Advice to West Virginia: silence is golden

Sporting News, The, Sept 5, 1994 by Ivan Maisel

All right, West Virginia, not a peep out of you for the rest of the season.

The Mountaineers felt as if they had been victimized last season when their 11-0 season went unrewarded with a chance to play for the national championship. They had begun the season so far down in the polls that they couldn't climb all the way to No. 2, much less No. 1.

We refuse to discuss the merits of that case, except to say that justice was served in New Orleans on the night of January 1, when Florida embarrassed the Mountainwhiners, 41-7.

To begin this season, West Virginia had the sporting stage an to itself: The Kickoff Classic, national television on a Sunday afternoon with baseball safely tucked away.

And you thought the Gators embarrassed West Virginia. Nebraska defeated the Mouseketeers, 31-0. The most agonizing thing for West Virginia was that it could have been much worse. The Cornhuskers turned the ball over three times inside West Virginia's 20-yard line and five times overall.

West Virginia finished with 89 total yards, the fewest in Coach Don Nehlen's 15 seasons at the school. The Mountaineers rushed for 8, count 'em, 8 yards, which isn't bad when you consider the Mountaineers began the fourth quarter with minus-16.

Athletic directors like to play in the Kickoff Classic for the $650,000 paycheck. But collecting that money is not without its costs.

"There's a lot of risks, no question about it," Nehlen says, "especially playing Nebraska. We were young and inexperienced. At least we got one game of experience, if nothing else."

West Virginia lost sophomore cornerback Mike Logan with a broken arm. And now the coaches must rehabilitate the psyches of the Mountaineers' quarterbacks. Sophomores Chad Johnston and Eric Boykin proved conclusively that the best quarterback on campus is Major Harris, the former Mountaineers star who is finishing his undergraduate degree.

Nebraska's defense used several blind-side blitzes, so unnerving Johnston and Boykin that they moved out of the pocket in less time than it takes an air bag to inflate. The problem is, neither moved quickly enough to elude the rush. That's how Nebraska finished with eight sacks.

"They were bringing guys off corners and just messing us up," West Virginia guard Tom Robsock said. And he's a senior who made All-Big East last season.

The Mountaineers have lost their last two games by a combined 72-7. They scored the touchdown on their first possession of their loss to Florida in the Sugar Bowl, which means they have played seven-plus scoreless quarters.

There is solace in that Labor Day is upon us. There's time for the Mountainslides to fix what ails them.

Oh, and before we forget, next time you have a chance to watch Tommie Frazier, get him on the tube and toss your channel surfer away.

Down, not out

Michigan tailback Tyrone Wheatley turn his back on the first round of the 1994 NFL draft to return for his senior season. Last week he separated his right shoulder in practice, which could cause him to miss the Wolverines' first three games.

Wheatley risked a lot of money by forgoing the pros. But there is no remorse or self-pity in him. He didn't stay for the money.

"The only way I would feel pity or be upset is (if) I left to play in the NFL and then I can't play because I got hurt," Wheatley says. "Then I would be upset. I may not be able to contribute early, but as long as I can contribute, I'll be fine."

Wheatley suffered a second-degree separation when he was hit in a contact drill. His arm, in a sling, is "a little tender," he says. Not nearly, as tender as the sensibilities of Wolverines fans.

"Everyone else is doing the worrying for me," Wheatley says. "It's a part of it . . . It's just football. "

Backpedaling

The start of the season wouldn't be the same if Stanford Coach Bill Walsh didn't take shots at his competition. Last year, he painted a picture of Washington as a football factory and so incensed the Huskies that Walsh sent a case of wine to the coaching staff as an apology.

Now Walsh must contend with "Rough Magic: Bill Walsh's return to Stanford football," a behind-the-coaching-doors look at his 1992 season. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Lowell Cohn had complete access to coaches' and team meetings two years ago, when the Cardinal went 10-3 and shared the Pacific 10 Conference championship.

The result is a compelling look at Walsh and what makes him tick. Here are some of Walsh's choicer remarks:

On Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz, after he blamed the Irish's 33-16 loss to Stanford in part on his team being in the midst of midterms: "Lou Holtz is just a brat. Very bright, outstanding coach, but he's a little spoiled brat." On league rival USC, which Stanford defeated 23-9: "This team we're playing is yesterday . . . a team of the '60s trying to hold on to the past. . . . We beat Yesterday U."

Walsh is upset with Cohn's interpretation of what he said. (In fact, the book is highly complimentary.) But Walsh added that he knows who he should blame.

"Anybody whose name appeared in the book, I wrote 'em a letter," Walsh says. "I'm not mad at Lowell. He's a nice guy. I'm mad at myself for not realizing what would happen."