WVU's success spearheaded by long-distance plan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - West Virginia football has brought newmeaning to "going long."

It's not like the good ol' streetball play design, where you'dsprint to the curbside telephone pole, then run a post. As theMountaineers play the 62nd Gator Bowl today, they've gotten a lot ofmileage out of long yardage.

Some of it is simply the talented sophomore duo of running backSteve Slaton and quarterback Patrick White, as opponents pick theirpoison. Some of it is zone blocking that confuses foes.

Against Georgia Tech (9-4) at Alltel Stadium this afternoon, 13th-ranked WVU (10-2) - even with Slaton slowed by a thigh injury - willplay pretty much the same offensive cast the Mountaineers did in aSugar Bowl victory over Georgia 364 days ago.

Offense still is WVU's bread and butter ... and jam for thatmatter. It's just that the Mountaineers could get to 11 wins for asecond straight year in different fashion.

Maybe Coach Rich Rodriguez's no-huddle spread offense should besponsored by Alltel. It's become one of long-distance plans.

Consider that WVU entered the Gator Bowl with 29 plays of 40 ormore yards this season from scrimmage (16 for touchdowns). Prettymuch the same offensive personnel a year ago produced only 12 playsof 40 or more yards (six for TDs.)

Even the 2003 and '04 WVU teams, with rangy Chris Henry catchingfloaters and Kay-Jay Harris and Quincy Wilson breaking long runs,can't keep up with the long-distance speed dialing by the currentgroup.

The '04 Mountaineers had 18 plays of 40 or more yards (fromscrimmage), one fewer than the 2003 team. The '02 Continental TireBowl team had 10.

So, WVU in 2006 has only one fewer long play than the 2004 and '05teams combined, and the same number as Rodriguez's first two of aschool-record five consecutive bowl teams.

What does that mean against the aggressive, pressure-orientedYellow Jacket defense today? It means WVU, if it is to succeed forthe first time in six Gator Bowl visits, needs more of the same -unless it's going to force turnovers like it hasn't in 2006 to thelevel of recent seasons.

Slaton's potential limited participation could play large, but ayear ago in the Georgia Dome, it was wide receiver Darius Reynaud'splay that opened eyes - as well as holes in a loosened UGa defense.

"Experience helps, but explosive players like Steve and Pat havebeen the difference," Rodriguez said on the Gator eve. "They'retaking what would maybe be a 10- or 15-yard run sometimes taking it50 or more ... that makes the coaches look good.

"We have a few new wrinkles here and there, but really, it'smostly just guys who know what they're doing, executing well."

WVU's speed is an advantage against most Big East Conference foes.Of the Mountaineers' 29 plays of 40 or more yards, 22 came in sevenBig East games.

Consider that at Pitt, Rodriguez's offense got 276 of 641 totalyards (WVU's highest total offense in 14 seasons) on five long plays(43 percent). The Mountaineers had at least three plays of 40 or morein six of seven league games.

The exception was only two in the home loss to defense-led SouthFlorida ... Hmmm.

A slowed Slaton for the Gator puts more responsibility on White tobe a playmaker as well as creator. However, all it takes is onesliver, one shiver or one second and the quarterback that Techveteran defensive tackle Joe Anoai calls "the X factor" might beramblin' through the Wreck.

"It's all the pre-snap, stopping those plays," Anoai said Sunday."You have to get yourself aligned right and the whole defense has tocommunicate ... be on the same page.

"This team can get a lot quickly if you don't play it right. If wecan take care of our gap positioning and assignments, usually bigplays like those tend not to happen."

And when they do? Well, Georgia gave up three 50-plus plays thatwere huge as WVU won its first Bowl Championship Series appearancelast year.

"They're fast guys that play fast," Rodriguez said of his tandem,"and there's some risk-taking by the teams that play us, somewhat.

"Like we've said, 'A lot of teams will blitz, and somebody'sband's going to play.' It could be theirs or ours, and hopefully it'sours more often."

This season, WVU has been playing those long notes as neverbefore.

Contact Sports Editor Jack Bogaczyk a jackb@dailymail.com or 348-7949.