Chuck Finder: Good afternoon, class. Welcome to Week 2. Finally, some Pirates who throw a fright in folks. Yarrrr!

mcguyver: Did you see any big changes in the defense from last year to Saturday? They seemed solid but still lacked any big plays.

Chuck Finder: You know, Vanillanova isn't a good barometer (no Hanna pun intended!). Jeff Casteel just didn't show much -- outside of a couple of corner blitzes and i remember seeing one or two safety blitzes. So we cannot fully judge if: the coverage, particularly from the corners, is any better; if they were merely playing a soft zone; how the rush will be; etc. The run defense looked OK (man, they need Reed Williams, or maybe big-playmaker Mortty Ivy at MLB). But the pass defense will be unveiled Saturday, rain or no.

mcguyver: All the focus is on the offense, what are your thoughts on how the defense played Saturday and its prospects for this season?

Chuck Finder: Hmmm, do i sense a trend in questioning here? The new defense seems to possess even more speed than last year -- you hafta like the ends in Larry Ford, Zac Cooper, Julian Miller, et. al. They'll hound some quarterbacks. And the Chris Neild/Old Man Liebig combo looked pretty solid, if not really good, at noseguard. The secondary. East Carolina, Colorado and Auburn will reveal how good, or bad, that unit is.

Rod13-9: Chuck, in your opinion what's the major hurdle facing WVU and getting back into a BCS game as the Big East Champion.

Chuck Finder: Nice handle, first of all. Wonder if there's a Paterno48-14 out there to drive Pitt fans back on to their therapists' couch. Anyway, to your question: Hey, the first hurdle on the track comes Saturday. As i've said all along to anyone who'll listen to me, which, alas, often is only my dogs, Skip Holtz and these pesky Pirates mean sooooo much. Play well, and the Mountaineers can cruise to Auburn, almost. Have trouble, particularly against the pass, and -- win or lose -- Colorado, Rutgers, Auburn, Cincy, even first-week losers L'ville and Pitt throw a bit of a fright into West Virginia. After seeing L'ville and Pitt last week, my Big East power ratings right now have USF and Cincy as the second- and third-best teams in the league ... and the Mountaineers have them at home. Still and all, ya gotta take care of the business ahead, and keep on winning to get to the games, as Keilen Dykes used to say, who give out the good gifts.

Rod13-9: How have Pittsburgh area HS coaches viewed the change of staffs at WVU? What I mean is have WVU's recruiting efforts suffered in Western PA since Coach Stew took over?

Chuck Finder: Same as everywhere else: Doc Holliday and the wild West Virginia gang are in there. It's probably a better question posed to our prep geniuses (geniu-i?), Mike White and Colin Dunlap. But as far as I know, this staff the same as the previous ones realizes that there are good players to be found in the WPIAL and, especially, City League. Someday, in print, i'll tell the tale of how Bill Stewart personally wooed Tyler Urban of Norwin High. Put it this way: Stew dog-sledded through a snowstorm to get him, and get him he did.

Charleston_Charlies: Are the teams discussing moving the game time?

Chuck Finder: If I didn't know any better, I would think former Charlies broadcaster and ol' KDKA staple John Steigerwald was asking this question. Well, Charlies, it looks like they've decided to keep the game at the same bat time, the same bat channel. Latest forecasts for Hanna have her (with our fingers crossed) hitting the southeast North Carolina coastline overnight Friday into early Saturday morning. Greenville, where ECU and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (i love that name!) are central-east North Carolina, west of New Bern and the middle of the Outer Banks. So, long weather forecast short (and you can have this job, Jeff Verzyla!), the expectations of a weaker Hanna mean maybe 4 inches of rain and 40- to 60-mph winds around Greenville maybe through the morning and early afternoon, with possibly clearing skies even late in the day/game. But don't hold me to that. I hold no meteorlogical degree.

Chuck Finder: Geesh, I give long-winded answers, don't I?

Chuck Finder: Again, no Hanna pun intended.

Rod13-9: Do you think WVU fans have moved on from the Rod fiasco?

Chuck Finder: No. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked, right? Seriously, put it this way: If you were at Mountaineer Field like i was Saturday, did you: (a.) hear a louder roar for the Michigan loss than Pitt or Virginia Tech (maybe even combined)? (b.) see fans crowding around any available TV in the lots? and (c.) check out the lovely TV in the interview room outside the WVU locker room, tuned into the final moments of the game? For the record, neither Stew nor any players were in the room at the time to watch it -- nor do i think they might have watched. Sad to say, like that scene in the "Lion King" (and i'll never get tired of this line), BAM, it's in the past.

Rod13-9: Chuck, Hot question for us WVU faithful. There are rumors going around that Stew's stay will only be two years long and that a coach with WVU ties from down south will bolt the SEC for Morgantown. Any truth to this rumor? And by the way I'm happy with Stew.

Chuck Finder: You know, the guy is one regular-season game into it, and already there's talk of being rid of him. I do notice, Rod 13-9, that you pointed out your content with Stew -- very nice of you. Well, the Saban rumors will prevail so long as the state governor remains in politics and remains very, very close, we-have-each-other's-cell-numbers friends with him. Heck, a lot of folks wondered if Doc isn't a head-coach-in-waiting. Like i said, Stew is the search committee's choice, the player's choice and, seemingly for now, the fans' choice. Why not wait until when -- or IF -- things go really bad before wallowing in rumor and innuendo. Besides, who wants Lou Saban as head coach. Shoot, isn't he 87 years old by now?

Charleston_Charlies: Coach Stew discuss Reed Williams applying for a medical redshirt. Is that no longer possible since he played last week?

Chuck Finder: No, Charlies, Reed didn't play last week. Didn't dress in uniform. Actually, under NCAA rules, he could play every defensive snap of the East Carolina, Colorado and Marshall games, and STILL get a medical redshirt. A player cannot player after the first 30 percent of the schedule, which, if my ol' Big Ate math is correct, carries four games into a 12-game schedule. So a player must stand on the sidelines and not play a single snap of the final eight games of the season to receive such a redshirt. Dang, i hope that's clear....

Rod13-9: WVU's opening game against the Wildcats showed Coach Stew's willingness to throw with 8 or 9 men in the box. How long will it take opposing D coordinators to stop loading the box? Or will they stop?

Chuck Finder: That's a question Stew and Jeff Mullen and Patrick White are eager to find out. Funny thing is, teams have crammed nine around the line of scrimmage for the past coupla years against WVU -- against the Steelers, too. And both run-first clubs dared to run, anyway. We'll see if WVU doesn't try to balance it out a tad more, throwing the occasional run into a nine-dude box just to keep them off balance. Behind that line, and with a Will Johnson or somebody as a lead blocker, Noel Devine or Pat still might sneak through for yardage. No matter what, that presesaon exhibition test against Vanillanova showed that WVU can pass downfield, and won't hesitate to. Now in the rain or wind Saturday at East Carolina, I doubt it'll be a 60-40, pass-run split. But we'll see -- Stew maintains it's easier on offenses in muck to throw and know where they're going, while the defense has no earthly idea where the offense may go.

Rod13-9: Who said it was Saban? Didn't Eddie P. say he would hire Rod again?

Chuck Finder: Methinks about 1.8 million people would have you banished merely for typing that. Better put those fingers under police protection.

Rod13-9: How long before the JUCO d-backs wiggle their way into significant playing time? What I mean is this ... if you were Jeff C. which position would you worry about most?

Chuck Finder: You nailed it: The secondary always has been a concern the past few years Post-Pacman. Amazing Recovery Brantwon Bowser didn't play against Vanillanova, so we'll find out Saturday if he's truly healthy to be a nickel back (something Brandon Hogan's been for, what, one month?) Lankster has spent enough time there to produce, and he looks like he could be a decent player, particularly at punt returner. Chaz Russell, the latest JUCO arrival, probably isn't ready. From what I saw the other night while he was in study hall, even one class about Egypt was confusing to him ...

Rod13-9: So why was Pat Lasear pulled early in last Sat.'s game?

Chuck Finder: I never did get an explanation, but methinks Lazear got pushed around a bit the first few downs against Vanillanova, because the coaches quickly switched to McKeesport's Anthony Leonard and kept him in there the bulk of the game. They still like Lazear, though. Just not sure if middle is the place for him.

Rod13-9: WVU averaged 7 yards per carry last saturday and our faithful moaned about the lack of a running game. Can Noel Devine handle the carries between the tackles? Is WVU's o-line as good as we've been lead to believe?

Chuck Finder: Actually, they averaged ... wait while i get out my stats package ... little more than 5 yards a carry through the first half, and all of that was due to Pat White and Jock Sanders. Noel Devine was 7 carries for 13 yards through two quarters, and that should've worried a lot of folks. However, he hasn't gotten fat or slow. His line hasn't gotten worse. My belief is the coaches pulled back his reins and didn't give him a chance to go until the third and fourth quarters (2 rushes, 34 yards). Whether he can do it in muck Saturday, who knows? But he's a real deal, and he can do it between the tackles, especially if he can get behind Isdaner and Stanchek on that stronger left side. Mark these words: If he isn't finding daylight through Colorado and Marshall, then it's time to break into a cold fret.

Rod13-9: Gino Grump II: fact or fiction maybe the Syd Thrift of Mountaineer football?

Chuck Finder: Last name is Crump, just like a bad Eddie Murphy movie (but spelled differently). And excuse my ignorance, but I don't get the reference to Foghorn Leghorn... i mean, Syd Thrift?

Charleston_Charlies: The Big East looks quite soft this year with Pitt, Louisville and Rutgers all losing over the weekend?

Chuck Finder: That was a crippling body blow of a first weekend for the Big East, was it not? You're, what, Nos. 3 and 4 predicted teams taking it on the chin at home? Yeesh. That will cause the poll voters to downgrade the Big East, because your non-conference achievement means so much to your perception: i.e. South Florida's ranking might wither as a result, and no other team might sneak into the polls, and even anything West Virginia accomplishes short of an undefeated or once-defeated (Auburn) season will cause voters to denigrate and downgrade the Mountaineers. So, guess what: It might behoove you to root for Pitt, L'ville and Rutgers in their non-conference games. Heck, even Syracuse, for if it loses to Akron and Northeastern in the next few weeks, yikes!

Chuck Finder: All right, class. Very well done. Gold and blue stars for everyone. Thanks for joining for yet another overtime session. I tried to cut back on answers with questions in them (i'm supposed to be an objective reporter; as Stew puts it, opining is "above my pay grade"). So I'll keep trying to provide educational and entertaining answers, and, because it's my job, play Devil's Advocate and show both sides. As much as it angers some people. Take care, and see ya next class session.