Shawne Alston is starting at running back in the Orange Bowl and Andrew Buie will play a bunch as well. The impact of Dustin Garrison’s injury is absolutely not something that concerns Dana Holgorsen.

“Shawne give us a lot of maturity, as he has all year,” Holgorsen said. “Andrew Buie has probably looked as good as he has since camp. We’ll start Shawne because Shawne’s a guy who has been playing all year and has done a good job for us. Buie’s a guy who played a lot early. He just got hurt. Between the two of them, we can do anything we want.”

Best way to combat the hand-wringing is to say what Holgorsen said: WVU thought Buie was better before got hurt — although you have to worry what happens  if he catches another big hit, a habit he couldn’t shake during the season. But as far as those around him are concerned, Buie is a better player now than he was before … and that includes ball security.

The starting spot at spur safety is a toss-up now — we think — and all Steve Dunlap will say is we’ll know when the team warms up tomorrow night. It’s going to be either Wes Tonkery or Shaw Petteway, though when you consider Tonkery didn’t start when Garvin missed the Cincinnati game and WVU moved Petteway from bandit to spur when Garvin was ruled out, you might be inclined to believe it will be Petteway, the true freshman who was a star linebacker at Ohio’s Steubenville High.

“My teammates keep pushing me to go out there and play the game like I did in high school and not try to play a perfect game,” said the 6-foot, 200-pound Petteway, who is an inch shorter and five pounds lighter than Tonkery. “That’s when you mess up. I just want to go out there and play the best I can.”

Both are going to play, though, and that means a lot to Tonkery, an all-state player from Bridgeport High.