Chuck Finder: Good afternoon, folks. Before launching into a post-mortem about that where'd-everybody-in-Mountaineer-Field-go loss to a program previously known as the Borecats and 'WKRAP in Cincinnati,' let me first pause to offer a formal apology to Michele. Two weeks ago, on our Oct. 30 chat, I misunderstood her question and, in my ever-present pursuit of wit intertwined with information, I apparently offended her. I apologized moments later, when Mountie kindly pointed out the error of my ways: "Mountie: I think what Michele was asking about was that some are criticizing Stewart for not calling timeout when Auburn still had the ball near midfield on 4th down and less than a yard. Chuck Finder: My bad, I sit corrected. Sorry, Michele. That's a good point, but it was a highly confusing time. And most football folks would agree with WVU there: If Auburn/Tuberville goes for the first down and gets it, you've just given them a free timeout and more than 60 seconds to go the final 50 yards."

clambert: Okay Chuck, does Stew have an answer for WVU's special teams woes? I mean ... we gave Cincy 13 points!

Chuck Finder: C'mon, you question Stew having an answer? Check that: You question Stew having a lonnnnnnng answer? I'll give you the short form: Jim Lewis. I put the stats in a Pat McAfee story that will be appearing soon (hopefully) in your morning Post-Gazette, but the kickoff coverage permitted 22 yards per return with Lewis in there. Without him, it's 34 yards per return. Sizeable difference one man can make, huh? And remember, he played against Colorado and feared returner Josh Smith, whom McAfee and the Mountaineers only kicked to, like, three times that night. (Also, Stew plans to change some personnel and add guys who will bust tail, guys who will bust wedges ... we'll see at Louisville how many faces change.)

clambert: Are Figner and Capers the problem with the O-line? Why doesn't Stew replace them?

Chuck Finder: Now, I'm not going to throw any ... names out there (thought i was gonna say something about a bus, huh?), but it's not just a coupla guys. especially with Mike Dent, the second-best D-I player outta Jeannette, sidelined due to a neck injury for what could be the rest of the season. ("Week to week" is a daunting prognosis, especially when all of us are "day to day," right?) Jeff Mullen, as also will be elaborated further in Sunday morning's Post-Gazette (two shameless plugs -- I'm done for the day!), noted that the increased work in the passing game has indeed taken away from the practice time and the CONSISTENCY of the running game. Voila, problem solved: Don't pass again in practice the rest of the year, cause it seems they have that downfield part down. (But Cincy sure came close to picking off quite a few of those screens and flares, didn't they?) The rushing-touchdown numbers are also scary: Last year after nine games, WVU had 34. This year: 10. They're near the NCAA statist

clambert: Should WVU switch Devine and Sanders? I mean how many can Sanders drop? He seems to be a better option at RB that WR.

Chuck Finder: CLam, I lost a couple of your questions there, if you could please ask again. But I'll grab this Devine-Sanders issue. Devine still has run for 188 and 207 where Sanders hasn't. Devine is a special, Slaton-esque back ... maybe in some ways faster, sleeker, even better. But he has yet to consistently (that word again!) prove himself as a threat on those screens and flares. Sanders has done a little better job in that category, and certainly has shown himself quite capable of catching balls deeper downfield than, say, the line of scrimmage, and quite capable of finding the end zone in short-yardage situations. (He is, after all, maybe 10 pounds heavier than Devine!) Oh, that just reminded me of one of your other questions: Kerns. It's almost too late to remove his redshirt.

clambert: WVU needs playmakers in WR role -- has any thought been given to letting Hogan play a little at the WR spot?

Chuck Finder: Brandon Hogan gives it a thought ... every day. He sure showed some wiggle on those UConn returns. Seems he might be a good one to try on punt and kick returns, too. Those two-way deals don't always work well, and for a guy still learning a new position -- and learning not to lose his cover guy, ahem, like at UConn -- that just gives him more stuff to confuse an already addled mind. How about Dorrell Jalloh? Things seem to happen when he gets the ball. He's no Darius Reynaud -- either, yet, is Sanders -- but you might as well use a proven product. Wes Lyons and Alric Arnett have shown themselves to be capable receivers, as well. But there's no big-playmakers availing themselves just yet. Jalloh and Sanders, in that order, appear to be the only hopes there.

clambert: Come on Chuck -- that was diplomatic answer regarding the O line. Isn't it true that if they were a pitching staff it would be Stancheck, Isdaner and pray for rain!

Chuck Finder: Spahn and Sain ... nice Milwaukee Braves reference. And, actually, Isdaner played awful for awhile, as he readily admits. But an o-line is all about cohesion and consistency and playing together. Zone blocking, too, can be a total mess if it isn't done in syncopation. One mistake, one glitch, and the play is shot. Hey, they looked good against Auburn, with zone holes all over. And they played well enough at UConn, especially in short-yardage situations. Cincinnati confounded them -- and it played the very same scheme as Pitt and South Florida. So it's only natural to suspect that EVERYBODY is going to trot out that same scheme hereafter. Ya might as well practice and get consistent (reference No. 7,146) in attacking it, no?

clambert: Going back to special teams, does a head coach HAVE to be a position coach too? Can a head coach really devote the time necessary to being a position coach?

Chuck Finder: Not many college programs devote a single coach to special teams, anymore. Not many break them up among various coaches, either, so it seems. Without doing a study of which programs regularly succeed at it -- even ballyhooed Virginia Tech and Beamer Ball have had their special-teams failings this season -- i couldn't make an educated guess at whether it's best to hire one coach or diversify duties. But Beamer is one glaring exception: He has proven for years that a head coach can do it. Seems to me Dave Wannstedt at Pitt tried it early, then gave up the duty. In other words, each head coach may be different at it.

clambert: How's the spirit of the team after that horrid loss Sat.?

Chuck Finder: Ya know, certainly not as crushed as post-Pitt. But they seemed dazed, confused, shocked. Never saw it coming. Seem to see nobody else beating Cincy, either. So it's still hard for them to fathom that they might not have a chance at the Big East title and a New Year's Day-ish bowl for the first time in awhile. As Stew says, there's a lot of season still left. And that wacky 2007 displayed that ol' Yogi was right, it ain't over 'til it's over. It's probably a good thing for these Mountaineers that they had a week to deal with the loss, recognize their errors and reinvigorate/recharge themselves for Louisville, Pitt, USF. BCS or Birmingham? or Charlotte? Yeah, that oughtta motivate 'em.

13-9: When is ol' Billy going to realize White is an AWFUL passer, and just go back to last years playbook?

Chuck Finder: 13, those plays are still in there. And the last coupla weeks, they finally started using the trap option and more option runs with White, hence his 100-plus yards at UConn (even though half of that was on two ad-lib scrambles....which he didn't do often enough against Cincy.). He isn't an AWFUL passer downfield, i have seen worse. But he doesn't have the touch of a BYU passer, to be sure. Hey, if WVU has to throw the ball more than 22, 25 times in a game, that tells me they're in trouble with the running game. Mullen, Stew and all keep harping that they want balance. But when you got Devine and the second-best running quarterback in major-college football history (and he will gain 197 more yards to be THE best, right?), your measure of balance should be around 30-35 rushes to 20-25 passes. A career-high 38 passes like Saturday -- and nary a one in overtime, i need to point out -- for this team is a recipe for a loss. For probably a two- or three-touchdown loss, actually.

13-9: How many more losses will it take to get the coach fired? Can he get Weis' lifetime contract instead?

Chuck Finder: Hmm, trading contracts. Maybe if Notre Dame football was in the Big East ... Nah. Unless the team came apart like a cheap pinata down this stretch, it's hard to imagine any scenario where Stew would be let go this year. Next year would probably have to be close to .500 or below, too. Hey, a couple of Muffler or Pizza bowls apparently would keep the administration happy, isn't that your take on it?

clambert: WVU has 3 must win games left -- who are your "picks to click", players who must perform for WVU to win out?

Chuck Finder: Devine needs to average 100 yards rushing per game. White needs to average 250-300 yards total offense, something he did with regularity in the 2006 and 2007 stretch runs. The hogs need to control the lines of scrimmage, both sides. But if i had to pick just two? I might go with Hogan and Lankster at cornerback. 'Cause it could get ugly if those guys start getting burned -- as came close in the first 31 minutes at UConn, or so -- against Hunter Cantwell, Bill Stull and Matt Grothe, perhaps the three most capable passers they'll face all season at that juncture.

clambert: Other than WR do you have a sense that some underperforming position players are close to being replaced?

Chuck Finder: If i'm on the kickoff coverage unit, i'm updating my resume. OK, and anywhere from center to the right on the offensive line. Mabye a player or two in the secondary if, like I said above, Louisville or Pitt start torching the secondary.

clambert: Revisiting an earlier question: assume Gino Smith, Logan Heastie, Deon Long, and Stedman Bailey all honor their verbals. Do they contribute next year? Does Gino push Brown for playing time at QB?

Chuck Finder: That's up to them. And the coaching staff. Just remember this: Patrick White red-shirted his freshman year on an 8-5 team. 'Nuff said.

clambert: What's your sense of WVU to this point -- can they hold it together and win the Big East? (with a bit of help from Pitt -- how ironic!)

Chuck Finder: Really ironic, ain't it. WVU, if it tends to its knitting at Louisville (to borrow an Olllld Joe Paterno phrase), will then tune into Pitt@Cincy and pray for a Panthers triumph! Man, would Mountaineer fans actually go to a Pitt bar to root along with them? What was i thinking? Never happen. Anyway, it makes for a delicious circumstance to us objective types. Yes, WVU needs someone -- Louisville, Pitt or Syracuse(!) -- to topple the Bearcats, but if they learned anything last year it's that such things can happen yet the foremost focus and concern is YOURSELF! As in, Do It Yourself. Win out. Leave no doubt. Can WVU do that? They should beat Louisville. They should beat South Florida, at least given the way the Bulls are playing nowadays trumping their past successes over WVU. So it may well come down to the day after Tryptophan Day in Heinz Field, after the WPIAL championships get through with that field, could be mucky and tricky.

clambert: If WVU goes .500 or below next year the fans will riot on Charleston and force a change!

Chuck Finder: Hmmmm. Why Charleston?

13-9: Did you call Bill Stull a "most capable passer"? Let's be realists here -- he's not much better than White. Sounds like "lowering expectations" for the secondary.

Chuck Finder: No, just lowering expectations compared to the other QBs whom WVU has faced. Hey, No. 5 Villanova (D-I-AA) and Antwan Young might still represent the best passing attacks the Mountaineers have faced to date. And Stull has some weapons at receiver, especially freshman Jonathan Baldwin (who could really complete that WVU corps, huh?) Stull is an adequate passer, but the passing game is churning up some yards, so it isn't exactly Bostick cowering in the face of the WVU secondary this time around.

clambert: Already looking ahead at next year - how good will our "D" be -- will they dominate like some of those Va. Tech teams?

Chuck Finder: I don't know if the 3-3-5 is built to dominate. But with nine starters returning, and nationally noticed guys like Scooter Berry and Reed Williams up front? It could be a perty sturdy unit.

13-9: Did you draw the short straw or what in having to work in hoopieland? I personally have a rule of not using a bathroom in that state. How long can you hold it?

Chuck Finder: In high school, I went four years. But "hoopieland"? That's not nice. Could 13-9 be a Pitt interloper, perhaps?

clambert: Real important question: do you see any candidates in line to replace Eddie P.?

Chuck Finder: Well, messageboarders -- yes, i can read -- throw out Whit Babcock's name a lot. And he certainly seems like someone who would merit a look: a former WVU ranch-hand who succeeded elsewhere and is ready to ascend to the top job. But it will be a vitally important hire, if for no other reason than WVU doesn't seem to hire too many ADs. Seems apparent to most that WVU will need to look outside for someone to bring a new business perspective, a 21st-Century/New Age plan and more of a CEO aura (for that's what big-time college athletics demands nowadays) ... And they'll need to look for someone youngish who will want to stay awhile, again because that's what the job there seems to entail. What's the word I'm looking for? Yeah ... consistency.

clambert: Cards take down Bearcats, WVU beats Cards and Bulls, Bearcats beat Pitt, Pitt beats WVU (oh the horror!)..where does that leave the Big East?

Chuck Finder: Looking for a new President, cause John Marinatto probably will suffer cardiac arrest after all that craziness. Man, i need an abacus for that one, and the Big East rulebook. Cincinnati, by virtue of beating the next-highest teams in the standings (Pitt and WVU), goes to the BCS game ... where it's presence is valued as little as 8-4 Pitt's was when the Panthers got clocked by Utah.

Chuck Finder: Stick a fork ... Uh, well, let's just call it a day, after another overtime session. Hopefully, this overtime went better than WVU's last week. Thanks for stopping by. Until next week, folks ...