LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- This place isn't exactly the Wild West, but it makes for some wild Big East football when this town's men in black engage West Virginia in a duel.

"It's only my second year, but even watching the previous games ... it's like a shootout," Mountaineers safety Sidney Glover said.

And Louisville quarterback Hunter Cantwell, Glover added: "He's a gunslinger. He can fire."

It shouldn't seem like such a contrived metaphor when a dude named Hunter challenges a bunch of Mountaineers at high noon today. After all, the Mountaineers' mascot will come armed with a rifle. He can fire, too.

Welcome to Louisville-West Virginia, a big, bad, Big East tussle where rivals go out in a blaze of scoring: 46-44 Mountaineers in triple overtime three years ago, 44-34 Cardinals in a confrontation of Top-5 foes on a Blackout Thursday two years ago, and 38-31 Mountaineers last year.

Do the math, and it averages Cardinals 39.6, Mountaineers 39.

"It's not like the defenses are bad, either," said Mountaineers left guard Greg Isdaner, who also invoked the "shootout" description.

"All the games have been pretty tight, pretty high scoring. Two years ago, it was a nightmare. Probably the biggest game of my career at that point; that game really brought me to big-time football. That was like a BCS bowl game, that was the feeling we had [going in] and that was the feeling we had after we lost. I've never seen the guys like that after a loss -- except Pitt [last year]."

Papa John's Cardinal Stadium patrons have been asked to bedeck themselves in black again, though that school color might not show up as well in an overcast midday as at nighttime. Isdaner joked how that dark theme scared him two years ago, though his father came away saying, "Any stadium that serves Jack Daniels is a plus in my book."

Isdaner mentioned a four-letter word that looms next week for West Virginia (6-3, 3-1 Big East), which needs help from a Cincinnati loss to retain any hope of a BCS berth.

Yet the Mountaineers first have business with Louisville (5-5, 1-4), a loser of three in a row, before peeking at Friday's foe: arch-rival Pitt.

"That game is definitely circled," Mountaineers defensive tackle Scooter Berry said of the Panthers who upended West Virginia's national-championship-game aspirations by 13-9 last December, "but you don't want to look past any opponent."

Matchup: West Virginia (6-3, 3-1 Big East) vs. Louisville (5-5, 1-4), noon today, Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, Ky. Mountaineers are favored by 7.

TV/Radio: ESPN; WWVA-AM 1170 and Mountaineer Sports Network, along with MSNSports.net and Sirius Radio Channels 113 and 140.

Louisville: Trails series, 2-7, and 1-2 as Big East member. ... Lost two more starters to injury last week: OG Mark Wetterer (knee) and leading interceptor CB Woodny Turenne (broken clavicle). Already, both safeties were out.

West Virginia: Patrick White needs 198 yards rushing to become all-time rushing leader for QBs; he averaged 136 in past two games vs. Louisville. ... RB Noel Devine has 118 yards combined in two games since back-to-back games of 188 and 207.

Hidden stat: White needs 366 rushing yards over final four games to equal career low, 414 yards to reach 1,000, and 850 yards for career high.