The Badger faithful have patiently and eagerly waited and after a grueling summer, Bucky fans across the state and country are proudly whistling \On Wisconsin"" as visions of the UW Marching Band dance through their heads. The crowded stadiums, the Saturday morning games and the raucous cheers are all right around the corner. But up first is a trip to Morgantown, W. Va. to take on the Mountaineers.
Last year the Badgers drubbed the Mountaineers 34-17 at Camp Randall. The good news for West Virginia is that this year they get to host No. 21 Wisconsin. Another promising factor is that this year's West Virginia team is almost completely different from the one that Wisconsin defeated a year ago. This factor alone could be the worst of the bad news for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia is a young team that is predicted to have a multitude of first-year starters on both offense and defense. With only five returning starters on the offensive side and four defensive starters coming back, West Virginia could find itself hard pressed to match the depth and experience of Wisconsin's seven returning offensive starters and nine defensive starters.
However the Mountaineers' offense appears to be in good hands, as well as feet, with shifty and speedy senior quarterback Rasheed Marshall. Marshall emerged last year as the leader of the offense by using his feet to elude tacklers and produce big plays. Marshall went on to break Michael Vick's Big East quarterback single season rushing record last season, running for 666 yards and totaling 12 touchdowns on the ground.
Gone, though, from the Mountaineers offense is the Big East's all-time leading rusher, Avon Cobourne, and his 1,710 yards and 17 touchdowns from last season. His replacement, senior halfback Quincy Wilson, will definitely have some shoes to fill, but Wilson is no slouch either. Wilson led the Big East in rushing average last year at 6.4 yards a pop as he rushed for 901 yards and six touchdowns. The Mountaineers are also excited about junior college transfer Kay-Jay Harris. Harris, a 6'2', 240-pound junior halfback provides a nice change of pace from the lightning-quick 5'9' Wilson.
While there are a few questions on offense for the Mountaineers, there are only a few things that can be counted on the defensive side of the ball. The only returning starter from the front seven is first-team All-Big East senior outside linebacker Grant Wiley. Wiley led the team with 133 tackles last season and is the heart and soul of the defense.
Wiley will definitely have to prove his mettle as the defensive line is young and inexperienced, but the help of a veteran secondary will also provide some backbone for the Mountaineer defense. Senior cornerbacks Brian King and Lance Frazier are solid cover guys who can come up and defend the run. Junior defensive back Jahmile Addae led the defense with four interceptions last season and should go on to see plenty of action in the secondary as well.
After losing some depth and quality senior starters from a year ago, West Virginia will have a tough time repeating as runner-up in the Big East and matching their nine wins last season. While West Virginia has no idea what the rest of the season has in store for them, they do know they start it off with a big hurdle in No. 21 Wisconsin.
