MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- From the time his team left the field after a 30-19 loss Friday to South Florida, West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has trumpeted talk about a four-game season.

All that has happened to this point -- six wins and two losses -- is in the rearview mirror.

Everything of consequence is out in front of the Mountaineers, beginning with the first of four remaining Big East Conference games -- a home date at noon Saturday with Louisville.

Isn't it a near-impossibility, though, to have mostly 18- to 22-year-old young men forget about the past two months and sharpen their focus into the future?

It might even be a stretch to have this team forget about how South Florida had a few big plays, limited running back Noel Devine to 42 yards and made the West Virginia offense look like a frazzled Week 1 group.

All of that is in the past is -- well, in the past, Stewart insists, and the attention is focused on the future. And the main reason, he says, comes down to two things: truth and trust.

"They trust me, I have great guys," Stewart said, turning tremendously serious at his news conference yesterday when asked where the belief comes that his team could run the table. "I don't know if they like me, and I don't really care. All you have to do is look them dead in the eye and tell them the truth. Tell them what is to be expected and then go to work."

To talk to Stewart is to quickly understand that the motivation of this team is to reach the highest attainable goal -- the Big East title.

Not a date in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Not a spot in the International Bowl in Toronto.

Not a trip to Alabama and the The Papajohns.com Bowl.

No, Stewart wants it all, a conference title and a trip to a BCS bowl that goes with it -- and is unwavering in his belief that this team can beat Louisville, Cincinnati, Pitt and Rutgers.

"All my life I have been in tough situations," he said. "You just jut your jaw, bow your back, you shut your mouth and go to play as hard as you can play. If you do that in life, be it in your daily walk, your job, your marriage or whatever phase of your life, you will be OK."

NOTES -- Coming off a performance in which he faltered twice and was beaten badly on deep balls against South Florida -- one for a 49-yard touchdown, another for a 69-yard gain -- right cornerback Keith Tandy will remain the starter for the Louisville game. Tandy, a redshirt sophomore, is listed as No. 1 on the depth chart with senior Guesly Dervil at No. 2. ... When Stewart was asked if South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels was one of the best quarterbacks he had seen, the West Virginia coach grew a bit defensive, even though Daniels threw for 232 yards and ran for 104. Stewart said: "I saw a quarterback just like him but much better every day in practice last year, the greatest winner in college football -- Patrick White."

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