West Virginia vs. Syracuse Football 2009
Mountaineers take on the Orange for the Schwartzwalder Trophy
Both teams come into Saturday’s game with already having 14 turnovers this year, although Syracuse’s 14 turnovers were in five games and WVU’s were in only four.
The Mountaineers are 3-1 despite the turnovers; however, turnovers are the reason for them not being undefeated and dominating opponents. WVU was up 14-0 early in their game at Auburn in week three, but six turnovers led to their only loss of the year.
Last week in the Mountaineers’ victory over Colorado, they had to overcome four turnovers to win 35-24. The Orange gave the ball away seven times Saturday in their game against South Florida, four of which led to touchdowns for the Bulls.
Syracuse lost the game 34-20 and could have won it if not for the costly interceptions. They are 2-3 so far this year and need to take care of the ball if they want to compete with the top Big East teams.
Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus has thrown for eight touchdowns and nine interceptions in the first five games. Paulus is in his first and only year as quarterback for the Orange after playing basketball the past four years at Duke University.
Even with throwing all of the interceptions, Paulus has played impressively for a Syracuse team that has not played well in the past few years. New head coach Doug Marrone is rebuilding the Orange right now and looks to help bring them back to being a national title contender.
Schwartzwalder Trophy
The last coach to win the Orange a national championship was Ben Schwartzwalder, who coached hall of fame running backs Jim Brown and Ernie Davis.
Ironically, the trophy given to the winner of this rivalry game is the Schwartzwalder Trophy, named after the Hall of Fame coach.
West Virginia has kept the trophy for the past seven years as they look to defeat Syracuse for the eighth year in a row. West Virginia has all the tools to make it eight wins in a row, but the players have got to hold onto the ball.
Two Powerful Offenses
WVU tailback Noel Devine has had to carry the team so far and has been able to rack up yards. He has run for 540 yards and six touchdowns in four games.
Quarterback Jarrett Brown has played well and he has looked strong in replacing Pat White. He just has to be careful with his throws since tipped balls led to costly interceptions in WVU’s loss to Auburn.
Wide receiver Mike Williams is Syracuse’s most dangerous weapon offensively. In their loss last Saturday to USF, Williams caught 13 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Mike Williams will likely play impressively against WVU, but their defense has started to step up with middle linebacker Reed Williams back healthy in the lineup.
However, Scooter Berry has missed the past two games with a shoulder injury. If Berry gets back in the lineup then WVU could put some big pressure on Paulus.
Mountaineers Over Orange
This should make for a good Big East rivalry game as both teams have productive offenses. The difference of the game will come down to who has improved more on preventing turnovers.
West Virginia should be able to dominate Syracuse with their powerful running and passing games. Head coach Bill Stewart has been drilling it into their heads all week at practice to hold onto the ball, and it seems that message will go through.
Paulus and Williams will likely put up some points for the Orange, but the Mountaineers just seem to be a more complete team right now and it does not hurt that they have defeated the Orange for the past seven years.
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