West Virginia and Miami. Over the years, we’ve seen some memorable moments emerge from games between these two teams, haven’t we?

 

That ’88 Miami team that rolled into Morgantown is arguably, one of the best to ever step foot on Mountaineer Field.

 

The ’93 game …a rare top 10 matchup at Mountaineer Field (there have only been three in Mountaineer Field history). West Virginia's win became the exclamation point on a magical season for the Mountaineers.

 

And 1996 - the blocked punt game. West Virginia was rolling through another undefeated season when Tremain Mack came around the edge unblocked, and swatted down Brian West’s punt. Then a clear forward lateral that wasn’t called allowed the Hurricanes to return the punt for a touchdown.

 

I’m sure most of you won’t forget that night. Nor will I. I was in my first year as the marketing director for the WVU athletic department. I was standing on the camera deck of the press box during that play.

 

After it happened, I remember the crowd sitting there in stunned silence. The only noise …directly above me (not more than five feet above my head), the entire Miami suite, which included then head coach Butch Jones’ wife screaming hysterically. 

 

Just minutes earlier, I could hear Jones’ wife crying. Three straight losses is not something that was tolerated at Miami (A loss that night to WVU, would have been Miami's third in a row). My goodness, how things can change in an instant.

 

How about the 2003 game in the Orange Bowl? Quincy Wilson’s catch and run becomes one of the iconic plays in Mountaineer history. 

 

West Virginia was poised to pull the upset until Kellen Winslow struck. That fourth down catch was a gut punch moment if there ever was one. 

 

It ended in a loss, but that game was a turning point of sorts in the Rich Rodriguez era. The loss to Miami, dropped WVU to 1-4. But then, seven straight wins and the West Virginia program was off and running.

 

What will Wednesday's Russell Athletic Bowl bring in terms of memories? The records indicate West Virginia is the better team. The boys in Las Vegas feel Miami is, installing them as three point favorites.

 

A closer looks reveals we may be seeing two pretty evenly matched teams. As Dana Holgorsen said recently, Miami is only a few points from being 10-2 rather than 8-4.

 

10-2 West Virginia is only a few points (and plays) from being 8-4. 

 

West Virginia is 21st in the Sagarin rankings with two wins over top 30 teams. Miami is ranked 20th in the Sagarin poll and has one win against a top 30 team. 

 

According to Sagarin, West Virginia played the 42nd toughest schedule in the country. Miami played the 43rd most difficult.

 

In a game between two evenly matched teams, the difference usually comes down to mistakes. Who makes them? Who takes advantage of them.

 

Add that to the 12 game body of work we've seen from West Virginia and it's not hard to figure out what the Mountaineers need to do to walk out of Orlando with another win.

 

1. Run the football

 

West Virginia should be as healthy as it’s been since week one, when it comes to running back. Heck, we could probably argue the Mountaineers are in better shape now than in September. Back then you didn’t know what you had in Kennedy McKoy. Now you do. Martell Petteway was a guy that the coaches loved, but were hoping to stash away for another year. Justin Crawford was highly touted, but hadn’t played at this level. Three months later and an argument could be made this is the deepest backfield in the history of West Virginia football.

 

2. Create turnovers

 

Rasul Douglas has been a machine for West Virginia. He leads the country in interceptions and has forced teams to throw away from him or pay the price. Get Miami to make some mistakes and I like West Virginia's chances.

 

3. Don’t turn it over

 

This one is pretty simple. West Virginia lost two games this season. In both losses, you could point to turnovers as the major reason for the loss. Hold onto the football and West Virginia will be tough to beat. Nothing fancy about those keys. Pretty standard stuff, but West Virginia has shown all year those are the keys to a win. This game should be no different.

 

I know many of you were hoping for a bigger stage for the final game of the year. And I know there was some talk about getting Pitt in this bowl game. 

 

I agree a bowl edition of the Backyard Brawl would have been fantastic. But, getting Miami after a 13 year break in the series is a nice consolation prize, in my opinion.

 

I would think West Virginia will be ready to play, always the biggest key to bowl success. Miami should be as well. This one should be fun. I'm looking forward to it.

 

Enjoy …it will be a long nine months before we see the Gold and Blue take the field again. 

 

What’s your score prediction for the WVU - Miami game? Leave a comment below or send me a tweet @BradHowe07 and let me know what you think

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Quincy Wilson on his play from 2003 (Courtesy of WVU Sports Communications) that is one of the greatest in Mountaineer history. Second photo is of defensive back Rasul Douglas, while Justin Crawford is shown scoring earlier this year against Kansas State. Bottom photo shows Dana Holgorsen firing up his players. Last three photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.