So THAT'S why Rutgers scored as much as they did...

There was a noticable dropoff in the play of the Mountaineer defense, although they did come up with the big stop when they needed it. But Williams presence in the middle in the last 2 games had the defense playing better.

Hopefully, Anthony Leonard will become a similar presence in the middle...

The Charleston Gazette Wrote:Notebook: Williams done for the season
By Dave Hickman
Staff writer
October 5, 2008

MORGANTOWN - As it turns out, all the speculation over Reed Williams' status was a waste of time. The decision, it seems, was made early in the week.

"I think Reed made the decision on Tuesday,'' Anthony Leonard said Saturday. "I know I've been running with the [No. 1 defense] since Sunday.''

Williams, West Virginia's senior middle linebacker and arguably the most valuable member of the defensive unit, did not play Saturday in West Virginia's 24-17 win over Rutgers. And afterward, coach Bill Stewart said Williams was done for the season.

"He's done for this year,'' Stewart said. "I'm not going to play anybody that can't protect himself. He's in a lot of pain when he tries to play.''

Williams, the defensive MVP in January's Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, had surgery on both shoulders during the winter and only began full contact drills a few weeks before the beginning of the 2008 season. He missed the first two games and then played - and played well - in the last two.

On Tuesday, though, Stewart said that Williams was questionable for Rutgers because he was playing in so much pain and later intimated that if Williams did not improve or voluntarily remove himself, Stewart might be forced to do it himself.

If Williams sits out the remainder of the season, he is eligible for - and almost certain to receive if he chooses - a medical redshirt that would allow him to return in 2009. Williams played as a true freshman out of Moorefield and thus has a redshirt year available. Technically, he could play next week against Syracuse and still get a redshirt because it is still the first half of the season and Williams would not have exceeded the NCAA limit of four games.

The question remains, though, whether Williams wants to return. He is scheduled to graduate in December (in 31/2 years) with a degree in finance.

* * *

West Virginia's special teams did not give up any glaring big plays Saturday, which made Stewart happy for the special teams coach.

Stewart is the special teams coach.

"I'm not near as mad at the special teams coach,'' Stewart said. "I was ready to kick his butt last week.''

After giving up two long kickoff returns to Marshall, Rutgers' kickoff returns averaged just 21.5 yards. The Knights ranked No. 6 in the country in that category coming into the game.

There was one decision by the special teams coach that will be second-guessed. After scoring a touchdown with 56 seconds to play in the first half to go up 17-3, Stewart had kicker Pat McAfee pooch the kickoff short. Mason Robinson fielded it at the 30-yard line and returned it to the Rutgers 44, giving the Scarlet Knights just 56 yards to cover in the remaining 50 seconds.

They did just that, scoring in just five plays and 31 seconds to close the gap at halftime to 17-10.

Stewart, though, defended the decision.

"I will always squib the ball or sky the ball in that situation,'' Stewart said. "I won't let them run it back with less than a minute to go.''

* * *

West Virginia's defense played well for the most part against Rutgers, giving up just 270 total yards and 72 yards rushing. But wide receiver Kenny Britt caught 12 passes for 151 yards.

"Kenny had a great numbers day,'' said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. "But we dropped too many balls.''

About the only big pass that Britt didn't catch was when Tim Brown snuck behind the WVU defense to grab a 14-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. He got behind cornerback Brandon Hogan, the converted receiver who was making just his second start.

"There were probably guys who wanted me to fire Brandon Hogan again,'' said Stewart, who said the same thing after Hogan was beaten twice in a loss to East Carolina last month. "But he came back and made the play dragging Britt down on that last drive.''

Indeed, on the play before Scooter Berry batted down a fourth-down pass to essentially end the game, Hogan collared Britt after just a five-yard gain to set up that fourth down.

Briefly

■ True freshman Tyler Urban's 25-yard touchdown catch was his first college reception and the first touchdown reception by a WVU tight end since 2005.

"I got a little nervous for a while,'' Urban said of the bootleg pass from Pat White. "It seemed like the ball was in the air forever.''

■ McAfee broke the school's all-time kick scoring record held by Paul Woodside (323) with three PATs and a field goal. He now has 329 points. That's one point away from the school's all-time scoring record of 330 points held by Steve Slaton.

McAfee also moved into second place on the Big East's all-time list for PATs made. With 188, he is two away from tying the record held by Virginia Tech's Carter Worley. McAfee now ranks sixth all-time in Big East scoring and is 71 points away from the leader, former Rutgers kicker Jeremy Ito (400).

■ White's two touchdown passes gave him 44 for his career, moving him past Oliver Luck and Chad Johnston into third place on the school's all-time list. Marc Bulger is the leader with 59. Rasheed Marshall is No. 2 with 45.

Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickman1@aol.com.

■ Saturday's crowd of 59,122 was only the second of less than capacity (60,000) in the past two seasons. Last year's game with Connecticut on Thanksgiving weekend drew 59,701. It was the smallest crowd since 52,790 attended the Dec. 3, 2006 home game against South Florida.