2006 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Preview

Welcome to Maddux's 2006 West Virginia Mountaineers season preview. As usual we have taken the time to break down the team, while providing information about the university, and the 2006 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Schedule. If you are wagering on college football this season consider using Maddux Sports' College football picks for the added edge over the sportsbooks in 2006. In addition be sure to bookmark our free college football odds line service for the upcoming season.

Coach: Rich Rodriguez (6th year at West Virginia)
Team Name: Mountaineers
2005 Overall Record: 11-1
2005 Big East Conference Record 7-0
Returning Starters: 14

Last season QB Pat White and TB Steve Slaton were freshmen and both performed astoundingly well.

White passed for an average of 69 YPG and ran for an average of 79 YPG. He threw 114 passes and completed 64 for 828 yards and ran for 952 yards. White threw 8 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions and crossed the goal line by foot 7 times.

The speedy and athletic Slaton ran for 1,128 yards, scoring 17 touchdowns and also caught 2 touch down passes. Owen Schmidt, also at RB, provided power, gaining 380 yards on 48 carries and scoring 2 touchdowns.

Additionally, there’s no dearth of receivers on this team, and although the offensive line must replace both tackles, the Mountaineers line coach is one of the best around.

While scoring an average of 32.1 PPG, the defense kept opponents down to an average of 17.8 PPG and created a plus 14-turnover margin. Although nose tackle Ernest Hunter is gone, the team returns 7 lettermen upfront, giving them extraordinary depth. Linebackers Kevin McLee and Jay Henry earned 78 and 62 tackles respectively in 2005.

The biggest concern is the secondary, which needs to replace all but strong safety Eric Wicks. There could be some holes there.

The Mountaineers should have no trouble in or outside of their conference. The Louisville Cardinals will give them something to think about. Otherwise, this team should be undefeated this season.

West Virginia Mountaineers 2006 Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Road
Sep 2	Marshall	Home
Sep 9	Buffalo	Home
Sep 14	Maryland	Home
Sep 23	East Carolina	Road
Oct 7	Mississippi State	Road
Oct 14	Syracuse	Home
Oct 20	Connecticut	Road
Nov 2	Louisville	Road
Nov 11	Cincinnati	Home
Nov 16	Pittsburgh	Road
Nov 25	South Florida	Home
Dec 2	Rutgers	Home

 

For more data on the 2006 West Virginia football program, view the Mountaineers team website or scroll down below to read up on the rest of the Big East competition.