Elevation: Mountaineers raise expectations for '06

The Big East has been out of the national championship picture since Miami and Virginia Tech left the league two years ago.

West Virginia is hoping to do something about that.

After the Mountaineers went 11-1 and beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to finish No. 5 in the final poll, coach Rich Rodriguez is entertaining notions that this year's team could be even better.

"We've got a quote in our locker room that says, 'The problem with most people is not that they aim too high and miss, but aim too low and hit it,"' Rodriguez said. "We're going to aim high and see what happens."

He wasn't more specific, but aiming THAT

high isn't something that's been done often in Morgantown, W.Va.

There's the annual dronings of league titles and Bowl Championship Series berths. But national championships? West Virginia has yet to snare one, and that talk usually occurred when Virginia Tech and Miami were the opponents.

There were 11-0 regular seasons in 1988 and 1993, which were followed by bowl losses. Teams with lofty preseason expectations in 1998 and 2004 went 8-4.

For 2006, the groundwork was laid in the middle of last season when Pat White took over at quarterback and Steve Slaton at running back. West Virginia used a triple-overtime win over Louisville as a springboard to a third straight Big East title and first BCS berth.

The roles are reversed this time. West Virginia is no longer the underdog, Louisville isn't the favorite.

"How are you going to deal with high expectations? How are you going to keep your team from getting their heads too big?" Rodriguez said. "Those are legitimate questions but they are not a big concern to me. We think we know our guys."

West Virginia's top preseason issue was finding a capable backup for White. Adam Bednarik, last year's starter until midseason, was lost for 2006 after having shoulder surgery.

Rodriguez also is concerned about keeping a solid two-deep roster over a 12-game schedule.

"We have quality, but not the depth you'd think a Top 5 or Top 10 team would have," he said.

Louisville, whose 9-3 record missed expectations, returns Big East offensive player of the year Brian Brohm at quarterback and running back Michael Bush, who led the nation with 24 touchdowns. The Cardinals led the Big East by a wide margin with 482 yards of offense and 43 points per game.