West Virginia Mountaineers vs Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Football Preview

For the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Pat White era encompassed the greatest four-year run in program history.  Following a one-year transitional period with fifth-year senior Jarrett Brown, a new era, the Geno Smith era, begins on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown when the Mountaineers face Coastal Carolina in the 2010 season opener.

Coming off a 9-4 season that ended with a second-place conference finish and a loss in the Gator Bowl to Florida State, the Mountaineers are looking to return to the top of the Big East and to their third BCS bowl game since the 2005 season.  Senior running back and Heisman candidate Noel Devine leads a Mountaineer offensive attack that is expected to be the most potent and versatile unit yet for third-year head coach Bill Stewart and offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen. 

Under center, the Mountaineer offense is now left in the capable hands of sophomore Geno Smith.  The highly-touted Florida product unofficially took over the reins during the second half of the Gator Bowl, replacing an injured Jarrett Brown for the remainder of the 33-21 loss to the Seminoles in the final game of the career of the legendary Bobby Bowden.  With the graduation of Brown, Smith becomes the new leader of an offense that has sought balance and efficiency during the Stewart regime, and change from the normally explosive but, at times, one-track pure spread option attack under Rich Rodriguez.  With balance and improved recruiting, the result has been depth at the wide receiver position not seen since the late 1990s under Don Nehlen.  Sophomore slot receiver Tavon Austin, senior Jock Sanders, and freshman Stedman Bailey are expected to present opposing defenses with a myriad of challenges, including that of opening lanes for the backfield of Devine and fullback Ryan Clarke.

The Mountaineer defense is one of the most respected and experienced in the nation, with nine starters returning from a season ago.  Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel leads the 3-3 odd stack defense for the eighth season, after spending the 2002 season as co-defensive coordinator with Todd Graham, now the head coach at Tulsa.  With the focus on playmakers like defensive tackle Chris Neild, linebacker J.T. Thomas, and free safety Robert Sands, coaches and insiders throughout the Mountain State alike have been buzzing about junior college arrival Bruce Irvin.  The defensive end has wreaked havoc during the fall preparatory drills and is expected to make a significant impact throughout the 2010 season.

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The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers first fielded a football team in 2003 under head coach David Bennett.  Entering the 2010 season, Bennett is still roaming the sidelines and the Chanticleers are looking for their first non-losing season since a 9-3 mark in 2006, a season that earned a Big South Conference championship and a first-round FCS playoff loss to eventual national champion Appalachian State.  For 2010, Coastal was selected third in the Big South preseason poll.  Tight end David Duran, defensive end Quinton Davis, cornerback Josh Norman, and long snapper Danny Bonifas were selected to the preseason All-Big South team.  The Chanticleers finished 5-6 in 2009. 

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern time at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.  Local affiliates of the Big East Network will provide television coverage, which can also be seen as part of the ESPN Gameplan package.

By Brad Cooper
BigEast-Fans Staff Writer