Questions abound, but WVU's future is bright

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A bowl is the end-all of a team's season, butrarely is it the be-all for a program.

Consider two men who share a strong connection and storiedcareers.

Among coaches who have worked at least a dozen bowl games, theworst records belong to late Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler (5-12)and a protege, retired West Virginia University Coach Don Nehlen (4-9).

Didn't keep them from College Football Hall of Fame residency, didit?

That said, WVU's 38-35 comeback triumph in the Gator Bowl overGeorgia Tech on Monday was more significant to the Mountaineers thana second-tier bowl triumph often is.

West Virginia won in a postseason game in which it had beenembarrassed five times previously. It won a game in which even CoachRich Rodriguez admitted his team was stumbling for 2 1/2 quarters.

A rally from an 18-point deficit was WVU's biggest comeback in 14seasons and a second straight 11-win season should land theMountaineers in the Top 10 of the final polls for a secondconsecutive year.

The 2006 season wasn't supposed to be the Mountaineers' finest andit wasn't, thanks to a sieve-like defense against the pass.

WVU didn't get the Big East Conference title and repeat BowlChampionship Series appearance it wanted, but it ran and scoredenough to keep the Gold and Blue faithful happy ... if also on theedge of their seats in season-finishing games against Rutgers and theYellow Jackets.

Next season is the one to which WVU has been pointing, with starbacks Steve Slaton and Patrick White as juniors, senior fullback OwenSchmitt and a defense that loses little other than the cerebral playof undersized middle linebacker Jay Henry.

The bowl win also was soothing for Rodriguez, who now won't haveto listen to complaints about how he got two raises totaling $850,000and, then, slipped on another Gator banana peel before the formalcontract even was done.

With the first WVU team to score 500 points in a season (averaging38.8 per game) and an offense that set school and Big East standards,the Mountaineers played their way around question marks ... like:

How can a team so ground-oriented and offensive-minded go through13 games and not develop a reliable backup tailback?

Whether it's Ed Collington, Jetavious Best or prodigal prospectJason Gwaltney backing up Slaton, it's a question that needs ananswer when spring drills open March 5.

Or, how is it that Darius Reynaud, after emerging as a big-timethreat in last year's bowl win over Georgia, gets next-to-no touchesin an offense shy on options in the Gator Bowl?

WVU was able to upend Rutgers to avoid a who-cares Texas Bowltrip, keep Rodriguez with bigger bucks and win one of the nation'stop 10 bowl games. Now, the question is whether it can keep assistantRick Trickett up front?

A Trickett move from WVU's offensive line - he's Boss Hog - toFlorida State would leave a hole much larger than those created bythe blocks of Dan Mozes and Jeremy Sheffey.

Trickett has been significant in the construction of Rodriguez'sprogram. How would the Mountaineer fortunes be - past, present andfuture - without the decorated ex-Marine?

Could Rodriguez's program be as effective without Trickett? The9.5 miles (16,670 yards) that WVU has rushed for in the last fiveseasons is rooted in what Trickett has handed down to Mozes and histeammates.

One of the things Rodriguez has done best is tweak his system tofit personnel. Good programs adapt, as well as adopt, from others.

"He takes his guys and puts them in a position to be successful,"Georgia Tech Coach Chan Gailey said during bowl preparations. "Theyhave unique schemes, but they're playing hard-nosed football."

Rodriguez's oft-stated goal is that he wanted "a top 25 programand that's more than just a top 25 team" at his alma mater. The GatorBowl foe provides a ready point of reference.

Georgia Tech has plenty of tradition and a better bowl history (22-13) than any schools except Penn State and Southern Cal. However, theRamblin' Wreck is in a rut. It has been to bowls in 10 straightseasons, but in the last six of those Tech has finished with at leastfive losses.

Rodriguez, with 47 wins in five years after a 3-8 opening seasonin 2001, now has that program he wanted.

The Mountaineers can solidify that in 2007 - when WVU figures toopen the season in the Top 10 as it did in 2006.

However, as WVU proved in the Gator Bowl, it's not how you start,but how you finish.