So West Virginia quarterback Patrick White was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Week Monday for the third time in the past four games. Safety Erick Wicks was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week and honored similarly by WVU coaches when they named him the team’s Defensive Champion after their review of the Louisville game.

The Offensive Champion? Owen Schmitt, of course. Mountaineers Coach Rich Rodriguez defended his decision amidst surprisingly intense questioning at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

“Pat probably played well enough to be Champion, but Owen played better overall with blocking and how he graded out. The people who watch — the average fan and you all folks — you all can TiVo it and watch it, but we’ve got that remote and we watch the same play 10 times. We see all the fundamentals and techniques. We really review it. Pat played pretty well, but Owen played the best of anyone offensively.”

White accounted for 328 total yards of offense and three touchdowns and his 50-yard touchdown run with 96 seconds remaining was the difference in the 38-31 victory against Loisville.

“He won the game,” Rodriguez said. “He didn’t win it by himself.”  

Schmitt ran two times for five yards, caught a pass for one yard and punted — kind of — once for nine yards. Yet a lot of White’s 147 rushing yards were gained following Schmitt blocks, particularly when it mattered most in the fourth quarter.

“Pat had a good game, but he didn’t have his best game and he’d be the first to tell you that,” Rodriguez said. “Owen didn’t have his best game, but he played really, really well.”

Of course, White was knocked silly in the third quarter and probably hadn’t completely cleared the cobwebs by the time he returned to the game.

“He still doesn’t think he had a concussion. I said, ‘Well, maybe you had a minor deal,'” Rodriguez said. “I asked him questions and he gave me all the right answers. The trainer told me he was a little loopy. I said as long as he can run fast, that’s OK. If he’s loopy and slow, then we’ll bench him.”