The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

I expect to see green grass as well

You’ll remember last season’s game against UConn for different reasons, including Tavon Austin’s indispensible kickoff return touchdown to start the game and deflate the inspired Huskies.

With that score in their pocket, though, the Mountaineers trailed at halftime and had to spend the intermission devising a completely different game plan.

UConn was not known as a blitzing team — Bill Stewart said he charted some 400 plays leading up to that game last season and counted 37 blitzes — but UConn used that to their advantage.

The Huskies blitzed WVU on virtually every down and on 14 of 36 first-half snaps WVU either lost yards or gained none.

Well, here comes UConn again without a whole lot going for itself and a defense that’s been described as “slow” by its head coach. Perhaps the Huskies want to bend-not-break with the Mountaineers up and down the field for four quarters, but that hasn’t worked whatsoever in the past and it hasn’t been good this season agaisnt fast teams like Michigan, Temple and Louisville.

So maybe they blitz WVU.

Or maybe everyone from this point forward blitzes WVU. Syracuse, with five sacks and persistent pressure last week, created the possibility.

“I think they’ll want to see if we can handle it and if we will handle it,” Stewart said. “If we don’t handle it, we’re going to get more of it.

“I’m anticipating getting more blitzes throughout the year.”