Chuck Finder: Good afternoon, and welcome to ... what is this, the end-of-regular-season edition or the oh-boy-it's-the-Muffler-Bowl preview chat? Well, whatever this is -- and there probably is a research team working on that quandary -- it's time for another scheduled WVU chat. Questions? Comments? Should i act like Bill Stewart and answer my own questions? Maybe.

HotInEER:Did Devine really get benched for his poor performance at Pitt and for being late, or is there more to the story?

Chuck Finder: Stewart offered the latter, saying -- and Noel had to really love this (sarcasm alert) -- that he could pull anybody out of a WVU dorm and do have that man, or woman, rush for better than 17 yards on 12 carries. word also was that Devine went back to Florida briefly after the Pitt game -- but it had to be 48-hours-briefly if he did, because the Mountaineers went right back to work. i could believe it was a little of both. but, man, i still have visions of Devine slipping and slowing and hesitating all over the new, dry sod at Heinz Field. he looked significantly better against USF, and easily could have had 100 yards or more....with four quarters of work.

HotInEER: The defense was thought to be a liability at the beginning of the season turned into our strength. Do you see them being able to build on that for next season.

Chuck Finder: Here's the thing, Hot: Don't remember what that defense did in the first nine games, think about what it did at the end. Yes, it's one of those what-have-you-done-for-me-lately. and that once-sturdy defense allowed almost 375 offensive yards per game over the final three games. Louisville and Pitt seemingly ran at will on them, ripping off 4- to 5-yard gains on average. and the most long gains of any teams regularly this season. then Matt Grothe threw all over them -- if the kid had better control last Saturday, he would've lead USF to a 28-7 victory, easily. so that defense ought to worry fans now....especially with a decent North Carolina passing game looming.

HotInEER:How do you see WVU's bowl game turning out?

Chuck Finder: Seeing that you're on a roll, Hot: Ya know, i just don't know enough about the Tar Heels yet. (Sorry, i'm admitting to the class that i haven't done my homework to date. But, Teacher, i promise i will!) They had a great receiver, but he got hurt, if memory serves. Now they're back to this T.J. Yates at quarterback after an earlier injury, but he has been spotty at best. Even with the three weeks' of preparation, i'm betting the UNC offense won't be overly potent. And i'm sure they haven't seen anything like Patrick White yet. Maybe not even Devine. If it's a clear, decent field, i could see the Mountaineers running up a 20-13 victory (they do seem to like close games this year, huh? oops, there i go with the questions again...yes, they do seem to like close games this year.) One more thing: If Stew can motivate them like he did in the desert, it's conceivable they could pound North Carolina by, say, three or more touchdowns. Then again, UNC has an NFL-esque schedule: The players h

pg_chuckfinder Whoo, i'm windy today. My bad.

HotInEER:Will a WVU bowl victory help silence all the Stew critics? If they happen to lose ... the Stew haters will go crazy.

Chuck Finder: No. Critics will criticize even when 12-0. And methinks Stew won't release the hounds from his door until he reaches a double-digit season.

HotInEER:WVU has the #1 ranked redzone defense. They seem to play leaps and bounds better in the second half, what gives?

Chuck Finder: The second half play speaks for adjustments. Yes, indeedy, the Mounties' D had quite a string going there with, what, four second halves without a single point and five of six games with nothing but goose eggs in the third and fourth quarters. Everything was going smoothly until Pitt....which owned the fourth quarter after that ugly White interception. USF? Well, what I saw was a defense that gave up a lot of yardage, but held it's own -- sort of -- in the end zone. Grothe had Jesse Hester wide open in the right corner on second down in the final minute. It was so wide open, i had to ask around the press box because i couldn't believe my own eyes: Wha happened?! I mean, I could have thrown that ball myself....and then raced underneath it and caught it for a score, like backyard football, it was so open. Ergo, that defense needs a strong game against UNC, at least a strong second half, to take six returning starters -- and several backups plus returnee Reed Williams (up 20 to 230 p

pg_chuckfinder What can you take for being long-winded? Is there a Beano for that? (Yes, that was a Cook pun.)

HotInEER:SI has an article up that a member of congress is proposing a bill to end the BCS and have a true playoff. Your take on politics getting involved in college football.

Chuck Finder: And where is that politico from? Why......................Texas. Shocked and appalled, aren'cha? Look, if somebody from, say, Rhode Island offered that, it would carry a little more weight. Heck, i'd like to see President Obama put forth legislation, though he has plenty of more important work to do first!!!!!!!!! Political involvement doesn't bother me. I've said for years that's what it'll take to get Penn State and Pitt back together in football, and those two HAVE to play...even though Penn Staters don't want it. What about the rest of Pennsylvania? The West Virginia governor forced Marshall and WVU to play, but i'm still not sure what good that does to WVU and a state tilted in the Mountaineers' favor. That'd be like forcing Auburn to play Troy (sorry, not a good example) or Ohio State to play Cincinnati (which it should, regularly!). One last thing: My playoff take remains, at least eight teams in. Make them play in the Sugar-Rose-Fiesta-Orange as quarterfinals on New Year's

HotInEER:Stew doesn't seem to want Devine to get more than 12 to 15 carries a game. He seems capable of more.

Chuck Finder: Much, much more. To me, he's got to have 20 carries, minimum, per game. Oddly, he seems this year to be a warm-up-as-he-goes-along tailback. He gets better, quicker, more elusive as he gets more carries...and, of course, as defenses tire. They have this how-many-touches quota, but frankly i haven't seen many good Devine runs on screen passes. Don't get me wrong, they should throw him one per game. And sometime they should throw him a backward pass and let him chuck one downfield....no matter how awful a passer he might be, Devine needs that arrow in his quiver to keep defenses honest and on their heels when he's out on the edge like that. One other thing: The man has strong legs, but he needs to work on his balance and his hips and his footwork (jump rope?) for next season. We've all seen him slip way too many times for a guy who's supposed to be shifty.

HotInEER:Would you consider WVU's season a failure, or just a disappointment? I think most fans and experts didn't understand the impact of losing so many coaches, and the talent off to the NFL.

Chuck Finder: Those are all good and valid points, Hot. And they are part of the problem. Here's what i believe may have been the most overlooked points of all: (1.) Installing parts, chunks or huge pieces of a new offense take more time than one calendar year allows, (2.) enduring coach after coach after coach takes more toll on college kids than anybody expected this season and (3.) maybe that offensive line wasn't as good as everyone thought, or White-Slaton-Schmitt-Devine made them look better than they were. Oh, and i'm probably missing a few more points, too. But the offense was a grave disappointment, with all it's key parts back. Devine played the role of Steve Slaton. Dorrell Jalloh and Jock Sanders combined to give WVU one fair representation of Darius Reynaud, but Reynaud was much more adept at breaking off big plays and scoring TDs (what, 12 last year?). White remained White, though he didn't run as well as last season, and his passing numbers were still at career-low levels last ti

HotInEER:Your early favorites for the Big East next season.

Chuck Finder: Pitt loses McKillop, off the top of my head, but (unless the NFL money gets to him) will have Shady McCoy and a lot of starters back. It'll prolly be the favorite, because Cincinnati loses so much defensively. Cincy, UConn and WVU will likely vie for second in the preseason rankings. Man, what will WVU be like with Jarrett Brown and new faces in three of the four spots from right guard to the left?

HotInEER:I agree with you, take the top 8 teams, or at the very least the Top 4 in the BCS. #1 plays #4, #2 plays #3, then the winners of those 2 games play for the tile.

Chuck Finder: Now you're just sucking up....but, seriously, thanks. D-I-A is the only level of college sports -- ONLY LEVEL -- without a playoff system. When you're the last hold out, shouldn't that tell you something? Yeah (he said, answering his own questions like Stew), it means it's time to turn in the Yugo and buy a real car.

HotInEER:Heard anything about possible Big East expansion?

Chuck Finder: No. But I do have bad hearing.

HotInEER:Your take on Skip Holtz not taking the Syracuse job.

Chuck Finder: Dr. Lou told him not to. Seriously, it must look pretty bad, because Skip was a natch for that.... It's a certain step up from C-USA and East Carolina, but there must be problems underneath the surface. Buffalo's Turner Gill might get a better offer before the Orange get their act together....

HotInEER:Going back to 2nd half adjustments -- why can't WVU seem to put a complete game together?

Chuck Finder: You know, that long has been a problem for WVU. Even under the, uh, previous administration, they were slow first-half clubs, but came out like gangbusters in the third and fourth quarters. In fact, the only first-half eruptions i can recall were East Carolina in 2007 and the Sugar Bowl. Outside of that...at least off the top of my addled mind....they were tight games at halftime until the Mounties made adjustments or merely got into sync/rhythm. Weird, but Utah and Florida and other spreaddies don't seem to have that problem. Something indigenous to WVU, maybe. Or they just love that halftime sports-performance drink!

HotInEER:Does WVU keep all of it's coaches for next season?

Chuck Finder: Another interesting question. We'll have to see. I don't see Stew being told to fire or make changes, and I just don't see Stew being so bothered that he gives someone(s) walking papers. No, it would be assistants finding other, maybe even better jobs, to create staff openings. I wouldn't rule out that possibility, either.

pg_chuckfinder Something i just remembered: Charlie Taafe got let go by his Canadian Football League team a coupla months ago, so Stew's original choice as offensive coordinator is looking for a job..... Might he return as a special offensive assistant or something? Wouldn't doubt it.

HotInEER:What does the firing of Rutgers AD due to their football program?

Chuck Finder: Technical problem on my end, sorry. So i'll answer two, two questions in one: Jarrett Brown -- he'll never break anything longer than 20 yards, because he's no Patrick White. NO ONE IS. So WVU fans better get those sugarplums outta their minds as of Dec. 28. But he may be a more effective thrower...i liked what i saw of him in his spot starts and limited playing time. This offense could benefit him, albeit in one sole season as a starter. Still and all, he won't make the special plays like White...again, NO ONE WILL. So that might qualify as one fewer victory per season, unless Devine turns into a special player a la Slaton as a freshman and sophomore. Secondly, Rutgers firing it's AD -- they had some political issues, with going outside of the university administration and board, making contracts and agreements and such with only the OK of a select few. Not good in a college environment. There are administrators in place for a reason. It could cause Greg Schiano to take another j

pg_chuckfinder All righty then, we went into a 15-minute overtime period.... We were here so long, our moderator left! (Sorry, Dan!) Seriously, folks, thanks for staying through. Last i heard, we were going to try to have a holiday/bowl chat before the Muffler Classic, as with Pitt and Penn State chats, too. Stay tuned to our Chat lineup board for further details ...man, do i sound like a TV guy. Thanks so much for HotlnEER for bringing his/her A questions: You ask so many questions, you oughtta be a reporter! Love it. If we don't chat until then, Happy Holidays to all. Later.