WVU running game looking average

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The national polls no longer say so, but WestVirginia University is still a Top 10 football team in one way.

Rushing. The Mountaineers, with an average rushing attack of 247.6yards, are the 10th-best rushing team in NCAA Division I-A.

Yet of late, WVU's run game hardly looks like it is one of thebest in the Eastern Time Zone, let alone the nation.

"I don't know if we're not pressing the blocks enough," WVU CoachRich Rodriguez said Saturday. "I'll have to check how the runningbacks are doing. Obviously, Kay-Jay (Harris) has been hobbled a bit.They committed a lot of people to the run."

That Saturday's opponent, Virginia Tech, did to the Mountaineers.And for the second game in a row, a team from Virginia made WVU'svaunted ground attack look like a tank in 5 feet of mud.

A week after I-AA James Madison limited WVU to a sub-par 171rushing yards, unranked Tech held the Mountaineers to 134 as itearned revenge for the previous two seasons with a 19-13 non-leaguevictory Saturday afternoon before a sellout of 65,115 at LaneStadium.

"They ran the ball pretty well when they had to and we didn't,"Rodriguez said.

Entering the game unbeaten and ranked No. 6, WVU (4-1) fell 10spots Sunday when the Associated Press poll was released. TheMountaineers are off until Oct. 13, when they open Big East play inmid-week fashion at Connecticut (4-1).

"We had to play on their side of the ball," Tech defensive tackleJim Davis said. "It starts with the 'D' line against their 'O' line.Who wants it more. There were a lot of cheap shots, a lot in betweenthe whistles. Everything you can ask for in a dogfight."

"We knew if we could come out and stop the run and make them one-dimensional, we'd come out with the victory," Hokie cornerback EricGreen said.

A veteran WVU offensive line that returned all of its 2003starters plus sixth-year senior Tim Brown was supposed to avoidmediocre outings in big games.

Instead, Tech (3-2) held WVU to just 10 first downs and 247 totalyards. A 46-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter by quarterbackRasheed Marshall provided WVU with its lone rushing outburst.

Harris was held to 22 yards on seven carries and fumbled on afourth-and-one try in the first quarter. His day was cut short by asprained knee. His backup, Jason Colson, had several good runs.Still, neither Marshall nor any of the running backs has combined asindividuals for more than 100 yards rushing the last two weeks.

"I thought Virginia Tech kind of set their sights and their mainfocus was to stop the run," Marshall said.

An erratic Mountaineer passing attack then permitted Tech to winwithout scoring an offensive touchdown in a game marred by 251 yardsin penalties. Despite 334 total yards, all of Tech's offensiveproduction was four Brandon Pace field goals. The other score came onWilliam Fuller's 74-yard return of a blocked field goal - one playafter WVU wideout John Pennington dropped a Marshall pass at Tech's2.

"I'll try to make up for it," said Pennington, a senior fromGeorge Washington High. "I'm pretty hungry now."

In the fourth quarter, Marshall lost a first down on WVU's next-to-last possession when wideout Eddie Jackson dropped a pass.

Tech was able to hold standout WVU wideout Chris Henry to fivecatches for 42 yards.

"Maryland's a great program, but they were double-teaming ChrisHenry," Green said. "We thought we had the athletes to go out andplay with them. West Virginia is really dependent on that. They throwit up and let their athletes make plays."

The defeat ended speculation about WVU sweeping its schedule in ayear that the Big East is competitively down with the losses of Techand Miami (Fla.) to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

"Maybe if you are undefeated, you're playing not to lose,"Pennington said. "I guess it takes some pressure off."

"We know we have a good team, good players and we're going to keepit rolling," Marshall said.

The Mountaineer rushing attack could use a push start.

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Odds and tight ends:

* The WVU loss snapped an 11-game regular-season winning streakthat included three road victories.

* One of the penalties that Rodriguez did not agree with was awaved-off interference call on Green against Henry along the WVUsideline. Rodriguez said Green shoved Henry out with the ball in theair.

Green's version? "We even had the scout team guys pushing off onus because he does that. He pushed me forward. As I was falling, Ijust tried to grab onto something."

* Davis on his up-the-middle block of Brad Cooper's 40-yard field-goal attempt: "I thought I jumped the snap a little bit. I got twohands up."

* Cooper's version: "This one didn't feel like the first one(against Maryland) that I had blocked. I kicked that one high on theball. It definitely made a big impact on the game."

* Following the game, hundreds of Tech students stood on the fieldnear the WVU fan section and chanted "over-rated" and "ACC." Waterbottles were thrown in both directions before security, some withdogs, intervened on the field.

* WVU juggled its offensive line during the game, placing JeremyHines at center and moving starting center Tim Brown to right tacklefor Garin Justice.

* WVU starting "bandit" safety Lawrence Audena did not dress forthe game because of a "stinger" injury.

Contact sportswriter Mike Cherry at mikecherry@dailymail.com or348-5170.