PISCATAWAY — Heading into last weekend’s action, No. 25 West Virginia and Rutgers were on course for a showdown for first place in the Big East Conference.
Guess again.
The Mountaineers were embarrassed by Syracuse and the Scarlet Knights gave away a game at Louisville, knocking both from the undefeated ranks in the conference.
But remember, this is the Big East. And seemingly everyone has a shot. So, there’s still plenty at stake when West Virginia (5-2, 1-1) travels to High Point Solutions Stadium to face Rutgers (5-2, 2-1) on Saturday. While neither is in first place, either program could win the league and snare the BCS bowl berth.
For Rutgers, that path would start with a win over West Virginia, something that is not easy if you’re a Scarlet Knight. They have lost 16 straight games to the Mountaineers, but three of the last five have been decided by seven points or less.
Rutgers will definitely get an emotional lift before the game when Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed making a tackle in a game against Army last year, joins the team in coming out of tunnel and on to the field.
“I think it’ll be an emotional time for him and for us,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “And it’s going to be an emotional time because it’s a big football game. It adds more fuel on the fire, I guess. … He’s been asking and thinking about it. He wants to do it. And I certainly have no opposition to it.”
Schiano said LeGrand, who does pre- and postgame reports for the Rutgers radio network, picked the game.
“I didn’t know if it was going to be the opening game this year or some other game during the year, but he knows he has an invitation whenever he wanted to,” Schiano said. “It would be nice for him to be able to feel that (big crowd atmosphere).”
West Virginia is coming off a 43-16 loss in which its defense allowed Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib to throw for four touchdowns and run for another.
Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said both he and Schiano are probably taking the same approach this week with their teams coming off losses. They are correcting errors, and telling their players to buckle down, all while hoping the team leaders step up when things get tough. The routine of the week, he thinks won’t change.
“The difference is, when we line up and get hit in the mouth, what are we going to do,” Holgorsen asked. “Last week, we didn’t do anything. This week, we need guys to step up and be the ones that are going to hit people back in the mouth.
“That’s called football.”
The Mountaineers received production out of quarterback Geno Smith last weekend. He threw for 338 yards and two scores despite being pressured all game.
Smith said the team’s goals have not been altered by the setback.
“Our goal coming in was to win every game. We didn’t do that,” he said. “But then to win the Big East … we still have an opportunity to do that. We’re going to continue to work hard and try and reach our goal.”
Cincinnati sits atop the conference at 2-0, while West Virginia, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Louisville all have one loss.
If West Virginia is going to extend its winning streak against Rutgers, it needs to put pressure on Scarlet Knights freshman quarterback Gary Nova, slow down receiver Mohamed Sanu (65 catches for 683 yards and 6 TDs) and avoid turnovers. Nova, after all, has thrown five interceptions in the past two games.
The Rutgers defense, meanwhile, leads with nation with 25 forced turnovers, a statistic that Holgorsen called spectacular.
“There’s a reason they lead the nation,” he said. “That’s not always being in the right place at the right time, but it’s also attacking the football. They’ve got good team speed on defense, and they attack the ball. They make plays on the ball whether it’s in the dude’s hands or if it’s in the air. They do a good job of attacking the football.”
Rutgers weakside linebacker Khaseem Greene said the team isn’t paying attention to its losing streak against West Virginia, just the game.
“This conference is a really tough conference,” Greene said. “Week in and week out, anybody can beat anybody. That’s just how I look at it. That’s one of the beauties of playing in this conference: Every week you get a Big East Conference, it’s like a championship game.”
The difference this week is the loser will face a tough road getting back into the race.
AP Sports Writer John Raby in Charleston, W. Va. contributed to this report.