It was a cold December night in 1999 when Coach Don Nehlen walked off the field after defeating Ole Miss in the Music City Bowl, snapping an eight-game bowl losing streak and placing the once on the rise Mountaineer Program in hands of Rich Rodriguez.
The program was definitely headed to the outhouse once again, and Coach Nehlen was ready to walk into retirement and the College Hall of Fame.
West Virginia was not in the abyss he found it in in 1980, when Nehlen left as an assistant coach at Michigan and took the head job at West Virginia, but it certainly was not anywhere near the penthouse it found itself in just six years prior, playing Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
In 2001 the program hit rock bottom, finishing 3-8 and seemingly headed towards a long recovery back to respectability. Then in 2002 Rich Rodriguez restored pride to his alma mater with a 9-4 record overall and a 6-1 record in the Big East Conference in what would be just the beginning.
In 2003 Coach Rod directed the Mountaineers to the first of three straight conference championships, culminating with a perfect 7-0 conference record and a stunning upset of Georgia in the Nokia Sugar Bowl and the key to the penthouse.
A long-term lease looked to be theirs for the taking when the Mountaineers were only one game away from playing for the BCS National Championship, but the Pitt Panthers burned the lease on a cold December night in 2007 and began what has now become a free fall into the outhouse.
The 2008 year began with a lot of uncertainty with Rich Rodriguez leaving WVU for Michigan just a couple weeks after the Pitt game in what would become a bitter parting with both sides looking very bad. The team, however, had a game to prepare for since they were conference champions, which brought a Fiesta Bowl bid their way.
Every so-called expert said that there was no way WVU would be able to stay with, much less defeat, Oklahoma, who was embarrassed in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl by an overtime loss to non-BCS Boise State.
Assistant coach Bill Stewart was named interim head coach and managed to do what six other interim coaches could not do: win their bowl game. In convincing fashion the Mountaineers simply put a woodshed beating on OU, and in a moment of euphoria Bill Stewart was offered the head coaching job at West Virginia.
With eight returning starters on offense, including two-time BE Offensive Player of the Year and Heisman Trophy Candidate Pat White, the entire offensive line, and gamebreakers Jock Sanders and Noel Devine, all looked bright in Morgantown.
The possibility of an undefeated season was talked about, a shot at that crystal ball, and even more respect than before now that Rich Rod's ego was out of the way seemed to be on the horizon.
Then came the unthinkable: a horrible loss at East Carolina followed by a loss at Colorado, and suddenly the elevator was headed down, down, down.
The once dominant offense now was sputtering like a Model A badly in need of a tune-up, and the dominant defense was finding it harder and harder to stop teams until they had eaten up most of the time of possession.
Forty-three consecutive weeks in the top 25 were now snapped, and a fourth consecutive 11-win season now hangs in the balance. All that respect that was earned is now a thing of the past.
Even with wins against Marshall and Syracuse, the once proud program would not be able to regain some of that respect but instead add fuel to the non-respect fire.
Now with the announcement of Taj Boyd withdrawing his commitment to WVU following Terrelle Pryor jumping ship and heading to Ohio State, along with Victor Anderson going on to Louisville and becoming a star this fall, the fire continues to grow and grow. How many more will leave that have given verbals or will even look at WVU now is hard to say.
One thing I do know is that the elevator can only stop at the outhouse in the direction it is headed. I hope those in charge change something before that happens, because as we saw from 1976 to 1979, it takes a long time to get to and stay near that penthouse.
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about 1 month ago
prepare for a rapid decline into mediocrity and i am talking about exactly where we were in 1979, the year when the team voted on who the coach would be. there will be a sudden drop in recruiting wins and then the losses will cascade. liberty bowl appearances will feel like fiesta bowl appearances
about 1 month ago
Alfred,
I am afraid you may very well be right unless the athletic admin moves quickly if this thing continues to go south. I really do not want to relive the Frank Cignetti years. Remember it was Winston Churchill who stated if you do not learn from history you are doomed to repeat it. I like Bill Stewart and he was a breath of fresh air when we needed it but we need a strong leader who will kick butt and take names when needed. Thanks for reading my article.
about 1 month ago
I don't think WVU is headed that far down. As I see it, they can still win the Big East this year and go to another BCS game. Trust me, I don't think Stewart is the guy, and I think Mullen is an idiot, but let's atleast finish the season before we totally give up on the entire program. It's funny, some teams who are historically good, can have bad seasons, and they still get love. However, for WVU it is the total opposite. Everyone is just waiting for something bad to happen, so they can pile on. As soon as they lose a game, they are quickly called overated, and dropped in the polls 3 times as far as anyone else. No one liked the fact that WVU, a team from the Big East was a national contender, and now they are glad they WVU is having a down year, but other teams are in worse positions, and nothing is even said.
Trust me, I am still in shock over this season, but I am not giving up on this program. That doesn't mean I am not disappointed! But you can't judge a program on one season. Give it some time, and don't be so quick to pile on like everyone else in the country. Like I said some people have been waiting for this to happen, so now it has, and they better enjoy it! Because the Eers won't be down for long! We are not that far removed from that beatdown WVU gave Oklahoma. The defense is playing great (#1 scoring defense in the Big East), they just have to figure out the offensive side of the ball! Once they do that, the wins will pile up. Remember, they still have #5.
What happens if WVU wins the league, and goes to another BCS bowl. There again, they will be overlooked and probably win another BCS bowl. When does the respect come back? What must they do? I guarantee you they will have to do more than anyone else in the country. Nothing is ever given to WVU they must earn it, and they will.
27 days ago
This season has been embarrassing. Yes WVU still has a chance to win the BE, but that doesn't say much this year. The BE is fighting for the ACC as the worst conference and this includes the conferences that do not have an auto BCS bid. Both USF and Pitt just lost which makes the BE look even worse. Sure WVU beat Aub and while anytime the BE beats and SEC team, is it really that big of a win? Aub will likely finish the season at best 6-6, but a loss next week to Ole Miss they will end up at 5-7. WVU last year averaged over 40ppg. This year, if you take out the Nova game has averaged 17ppg. They lost to less than stellar ECU and CU teams and in both games our HC has looked lost. Clock management in both those games has been amazingly bad. You can add in the Aub game as well. What was Coach Stew thinking against Aub right before the half? You are down 17-3 with 1:20, 2 TO and Aub has 4-1....and you don't use a TO??? Are you serious???
I don't think WVU will drop so far back as they once were, but they have no chance to get back to where they were the past 5 years with the coaches they have now. WVU needs to get rid of their AD, HC, and OC...and why they are at it the State of WV needs a new Governor, one that knows how to keep his nose out of Universities football business. Until all that happens, WVU athletics will be in a lot of trouble.
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