The Mountaineers will neither walk nor run into their meaningful conference home date Saturday with No. 19 Louisville.
But they will hobble a mite.
"Got a little banged up in the game," coach Rich Rodriguez said in a morose tone yesterday while rewinding West Virginia's 27-14 victory Saturday at Rutgers, a road triumph he considered somewhat costly.
The Mountaineers (5-1, 2-0) lost their short-yardage tailback -- ballyhooed freshman Jason Gwaltney -- for a minimum of four weeks and lost starting nose tackle Ernest Hunter for the next two games, both vital Big East contests against Louisville (4-1, 0-1) and South Florida (3-2, 1-0).
Gwaltney has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee after having his best collegiate game, 57 yards on six carries against Rutgers. Gwaltney, a freshman from Long Island, had just moved into a regular rotation behind freshman tailback Steve Slaton, who gained 139 yards at Rutgers and gave way to his 235-pound backup in short-yardage situations. All but three of Gwaltney's yards came on third downs.
"Jason's brought the power back to us," Rodriguez said. "He's been doing an excellent job blocking. He's made some big runs for us. ...
"Somebody just has to step up and take over. With our backs, somebody will do it."
He mentioned previous starters Pernell Williams and Jason Colson as the prime candidates.
Hunter's ankle was sprained Saturday and that could keep him out three weeks. His replacements: by committee.
We'll have to roll guys in there," Rodriguez said. "I think we felt his absence a little bit. He'd really played well at nose guard and held the point down for us. That's a key, key position on the defensive front."
Starting cornerback Anthony Mims is considered questionable with a hamstring pull, same as last week.
While Rodriguez concedes the regionally televised game with Louisville on ABC at 3:30 p.m. will attract an electric atmosphere, he isn't about to pump up the significance of a single game. "I don't think any one game defines a season. I don't like to put all those eggs in one basket. Never have. Don't see as I ever will."
But they will hobble a mite.
"Got a little banged up in the game," coach Rich Rodriguez said in a morose tone yesterday while rewinding West Virginia's 27-14 victory Saturday at Rutgers, a road triumph he considered somewhat costly.
The Mountaineers (5-1, 2-0) lost their short-yardage tailback -- ballyhooed freshman Jason Gwaltney -- for a minimum of four weeks and lost starting nose tackle Ernest Hunter for the next two games, both vital Big East contests against Louisville (4-1, 0-1) and South Florida (3-2, 1-0).
Gwaltney has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee after having his best collegiate game, 57 yards on six carries against Rutgers. Gwaltney, a freshman from Long Island, had just moved into a regular rotation behind freshman tailback Steve Slaton, who gained 139 yards at Rutgers and gave way to his 235-pound backup in short-yardage situations. All but three of Gwaltney's yards came on third downs.
"Jason's brought the power back to us," Rodriguez said. "He's been doing an excellent job blocking. He's made some big runs for us. ...
"Somebody just has to step up and take over. With our backs, somebody will do it."
He mentioned previous starters Pernell Williams and Jason Colson as the prime candidates.
Hunter's ankle was sprained Saturday and that could keep him out three weeks. His replacements: by committee.
We'll have to roll guys in there," Rodriguez said. "I think we felt his absence a little bit. He'd really played well at nose guard and held the point down for us. That's a key, key position on the defensive front."
Starting cornerback Anthony Mims is considered questionable with a hamstring pull, same as last week.
While Rodriguez concedes the regionally televised game with Louisville on ABC at 3:30 p.m. will attract an electric atmosphere, he isn't about to pump up the significance of a single game. "I don't think any one game defines a season. I don't like to put all those eggs in one basket. Never have. Don't see as I ever will."
