Published: December 26, 2008 11:56 pm      

WVU ready for game against Tar Heels

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On paper, it couldn’t be more evenly matched.

West Virginia University and North Carolina match 8-4 records in today’s 1 p.m. Meineke Car Car Bowl at Bank of America Stadium.

Each team has only one decisive loss. The Mountaineers were drilled 24-3 at East Carolina the second week of the season, while the Tar Heels were whipped 41-10 by North Carolina State the next-to-last game of the campaign.

WVU’s other three losses to Colorado, Cincinnati and Pitt came by a total of 10 points. UNC’s other three setbacks to Virginia Tech, Virginia and Maryland were even closer, a total of eight points.

So how does first-year WVU coach Bill Stewart assess what his team must accomplish to claim a victory today in front of a sellout crowd and a national television (ESPN) audience?

“We can’t go out there tight,” Stewart said Friday morning before the Mountaineers and Tar Heels held a final walk-through at the game site.

“Let’s go out and play a game. We need to be aggressive. We need to play our game.

“I don’t know what North Carolina is going to do. They probably don’t know what we’re going to do. We’re not going to change anything. ... I don’t know how they’re going to play us.

“Every game has been different. We can’t turn the ball over, and we have to get some turnovers. Our defense had done such an outstanding job.”

Safety Sidney Glover, who hopes to play effectively today after battling a knee injury, believes “we did pretty well and a lot of people progressed” on the rebuilt defense.

“After this game, not to look too forward, but I’m excited about next year,” Glover said. “Our team being so young and next year, having experience under our belt, will be even more exciting for us.”

WVU quarterback Patrick White noted that the Tar Heels, under former University of Miami and Cleveland Browns coach Butch Davis, made the leap from 4-8 last season, Davis’ first on the job.

“They are an ACC school, and they are a lot better than what they’ve been in the past couple years,” the NCAA’s all-time leader in rushing yardage for a quarterback said. “They have definitely turned around, and they’re an up-and-coming program.”

Stewart believes a key will be using the punting of Pat McAfee to get the Mountaineers out of trouble if UNC stops the WVU offense.

“Our kicking game must be very, very sound,” Stewart said. “We have a tremendous punter in Patrick McAfee. We need to really utilize his skills.”

Stewart has stressed the importance of the players enjoying the bowl experience.

“Let’s go get them and use the weapons we have,” Stewart said. “Let’s just try to play and have fun and represent the state of West Virginia in the best manner in which we can.”

Stewart believes today’s game and the practices leading up to it are of tremendous value as he and his staff move into their second year.

His emphasis, though, is not on the past and three straight bowl victories or the future.

“I just want to play,” he said. “I want to play like we did when we were little guys before all the hoopla got involved. We want to go out and play and have fun and do the very best we can for the state flagship university in West Virginia and the state of West Virginia. We’re here to represent everyone the best we can.

“I don’t put much pressure on them. I don’t give them a big rah-rah talk. We try to stay with the business at hand, as we’ve done, and then try to let them just go play the game. It all belongs to the men in the arena.

“I’m really proud of the way our guys have responded this year. Hopefully we can go out with an exciting football game.”

E-mail Cliff Nichols at cnichols@timeswv.com.