Mountaineers picked third in Big East poll
Andrew J. Beckner
Sportswriter
Tuesday July 19, 2005
NEWPORT, R.I. -- Being dethroned as the preseason Big East football favorite -- to say nothing of dropping two spots -- isn't something Rich Rodriguez will likely lose sleep over.
"We've been picked first before and finished first," West Virginia University's head coach said, "and we've been picked fourth and finished first, so I'm not too worried about it."
Indeed, being picked No. 3 in the preseason media poll -- released here today as part of the Big East's Football Kickoff and Media Day -- is, if anything, a positive development, Rodriguez said.
"You lose a bunch of seniors, have to replace a (three-year) quarterback and most of your receivers and still get picked third?" Rodriguez said. "That shows a measure of respect."
It's a respect earned, for the most part, over the past two years.
WVU was picked to win the league outright last year, eventually settling for a four-way share of the Big East championship. In 2003 the Mountaineers were expected to finish no better than fourth, but the team rode a late-season surge to share a portion of the conference crown.
The media poll says the team won't win a share of the league for the third consecutive season.
But again, Rodriguez says that is not necessarily a bad thing.
After all, the Mountaineers have enough of a reputation for consistently winning football games in his tenure to warrant the preseason poll results.
Not that Rodriguez is telling his players that.
In fact, in years past, he said he has been known to use preseason polls to motivate his players.
"I've used it before, telling guys that at things like this that I didn't feel we were getting respect," he said.
The result?
Players begin the season with a chip on their shoulder.
Being picked third, however, isn't far enough down on the list to be enough of a motivator to prove people wrong.
* * *
Louisville, which finished No. 5 in the Bowl Championship Series standings as a member of Conference USA last season, is the preseason favorite in just its first year in the Big East.
The team is coming off an 11-1 season, capped off by a 44-40 win over Boise State in the Liberty Bowl.
The Cardinals got 23 of the 24 first-place votes in the preseason Big East media poll. Pittsburgh, which was picked to finish second, received one first-place vote.
WVU, Syracuse, Connecticut, Rutgers, South Florida and Cincinnati finished third through eighth respectively.
<a href='http://www.dailymail.com/news/Sports/200507191/' target='_blank'>Big East Media Day</a>
