When West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart announced during a spring 2010 press-conference that he thought his Mountaineers had a “pretty good” chance at contending for a BCS National Championship in 2010 most people had their jaws on the floor.

Some of the people in the room at the time probably thought Stewart was doing some sort of Barney Fife impersonation. Played by the late Morgantown born Don

Knotts in “The Andy Griffith Show.”
Others believed Stewart may have been sipping some of Grandpa Joe’s sweet hillbilly moonshine earlier in the day.

But most just dismissed the silly comment as simply “Bill being Bill”.

When the long time Mountaineers quarterbacks coach was hired to replace Michigan-bound Rich Rodriguez, many West Virginia fans, boosters and alumni alike were scratching their heads wondering if they somehow had missed something in the hiring process.
Stewart’s only previous head coaching stint came at the Virginia Military Institute of the formerly known Division-II, where he went 8-25 in three seasons.

Arizona Diamondback co-owner and notorious booster Ken Kendrick called Rodriguez’s departure a “sad morning” and analogized Stewart’s promotion from quarterbacks coach to head man as “hiring a painter to build a house”; Describing Rodriguez as the “wonderful architect.” Kendrick added that Stewart was “so overmatched it’s not even funny.”

Stewart had always been known as a nice guy. Overly charitable, humbly outspoken, and glaringly jovial, but someone whom you would most closely compare to your grandfather.

When Rodriguez left the team in December 2007 before the Mountaineers were supposed to play no. 4 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, Stewart became the interim head coach; a game most felt would be Stewart’s first and last game as WVU head coach. Oklahoma came in to Glendale, AZ. as a touchdown favorite versus the Mountaineers, facing a team whom many believed would show up without any heart or fire without their beloved coach. Sixty minutes later, however, and West Virginia had reeled off one of the biggest wins in its program’s history; rushing for nearly 350 yards against OU’s no. 7 ranked rush defense.

When star quarterback Pat White vouched for Stewart in an on-field post-game interview still part of Fox’s national broadcast of the game, it seemed like it was only apparent that Stewart be the right guy for the job.

After West Virginia athletic director hired Stewart, many were wondering if he had won the job on the basis of merely a single win; obviously not from his .242 win percentage at VMI. At a price of $4 million for five years, he certainly wasn’t cheap.

In his first year WVU finished 9-4 and second in the big East. Not even a win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl however could impress West Virginia fans, which saw a no. 8 pre-season ranking and the senior White’s Heisman trophy candidacy go to waste after a 1-2 start to the season; low lighted by a 24-3 loss at unranked East Carolina.

Stewart and his staff were able to replenish some of the losses the Mountaineers had dealt with after graduation that season, bringing in top 10 recruits for their positions at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. This helped take some of the pressure off the coach, who was rumored to be facing a possibly buyout of his contract if West Virginia was to underachieve again.

After another nine- win season in 2009, West Virginia received quite a blessing when junior running back Noel Devine announced he was staying for his senior season rather than putting his papers in for the NFL Draft; a first round lock having made the transition.

Sophomore quarterback Geno Smith, part of Stewart’s top 25 incoming class of ’09, was handed the reins to a team ranked just outside of the rankings, but having 18 starters return from a 9-4 team tabbed as a possibly favorite to win the conference.

Smith has led WVU to a 3-0 in 2010 start and into the top 25 as a trip this weekend to Baton Rouge, LA. looms for the Mountaineers.

Smith has the 22nd highest passing efficiency in college football and is twelfth in completion percentage, connecting in over 70 percent of his throws. In West Virginia’s comeback overtime win over in-state rival Marshall, Smith went 17-22 for 168 yards in the fourth quarter, capping two touchdown drives of over 90 yards and the game tying two-point conversion with seconds to play. Smith was a Parade high school all-American in the state of Florida coming out of Miramar, and was heavily recruited by the likes of Alabama, Clemson, and LSU. Scouts called Smith arguably the most physically gifted quarterback of the ’09 class, complimenting his pocked awareness and quick release.

Smith is complimented by two of the fastest players in college football in tail back Noel Devine and slot receiver Jock Sanders; two guys hovering around 5-8 and weighing roughly 175 pounds. Devine has established himself as one of the best running backs in the nation since his he arrived in Morgantown; living up to the hype of his high school football YouTube videos that got hundreds of thousands of hits. Devine is college football’s active leader in rushing yards with 3,735 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

Sanders, who could be mistaken for Devine’s twin brother caught 72 passes for 688 yards last season and offers one of the most dangerous screen threats in the NCAA.

Smith’s favorite target this season has been Tavon Austin, who has accounted for 281 of Geno’s 800 passing yards. But Much like Devine and Sanders, Austin’s lack of size (5-9, 173) has the potential to be exploited by LSU’s overpowering defense. A unit that ranks in the top ten in sacks and interceptions and only giving up 80.7 yards a game on the ground. West Virginia has won 55 of their last 61 games in which they out-rushed the opposing team, and must find a way to get Devine into open space.

The condition of West Virginia’s defense may hang in the balance as cornerback Brandon Hogan still awaits the details of his suspension from his early September DUI arrest. Stewart hasn’t yet to publicly address Hogan’s status for the game, and would be a huge blow to a secondary that is susceptible to giving up big plays.
West Virginia is 22-18 all-time against Southeastern Conference opponents, and most recently lost to Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium last September.

LSU’s biggest weakness comes in their passing game, which has been borderline dreadful; averaging only 120 yards a game behind junior Jordan Jefferson. Only seven quarterbacks in FBS were sacked more times than Jefferson last season who never had a game over 250 yards.

LSU has the nation’s longest active win streak during the regular season against non-conference opponents at 30 straight, and the nine o’clock start-time looks to play in LSU’s favor as well, as the Tigers are 25-1 under Les Miles in night games.

For West Virginia to win, it’s going to have to contain LSU’s offense from hitting on too many big plays. Jefferson has struggled at the quarterback position, but still has dangerous options at the slot positions. West Virginia will have to play under LSU’s rules in their own back yard, and be involved in a low scoring affair. LSU isn’t going to give more than three touchdowns and certainly isn’t going to concede long drives. It’s going to come down to West Virginia’s offense hitting on plays in the open space, where studs like cornerback Patrick Peterson can be blocked downfield.

Geno Smith showed a lot of grit in the fourth quarter of the Marshall game, and proved he can make difficult throws under pressure in big situations. Look for West Virginia to win this game in the dying moments of the game, earn national respect from the voters and maybe begin to make Bill Stewart look like the genius he always knew he was. 75-1 odds to win the title. Take it and run with it.