In short, the reason Oliver Luck hired Dana Holgorsen was because the WVU athletic director wanted a more powerful and appealing offense so the Mountaineers could win more games and make more money. There’s more to it than that, but when you take all the explanations and examine them properly, you find those two common denominators — and that’s both acceptable and normal today.

So the season begins for real today with the first day of the first game week and we’re reminded of what Luck said the day he introduced Holgorsen: “At the end of the day, results matter and we weren’t getting results.” By convicting Stewart and Jeff Mullen and all the others of designing and running an offense that wasn’t getting the job done, Luck also charged Holgorsen and his offensive hires with designing and running an offense that will, quite frankly, live up to it’s reputation.

“I’m very aware of it,” WVU quarterback Geno Smith said. “He doesn’t talk about it or boast or brag about it. He doesn’t say we have to live up to those expectations. But we know what he’s about.”

The 24th-ranked Mountaineers begin the final week of preseason practice today and ready themselves to play host to Marshall at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Mountaineer Field, but to also bear the burden of Holgorsen’s past.

It’s important that WVU is a dynamic offensive team in 2011.

“It’s more important to win the game,” Holgorsen said. “That’s what matters most when you get right down to it. But if we’re winning games, the chances are we’re doing what we want to do on offense.”