west Virginia #1 - Recruiting Officially Irrelevant

[Oh8ch]

ESPN has released their new projections for next season and West Virginia is now their projected #1 team.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2299436


WTF am I missing?

Their claim to fame is that they surprised Georgia last year. Darn near couldn't hold the lead, but did put together a good game plan. THAT, and winning the Big East, makes them #1?


As for recruiting, they have landed precisely four players in the past four years who were rated in the top 25 at their position. That includes two kickers and the suspended Jason Gwaltney. So let's quit following this recruiting nonsense and just move to Conference USA.

OOOPS. My bad. This is ESPN. Never mind.

 

[JXC]

Not to mention he has Michigan at 8th. Michigan could be 0-11 and would pop up in people's Top 10 the next year. They'll move up to 3rd before August. There is no way West Virgina will be preseason number 1. It'd either going to be Ohio State or Notre Dame...unless a big change happens.

 

[jlb1705]

Yeah - remember the last time a team wearing those colors pulled a decent season out of their asses with a freshman quarterback and and a freshman running back and parlayed it into an inflated preseason ranking? Ann Arbor, I'm looking at you...

The only saving graces for WVU are:

• They play in the Big Least, not the Big Ten
• They are not coached by LLLLoyd Carr

 

[OSUBuckeye4Life]

They deserve a top 5 ranking.....

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

They deserve a top 5 ranking.....

Agreed. They're young, well coached, and got better every week of the season, and that shouldn't stop heading into next season.

It seems like all the other major contenders will lose a lot over the off-season, so it will be harder to predict for them.

If they had Ohio State #1 and West Virginia #2, nobody on here would be bitching.

 

[Young Bucknut]

Im glad we're not ranked number 1. In fact i wouldnt mind if we were ranked a little lower. I dont like all of the preseason hype in college football every year because it is pointless. Being preseason number one is a lot of pressure. There's a huge target placed on your back, a target that i am not really envious of.

 

[JXC]

Agreed. They're young, well coached, and got better every week of the season, and that shouldn't stop heading into next season.

It seems like all the other major contenders will lose a lot over the off-season, so it will be harder to predict for them.

If they had Ohio State #1 and West Virginia #2, nobody on here would be bitching.

It's just shocking because nobody wants to see a team from a mid-major conference to go to the championship.

 

[Oh8ch]

They deserve a top 5 ranking.....

I can't agree. Given, with the way rankings work based on last years records I would be surprised not to see them in the top 5, but it is bogus.

IMO the Georgia game was Air Force versus OSU. A good program that simply didn't take it seriously.

Would anyone honestly take West Virginia against any of the following next year?

OSU
ND
Texas
LSU
Florida
USC

That said, they play their first six games against teams that had losing records last season. All they have to do to run the table is beat Louisville and Rutgers (that, and beat an over rated VaTech team, is all they had to do last year).

Not quite the challenge of having to beat Texas, Michigan, Iowa, and PSU if you ask me.

Overrated with a capitol O.

But bring them on. OSU versus WVa for the NC is a wet dream.

 

[jwinslow]

So what exactly do they have to do to be legit in your book? Va Tech and Georgia, whether you think they are overrated or not, have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. They came in and proved that their unorthodox offense can work against top-flight talent. VT held the ball twice as long, and did not turn the ball over (vs 2 from WVU)... that was the difference in that game.

I don't like them at #1, but top-5 is not a stretch at all.

What exactly did florida accomplish to be considered legit in your book? I think they would be a tough team for anybody, but if there was ever an ironic team to place above WVU, it would be UF. Their funky offense was not nearly as successful as WVU's IMO, and was exposed a few times in the SEC. Their early defections will make the Meyer woes continue next year imo.

 

[Oh8ch]

So what exactly do they have to do to be legit in your book? Va Tech and Georgia, whether you think they are overrated or not, have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.

For starters they could have beaten Va Tech instead of losing 34-17.

And if they are going to play in a weak conference they need to schedule somebody OUT of the conference that ranks higher than Marshall, Miss St, Maryland and Buffallo.

They are set for the ultimate back door run at the NC game.

 

[jlb1705]

Maryland isn't a bad opponent. It doesn't stack up with OSU's toughest non-conference games, but Maryland isn't a bad opponent. From that list a few posts up, I'd take OSU, USC, LSU and Texas anytime, anywhere against this WVU team. I don't think Florida or ND would beat them in Morgantown, but I think on a neutral field it would be a pretty good game. I think WVU would have a shot at winning in South Bend, but they'd get whooped in Gainesville.

 

[jwinslow]

why does the vatech game count, and not the Georgia game? Georgia was on a roll after taking down LSU in basically a home stadium, and now were back at teh same venue thanks to the flooding. They probably had NC hopes at the beginning of the season, but after their two straight losses late in the season, I would imagine that was an enjoyable turnaround for their team.

Had there been no Georgia game, and they had beaten a lesser team, I'd probably be with you. But I have a much harder time writing it off b/c Georgia must not have cared.

Did VT switch out of the Big East midseason? Otherwise, that's a pretty big game. Marshall wasn't a slouch a couple of years ago, and Maryland was #13 in 02 & #17 in 03. I obviously have no idea when these games were scheduled, but it is very possible that those were pretty legit teams at the time.

jlb, keep in mind UK hung 28, Vandy hung 42, and SCar won 30-22. I wouldn't assume gainesville would be an ugly loss with leak running meyer's system.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Im glad we're not ranked number 1. In fact i wouldnt mind if we were ranked a little lower. I dont like all of the preseason hype in college football every year because it is pointless. Being preseason number one is a lot of pressure. There's a huge target placed on your back, a target that i am not really envious of.

You're kidding, right? I'm tired of all those who think it's better to start out a season ranked lower than as high as possible. Several news flashes for you who would rather not have us ranked #1:

1. Hype is not pointless, because it is what determines your place in the polls. The higher you start out, the higher you remain (and thus less ground you have to make up) should you lose.

2. Ohio State is under pressure every year to contend for the Big Ten, and possibly the national, title. This program will have the same amount of pressure on it whether it starts out #1, #5, or #10.

3. Ohio State will always, ALWAYS, have a target on its back, regardless of its pre-season ranking. Look at how Penn State had us circled on their calendar despite being 8-4 the previous year and being out side the top 5 at the time of the game (they had students camping out for a week to get tickets). That target will NOT shrink because of a lower pre-season ranking.

If you think it's better to be ranked lower to start the season, just ask Auburn.

 

[Buckeye513]

What exactly have we done to deserve that #1 on our chest, besides beat up on a Notre Dame team that everyone on here claimed was overrated anyway?

We'll pass them if we beat Texas in Austin anyway. I don't really think it matters.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

why does the vatech game count, and not the Georgia game? Georgia was on a roll after taking down LSU in basically a home stadium, and now were back at teh same venue thanks to the flooding. They probably had NC hopes at the beginning of the season, but after their two straight losses late in the season, I would imagine that was an enjoyable turnaround for their team.

Had there been no Georgia game, and they had beaten a lesser team, I'd probably be with you. But I have a much harder time writing it off b/c Georgia must not have cared.

Did VT switch out of the Big East midseason? Otherwise, that's a pretty big game. Marshall wasn't a slouch a couple of years ago, and Maryland was #13 in 02 & #17 in 03. I obviously have no idea when these games were scheduled, but it is very possible that those were pretty legit teams at the time.

jlb, keep in mind UK hung 28, Vandy hung 42, and SCar won 30-22. I wouldn't assume gainesville would be an ugly loss with leak running meyer's system.

with all due respect georgia laid down. they have a lot of guys going pro who didnt want to get hurt and played that way. weve seen it with our teams in the past in bowl games. so often the better team doesnt win in the bowl game...