yards of offense to the Eagles.
Lenoir-Rhyne (1-0), like the Eagles a member of the South Atlantic Conference, beat WVU�Tech 51-13 last Saturday in Hickory and ran up 455 yards on offense.
Fourteen players got at least one carry with the ball out of the Bears� wishbone backfield and the team averaged 5.9 yards per rush.
Mountain Lions senior defensive end Aaron Lowe recorded five unassisted tackles and recovered two fumbles in the Carson-Newman game. Quarterback Tommy Frazier threw for 109 yards, going 15-for-31 with completions to seven receivers. He tossed one pick.
Freshman Brian Kennedy gained 92 net yards in his first start, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt. Kennedy took several direct snaps from a West Virginia-like spread offense.
Concord punter Zach Boyd was called upon 11 times and averaged 47.5 yards per kick.
The Athenians lead the West Virginia Conference in time of possession, party due to the speed with which Carson-Newman produced its scores. Concord was 3-for-18, however, on third down, and managed 10 first downs in their first game.
Lenoir-Rhyne, a private school located west of Charlotte, has won all six previous meetings with Concord, including a 27-21 win in Athens in 2003, but the Bears had to forfeit an on-field victory in 2001 due to using an ineligible player.
The Bears were 2-9 last year, their first campaign under head coach Fred Goldsmith. Goldsmith is a former head coach of Duke (1993-98) and Rice (1989-93) universities.
Game time is 7 p.m. All Concord football games will be broadcast on The New River, 102.3 FM.
� Contact Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com
Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) � The Virginia Cavaliers have been here before: 0-1 after a thorough trouncing that raised questions about just how long and dreary a season it would be.
Last year, it was a demoralizing 23-3 loss at Wyoming that had Cavaliers fans wondering whether the team was affected by the high altitude or was really as awful as it looked.
�Who knew that we were going to win seven in a row,� said Virginia coach Al Groh, whose Cavaliers exceeded expectations by earning a trip to the Gator Bowl and finishing 9-4.
Virginia will be looking to start a similar rebound this week against Richmond, trying to put behind them a 52-7 rout by Southern California, which then vaulted from No. 3 to No. 1 in both major polls.
Former Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London said he expects to see a highly motivated Virginia team that has forgotten about the opening day nightmare and is intent on just getting its first victory.
He expects that in part because he has witnessed firsthand Groh�s ability to keep his players focused on the task at hand.
�He�s going to have them ready,� London said. �We�re just going to have to match their energy and intensity.�
That�s often not a problem for FCS teams going up against Bowl Championship Series teams, and London expects the Spiders to be jacked up for the opportunity to pull off an upset against a team with a significant advantage in talent, even if it started so poorly.
�We�re going to play as hard as we can and play a lot of people and see what happens,� he said.
Kickoff is slated for 3:45 p.m.
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