I contend Noel Devine’s number the first game were not divine for two reasons:

1) He looked like he was doing 50 mph in a 65.
2) WVU ran a lot to the right side.

One could assume those two are connected. And to be fair to Devine, he was told his last drive would be his last drive and he went from 20 carries for 56 yards to 23 carries for 111 yards in a hiccup. He can turn it on like few others and, for that, it’s unfair to fault him for taking it a little easier than normal in the first game, when he was on pace for 27 carries.

As for the right side, well, we knew this would require some work and evaluation.

It’s still unsettled and if the Cole Bowers knee injury costs him time, that isn’t going to help. WVU likes him and likes the idea of a tri-time share between Bowers, Jeff Braun and Eric Jobe on the right. Notice, too, that Jobe played some center Saturday.

Of Devine’s first 20 carries, eight went to the right. Not only that, but many were in goal line situations. That was a test, not an accident. And, on the whole, the right side didn’t do too well. The eight carries to the right were good for negative-three yards.

But then he ripped of the 56 yards at the end on runs to the right — and LT Don Barclay and LG Josh Jenkins had major contributions on the right side on the long run.

In all, 11 runs to the right for 52 yards and a touchdown, 12 runs to the left for 59 yards. Ho hum.

If nothing else, it was a good barometer for the Mountaineers. They could have run left again and again and had a far easier time against CCU, but what good would that have accomplished? With a win/loss on the line — a stretch, I know — they worked the right side out. That’s better than a scrimmage and, remember, they left the field with a little momentum.

And on Monday, they celebrated together and toasted the offensive line as Jock Sanders held a Labor Day cookout.

“I’m getting out the George Foreman,” said slot receiver Josh Sanders. “Hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, macaroni and cheese. I got to be taking care of my linemen.”

He asked the linemen to bring only their appetites for this holiday feast.

Of course, his next door neighbor would be in on it, too. His name is Noel Devine and he, maybe even more than Sanders, needs the cooperation of those men up front.

It’s all in the name of team building.

“Chemistry means a lot to the team,” Devine said. “You get a bond like that and they are willing to die for you and are willing to play their heart out for you. It starts up front.”