33. West Virginia

Rivals Says: Stanford

I say.......

33. West Virginia Mountaineers

The Mounties never have elite talent but that has not stopped them from being one of the most consistent teams in the nation over the last decade. As a matter of fact, they have won at least eight games each season dating back to 2002, no other team in the Big East even has a streak that long of making a bowl game. The Mountaineers are not yet a national powerhouse, but if there is a powerhouse in the Big East, West Virginia is it. The Big East is the most inconsistent AQ conference in the country and is heralded as the worst virtually every year. This year, as many as five teams can claim a legitimate chance of winning the league. West Virginia will not be the favorite but certainly have a good chance. RB Noel Devine is a legitimate Heisman contender, a year ago he ran for almost 1500 yards on only 241 carries and also had 13 TD's. West Virginia will have to find a new starting QB but so do Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, the other favorites in the conference. The good news is key players are back every where else. Four offensive linemen return, two wide recievers, three defensive linemen, two linebackers, and two secondary defenders. There is not an abundance of talent at any postion aside from Devine, but with such a evenly spread distribution of returners, the Mountaineers only need to break in one or two new guys at each spot on the field making for much easier trasitions.

The schedule is only as difficult as you believe the Big East to be, the Bearcats and Bulls must travel to Morgantown, but the Mountaineer have to travel to Pittsburgh and Connecticut. The rest of the conference schedule shouldn't be a worry, West Virginia is better than all of those teams. The out of conference slate looks to be a pretty solid 3-1. Maryland, Marshall, and Coastal Carolina should not challenge West Virginia at all. The other game, on the road against LSU, looks a little out of their league.

Overall, there is enough returning talent that the Mountaineers should be setting their sights no lower than the Orange Bowl, but getting there will be very tough.