Player to Watch Today: Noel Devine

Many people are picking East Carolina to beat West Virginia today and I don’t understand why people are picking against the Mountaineers this week. We are not big fans of West Virginia’s coach Bill Stewart, but Stewart will lead the Mountaineers to a good bowl game this season. Remember that SEC fans never give LSU’s coach Les Miles any credit, even though he has a national championship and leads his team near the top of the SEC West almost every single season. The Mountaineers lost star quarterback Pat White to the NFL Draft and Jarrett Brown threw 243 yards while rushing for 69 yards as White’s replacement in the win over Liberty. The senior quarterback will once again play well today, but Noel Devine will be the reason why West Virginia wins big.

Devine rushed for 112 yards and one touchdown last week and should once again rush for over 100 yards against East Carolina’s defense. The Pirates have a very good defensive line with C.J. Wilson coming off a 10½ sack season. Devine will face weaker rush defenses once West Virginia plays conference games in the Big East, but Devine is one of the best running backs in the nation and the speedy back will rush for at least 140 yards in the win over the Pirates. Devine uses this game to put him in the early discussion for the Heisman Trophy.