Chuck Finder: Good afternoon, gang. Welcome to the Cincinnati-week edition of our virtual get-together. Welcome also to the defining game of West Virginia's finishing kick, and possibly even the ever-changing, check-with-me-Saturday-night environment that is the Big East race. Now on with the show ...

HotInEER: Can you please explain to me why WVU seems to start off so slow in the 1st half?

Chuck Finder: Put it this way, Hot: The previous administration couldn't figure it out, either. Remember all those games where the Mountaineers lead by 14-7 or 24-10 at half? Shoot, even those times they routed Pitt, they barely held a lead at intermission. So it seems to be something endemic and intrinsic with the program (yes, I've been eating the Mensa-flavored Alpha Bits again). Maybe it's the coaching style, that they don't truly make adjustments until halftime. Maybe it's the players' mentality, that they don't adjust until taking a few punches in the opening round or two. Maybe it's just a matter of time before the offense gets untracked and the opposing team wilts under the thought, "Uh-oh, here come the Mountaineers now." Maybe, like I believe, it's a little of all of the above. Then again, maybe it's West Virginia biorhythms ... or karma ... or electromagneticohheckidon'tknowwhati'mtalkingabout.

Stef_Djordjevic: UC doesnt seem to have much of a run game, but the Pike kid can throw the ball around. WVU secondary's biggest test to date? Teel didnt exactly show up a few weeks ago, then again we arent Pitt's defense.

Chuck Finder: Ya know, they haven't had much of a run game for a coupla years now, Stef, and that doesn't seem to stop them. They make their plays with the passing game and seem quite content to thud big backs into a defense for two, three yards a pop in between pass plays. Very NFL-like, huh? Shoot, QB Tony Pike was 20 of 24 against Miami of Ohio, and my quarterback was that pinpoint perfect i'd throw him until his arm fell off. Against South Florida in that 24-10 upset last Thursday, he was 20 of 28 ... meantime, Coach Brian Kelly was content to run the ball 38 ties for 115 yards (or roughly a few inches per carry). So, in other words, WVU can shut down the run per usual, but you gotta be far more wary of that dinner-rolls-and-butter passing attack. (Sorry, I figured it was more deserving of a nicer product than merely bread.)

HotInEER: Who do you see as the next HC at Tenn.?

Chuck Finder: Man, I wish I could ask one of my Fulmer-hating acquaintances that question. In fact, most any Auburn fan who was here a coupla weeks ago might take a crack at that one. David Cutcliffe seems the logical choice, but Duke could be a calmer, much more relaxing place than the University of Intense-esee. That fan base has National Championship Expectations living in a 10-2, 9-3 reality. Oh, sure, every Tee Martin or so, it can go 12-0 or 11-1 and compete for a national title. . . . Well, let's get off the soapbox and back on the question: They'll aim for the stars. They hate/admire Alabama, so, like the Nick Saban search (the Tide's second choice from Marion County, right?!), the Vols may make a run at a hot, young NFL coach (Jeff Fisher?) or Butch Davis from North Carolina or even onetime Pitt assistant Jon Gruden, who was a grad assistant there for a year or something. Wait a seck, Bill Cowher? ... NAH. They could pay him a pile o' dough, but I cannot see him salivating over recruits.

mountaineerbob: What do you think about Mark Rodgers?

Chuck Finder: Underused. (And you probably thought I was going to type "Undersized.") Actually, what WVU could use is a change-of-pace back, meaning somebody who isn't 5-7 and fast as a breath. But Rodgers looks like a guy who can spell Devine for a carry or three a game...especially when Stew or Mullen isn't pleased with a cutback run or a wave that Devine didn't ride out amid a zone run. Ya know, that's the best way to motivate a kid: Take away playing time. (And it would certainly motivate Rodgers to contribute more if he got some, right?)

HotInEER: For all the BE bashers out there, other conferences sure do love to steal our coaches, now they are saying Brian Kelly could be up for the UT spot, what's your take.

Chuck Finder: I've been a Brian Kelly fan for a couple of years now ... and not just because he went to Big East media days last year and ripped the Cincinnati papers for not ponying up the cash to cover the event. Kelly won small-college national championships, he crafted Central Michigan into a player (and a shout out to Butch Jones for beating Indiana and leading the MAC!), and now he's taken Cincy a step further than Mark Dantonio. So, yes, Kelly deserves a big-time job, if he wants it. Like I said earlier, Tennessee is a tough job. Some coaches might choose Clemson instead, being that the ACC is an easier survival test than the SEC. Washington and Kansas State are already open, too. Geez, it's a sellers market, ain't it? And we aren't through mid-November yet.

mountie13: What are your thoughts on the WVU secondary vs the Cincy WRs considering the amount of space that they give opposing WRs?

Chuck Finder: The heck with my thoughts, let me give you ideas from a far brighter offensive mind: I exchanged emails this week with West Virginia radio analyst and former Glenville State quarterback/coach Jed Drenning. While Jed is very high on the work Jeff Casteel and this defense has done already (hope he doesn't get mad at me pimping his material, but, hey, listen to him on the pregame show Saturday afternoon!), he does expect Brian Kelly and Cincinnati to use their passing game as a critical weapon against the Mountaineers. You probably as fans can take a good guess, even as layman: Pick on the youngest guys in the secondary, right? So Brandon Hogan and Ellis Lankster at the corners ought to set their alarms early Saturday. And Robert Sands and Eain Smith should figure to see lots of tight ends (Conor Barwin is a pass rusher now, but they threw a TD to him against South Florida) and Mardy Gilyard-Dominick Goodman crossing routes, too. Yep, keep an eye on that secondary. It will decide the

ohioneer: Your take on WVU's season so far? Do you see a Top 10 finish?

Chuck Finder: Ohio, if I knew that much, wouldn't I be playing the lottery with regularity? And then retiring to Florida? As best as my dusty crystal ball shows, if the Mountaineers were to win out, they will creep upward in the Top 25. Tell you what, though: Those Big 12 and WAC teams need to knock off one another with regularity, cause WVU won't pass up many of them if they only have 1 loss apiece. Heck, look at the rankings now: The pollsters basically are saying that any Big East team could finish no higher than FOURTH in the WAC, No. 9 Boise State (8-0), No. 10 Utah (9-0) and No. 11 TCU (9-1). And what's with ranking them all in a row?

HotInEER: Interesting that Jock seems to get the tougher yards, even though Devine and him are almost the exact size.

Chuck Finder: Nope, Hot: Jock is 8 pounds heavier. That's what qualifies him for the Going Big/Short-Yardage unit. Seriously. (Well, that, and the fact he has an uncanny knack for scoring touchdowns. Those two plays toward the UConn sideline? There never was daylight, but Jock found some way to score.)

danks: Is Pat Macafee a pro punter?

Chuck Finder: Not only that, methinks Scott Kozlowski will get at least a free-agent tryout, too. Both of these guys boom it 50 yards without much problem. Remember, too, what a newbie at this is McAfee (he called Cincinnati's Kevin Huber "a cheater" to his face last November when Huber told him that he started punting at age 12 instead of 20 for McAfee). What differentiates McAfee from Kozlowski and probably most college punters who kick it as far as they can or at angles: McAfee has a touch where he can keep the ball inside the 20 or pin returners closer to a sideline. Yeah, he's good at it....oddly enough, probably more of a pro prospect at punting than kicking, and he can kick field goals from 60 yards. (Maybe he'll be like the Gould kid from Penn State, whom Joe Paterno made his long-distance kicker but the kid couldn't hit from short range ... until the Chicago Bears got ahold of him.)

1st_Down_: Outside of the obvious Cincy WRs vs WVU DBs - what do you consider the key matchup for Saturday's game?

Chuck Finder: Same as every game: Devine and the running game HAVE to get untracked. Hey, it certainly was a welcome sight for Patrick White to finally get the ball in his hands to run with, right? He only is the best running quarterback ... almost ever? (I keep going back to the old Oklahoma wishbone quarterbacks, but they weren't as elusive or maybe even as quick as White in the open field.) Look, zone left and zone right, or whatever you want to call those sweep plays, need to pop for 20-plus yards once a quarter. They need to run the ball downfield, and mix in the occasional DOWNFIELD pass, to keep defenses at bay. They did that, mostly via White's feet, last week at UConn. They did that with Devine against Auburn and, although they didn't use it enough, Syracuse. WVU ain't WVU without that spread running game (though it is possible to use the I-formation out of it, as I keep harping!).

HotInEER: Know any secret stuff your just dying to tell us?

Chuck Finder: I'm actually smart. And handsome ... Nah, I got nothin'. Feel free to ask, though.

Stef_Djordjevic: Utah and TCU are in the MWC. Boise is in the WAC

Chuck Finder: Throw No. 17 BYU (8-1) in there and make one Way-Out-West-But-Not-In-The-BCS Conference, for all I care. Pardon the mistake, but you know what I mean. These conferences are playing for, what, the Humanitarian Bowl and the Sponsor Du Jour San Diego Bowl?

1st_Down_: 8 games into the season how do you see the progression of the coaching staff? They seem to have been getting better by the week but have yet to put together a complete 60 minutes.

Chuck Finder: All right, 1st, let's break it down like coaches might. First quarter: Wooo, doggies, they were trading punches with their opponent toe-to-toe and it's amazing they didn't get TKO'd. Second quarter: Now that's more like it, they're carrying the fight to the opposition and winning round after round after round after round, the latter ones looking much more one-sided. Now we're entering the third and final quarter of this season, and the coaching staff should know how to finish off the fight now, right? (Gee, and that metaphor just came to me. Seems I need a good sock in the head.)

HotInEER: I know you are not the recruiting guru, but, with UNC picking up another wide receiver, looks like we are safe with Heastie.

Chuck Finder: Geesh, only 117 other programs for him to choose..... Trust me, Hot, don't count your chickens that way.

HotInEER: WVU offense has looked great at times, and not so great at others, it appears that Mullen and company are still trying to define what they are, and what they are going to be. Your take?

Chuck Finder: Seems like they've struck upon the mix: 18 to 20 passes, 30 to whateverittakes rushes. Granted, Pat White wasn't allowed to get untracked from Colorado until UConn, but you got to wonder if they wanted to get down pat (no pun intended) the spread-zone rushing game and cause the rest of the running game/backs/line/receivers to gel. If you see less Devine carries (or even screens) and more than 25 White drop backs, then, well, Jeff Mullen has fallen off the bus that got West Virginia to this point. (And why do we keep coming back to buses? Again, I need a good sock ...)

1st_Down_: Pat White gliding down the sideline and walking into the endzone certainly is a beautiful sight - have you heard if Stew & crew will finally let him play like he can and run a bit more? (albeit with a slide at the end to avoid the "big hit")

Chuck Finder: We must remember, the concussion from Rutgers was the No. 1 reason White didn't run much against Auburn. And getting in the flow of the passing attack was likely the key reason beforehand that they asked him to stay in the pocket and try to make plays and learn the system there. You look at past precedent, and White's wheels start realling rolling toward the end of each season. If they don't call more draws and trap options (i thought I saw a couple of those finally at UConn!), then Stew&crew (you got a patent on that line?) are nuts. And, good point, Stew is begging Pat to slide more. (That run, by the way, was a thing of beauty. It showed why White is a rare talent to be relished.)

Stef_Djordjevic: Rumor has it RR's agent is shopping him around again. Some things never change?

Chuck Finder: Believe what's in the Post-Gazette; don't believe all rumors. Hey, Michigan is tough, change is tough. But if he were to bail there after one year? His next job would be his last as a college head coach.

mountie13: Will our D-Line be able to get to the QB fast enough to disrupt the Cincy passing attack and help out the your WVU secondary?

Chuck Finder: Good question, 13. I just looked it up: UC has given up 19 sacks this year. Not a ton, but enough to show that pressure is possible. But when you have a 6-6 quarterback? You need more 6-7 Doug Slavonic's in his face, doncha? Pike, by the way, isn't overly mobile, but he will scramble outta the pocket. The backup this week is that Chazz Anderson kid, who can run...and does. Knowing Kelly, I wouldn't doubt that he might have a couple of plays in the gameplan with Anderson on the field -- maybe even trying to trump Stew&Crew with two QBs on the field at once, a la Brown 'n White.

HotInEER: Your prediction for the game Saturday?

Chuck Finder: Last one, and we better call it a day after overtime (sorry, I gotta go pick up a sick kid at school). WVU is more talented. Is playing consistently better than Cincinnati, which, yes, is 4-2 against ranked teams under Brian Kelly and did just beat then-No. 24 South Florida. But Cincy plays much better at home than on the road, where No. 4 Oklahoma -- ahem -- used its spread attack to rush for 197 yards and pass for 395. Those Sooners are better than these Mountaineers, but these Mountaineers also have speed and weapons that few other teams possess. With this WVU team, I never truly know how the games will turn out until early in the third quarter ... last week, I still thought UConn would throw all day on them, until Hogan and Lankster started playing tighter man coverage. Anyway, if the secondary can hold its own, the stars seem pointed toward a 31-17 WVU victory, right? But , as the old saw goes, that's why they play the games ... Excuse me while I sock myself in the head now.

Chuck Finder: All right, folks, thanks for coming. By the looks of things, we had standing room only for a while, and hope we got to most of the cogent questions. Until next week, and a welcome week off, take care. Or, as put by Cincy's Mardy Gilyard, who (shameless plug alert) will be featured in tomorrow's paper: Peace.