The second half of the season is going to be important for the Mountaineers as with any team. They have home contests against Louisville and Pitt along with games with Connecticut and Cinncinnati. Here is a breakdown of the games seven through nine of WVU's 2007 season.
October 20th vs. Mississippi State
After a much needed week off, WVU will stay at home to play Mississippi State. MSU should be picked near the bottom of the SEC East before the season begins, and for good reason. The Bulldogs lost six starters from a mediocre defense last season and the offense couldn’t score points. However, the offense was young and came together to produce a little more by season’s end. Coming to Mountaineer field is never an easy task, and after going toe-to-toe with the SEC elite, the Bulldogs will be ripe for a beating in Morgantown.
October 27th at Rutgers
This game along with the South Florida game are potential bumps in the BCS road for the Mountaineers. Rutgers made one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history last year and it will be interesting to see if Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knights can build off of their success from last season. Piscataway was a dangerous place to play a year ago and fellow Big East member Louisville can vouch. WVU will need to bring the heat to come out of New Jersey alive (no pun intended).
November 8th vs. Louisville
This game will be the highlight of the Big East schedule and possibly all of college football’s this upcoming fall. After 2005’s epic three-overtime battle in Morgantown, last years Thursday night game had one of the largest ESPN television audiences of all time. This year’s game should be no different. WVU and Louisville have become rivals in the short time that they have played and another Thursday night showdown should only add fuel to the fire. With quarterback Brian Brohm returning after former Coach Bobby Petrino flew the coup to Atlanta, Louisville should have another top ten season. New head man Steve Kragthorpe inherits an offense that has been as potent as any in college football the last few seasons. Louisville has lost key Big East road games the last two seasons and Mountaineer field is arguable the toughest place to play in the Big East, especially during night games. WVU has yet to lose a night game under head coach Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers will hope to continue that trend when the Cardinals come to town.
November 17th at Cincinnati
Two seasons ago in the Buckeye state the Mountaineers shut out Cincinnati. Last years game was a cake walk against the Bearcats as well. However, Cincy had a solid campaign in 2006 and won a bowl game. The team should be improved from a year ago and could challenge the Big East big boys in 2007. Another shutout is unlikely when the Mountaineers visit Cincinnati before returning home for their last two games.
November 24th vs. Connecticut
The Huskies have been on a downward spiral the last two seasons and will be looking to right the ship in 2007. As of now it is hard to speculate how far this team will have come by this time in the season. This could be another trap game for WVU a week before facing bitter rival Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. This game may turn out to be reminiscent of last years South Florida game as it takes place right after a holiday when many students may not be in attendance.
December 1st vs. Pittsburgh
Pitt has been on a roller coaster ride since hiring Dave Wannstedt. The Panthers started out last season 6-1 and looked like they were going to challenge for a Big East championship before derailing and missing the post season for the second straight year. The Panthers have a lot of young talent but their biggest question going in to the fall is how to replace quarterback Tyler Palko. Palko was no star, but he was a solid quarterback for Pitt and Wannstedt will have to find a suitable replacement to get the ball to receiver Derik Kinder. The Backyard Brawl is always an unpredictable game as are all
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