WVU Has a Big Challenge

By JIM ELLIOTT
West Virginia interim coach Bill Stewart said he didn’t try to use any type of newfangled psychology in preparing his players for tonight’s Fiesta Bowl against the third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.

The ninth-ranked Mountaineers are a touchdown underdog and have been surrounded in turmoil since the sudden departure of coach Rich Rodriguez on Dec. 19.

‘‘These guys are sharp young men here,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘Back when I was a kid, they could fool us. Nowadays, you don’t fool these young men, and if you do, they’ll see right through the phony. They know we have a very difficult task at hand.’’

The Sooners (11-2) rank No. 17 in total offense (one spot ahead of the Mountaineers) and No. 18 in total defense (14 spots behind West Virginia.

Their quarterback, redshirt freshman Sam Bradford, ranks first in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing efficiency (180.5), and three Sooners receivers have helped by making some big plays all season. Junior Juaquin Iglesias leads Oklahoma with 60 for 854 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore tight end Jermaine Gresham has 34 catches for 484 yards and 11 touchdowns. Junior receiver Manuel Johnson has 27 catches for 423 yards and four scores.

There’s more.

Running behind a huge offensive line, senior running back Allen Patrick has 937 yards on 159 carries and eight touchdowns, while freshman DeMarco Murray has 127 carries for 764 yards and 13 touchdowns. Both players rank in the top 80 nationally in yardage.

‘‘All the way across the board, they’re good,’’ West Virginia defensive back Vaughn Rivers said.

The Sooners defense yields fewer than 325 yards per game.

‘‘The young men know the task at hand,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘They see the film, and this and that. But as I’ve said, this isn’t The Charge of the Light Brigade (a disastrous cavalry charge led by Lord Cardigan during the Battle of Balaclava on Oct. 25, 1854 in the Crimean War). We do have some bullets in our guns. I think it’s going to be very interesting.’’

West Virginia will counter with the nation’s fourth-best rushing offense (292.9 yards per game), led by junior quarterback Pat White. White has rushed for 1,185 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Steve Slaton, in a down year by his standards, still managed 1,053 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns.

White, who has thrown for 1,548 yards and 12 touchdowns, is ranked 14th in the country in pass efficiency (150.1).

The interim coach said the Mountaineers will have to take a methodical approach to all of this.

‘‘They’re flawless. That sounds like I’m throwing the towel in, but it’s not,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘That just means it’s more of a challenge. You need to find chinks in their armor and attack it. We cannot go out there with a sledge hammer. We cannot go out there with a ball bat. We have to take a surgeon-like approach and nick here, nick there, uptempo, get the huddle, come out fast tempo, get another nick here, another nick there and try to slay the dragon that way. You cannot go to Oklahoma and hit them in the head with a hammer because they will knock you out.’’

While the Mountaineers have as good as — or better — numbers than the Sooners in everything outside of passing offense, there’s likely still some hangover from that Pitt loss that booted them from the BCS National Championship Game. And, of course, their coach leaving three weeks before the game.

To a man, none of the players are using any of this as an excuse. In the days after Rodriguez’s departure, they all said the team’s focus was good in practices.

Their only concern is slowing the Sooners.

‘‘We’ve just got to be physical with them, go after them,’’ safety Ryan Mundy said. ‘‘I think the teams that played the best against them didn’t back down. They were the aggressors and they attacked them. That pretty much fits into our style of play. We’re going to go after them, we don’t back down from anybody. We’re just going to go out there and give it all we’ve got.’’

But not too much, Stewart said.

‘‘If the speed limit’s 55 (mph) in the Fiesta Bowl, we’re not driving 35,’’ the coach said. ‘‘We’re not going out there to keep that thing close and playing not to lose. If we go 73 miles an hour in that 55, that’s OK. If we go 90 in that 55, then we’re going to be reckless and out of control.”