Had some time in the car to think about a few things this weekend and I kept going back to this idea everyone presents to me that WVU won’t see another defense quite like LSU’s again the rest of the season.

I don’t deny that — in truth, it might be years until the Mountaineers see something similar … assuming LSU isn’t as talented when it comes to Morgantown next season.

Still, I can’t get past a few things:

1) WVU did have occasions on which it moved the ball fairly well.
2) For all the exotic pressure LSU was expected to and did indeed deliver, Eu was not sacked once.
3) Eu had the ball three times in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the score and/or take the lead … and normally reliable Tyler Bitancurt missed a field goal that would have cut the lead in half.
4) The Mountaineers were still probably their worst enemy.

No. 4 is big, I think. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are promising against a defense on LSU’s level — and on the road, no less — but No. 4 kind of spoiled all that. Two field goals went bad. Two possessions ended on turnovers. Retrospective analysis by players and coaches found a lot of yards and some points left on the field and by WVU’s doing more than LSU’s.

So then you wonder if there’s to be relief away from LSU’s defense or concern about WVU’s offense — the one that was 2-for-13 on third down and a little frazzled at the end.

Well, since you only have to deal with one the rest of the season, look at the Mountaineers and what it is they’re trying to do on offense.

It is neither fish nor fowl, at least on the offensive side of the ball, dominating with neither the running game nor the passing game, unable to score points on a regular basis, unable to will itself a first down on 3rd and 4 whether it be running or passing.

After it was held to 177 yards by LSU on Sept. 25, the Mountaineers found themselves ranked 66th in the nation running the ball and 72nd passing.

Yes, they had attained the balance that they sought coming into the season, but it was a balance without any weight to it. The result of it was that WVU stood 72nd in the nation in scoring, in the lower half.

The problem, one would maintain, is that the team has been unable to develop a tough running game.

On Thursday, while riding through Ohio, Coach Jim Tressel of Ohio State was being interviewed on radio and the point he made was a telling one.

“You have to be able to run the ball to win,” Tressel said.

The point is backed up by the rankings. Ten of the top 20 teams in the Associated Press poll last week were among the top 20 rushing teams in the nation while only five of the top passing teams were in the top 20.

The reason, quite simply, is that while there can be a big reward by throwing the ball in terms of breaking long plays, there is so much more than can go wrong. A pass can be incomplete or intercepted. There can be a sack. There can be a loss — even on a simple flair — or a fumble.

More important, you wind up too often with an inability to control the clock as well as a running team can.

That’s the weird part: WVU’s offense is a hodgepodge in the rankings and not particularly impressive in any area a third of the way through the season, except time of possession — and that’s after LSU had the ball seven more minutes.

Which way WVU goes now and how it gets there will be an interesting trend to follow because, no, there isn’t another LSU defense on the schedule and if WVU does things right, it can finish very strongly.

And I say that because I thought about something else on the way up and down the Interstate this weekend: Is WVU going to see another good offense the remainder of the season?

Think about it. WVU’s defense is again ranked very high across the board — go back to the link about the offense for the numbers — and the initial reaction would be to say WVU hasn’t played anyone with a prolific offense yet.

And that’d be true.

Also true: The Mountaineers don’t see a terrifying offense the rest of the season.

WVU will have its chances beginning Oct. 9 when it plays host to UNLV (1-4). The Rebels are No. 110 in total offense and No. 86 in scoring offense – and that comes with a 45-10 victory against New Mexico Sept. 25. The Mountaineers don’t play anyone better than No. 56 in total offense (UConn) and No. 29 in scoring offense (Louisville) the rest of the regular season. 

That’s extremely fortuitous for the Mountaineers.  Their defense is only going to get better. Guys are getting healthy and a Jeff Casteel team always surges toward the end.

The question for WVU is how the offense will follow.