Every year come Fall season, the smell of football roams the air. The most notable teams and conferences such as USC in the Pac 10 and Georgia in the SEC get the most publicity on television and in the papers, however the West Virginia Mountaineers have made quite a stir in the past couple of years. The wvu football schedule pits them against several teams within their own conference (the Big East) as well as several teams from abroad. Regardless of the team that they are playing, the mountaineers are going to have a tough time replacing their all star former quarterback Pat White, who was recently drafted into the NFL.

The 2009 WVU Football Schedule is as follows:

September 5th vs. Liberty

September 12th vs. East Carolina

September 19th at Auburn

October 1st vs. Colorado

October 10th at Syracuse

October 17th vs. Marshall

October 24st vs. Connecticut

October 30th at South Florida

November 7th vs. Louisville

November 13th at Cincinatti

November 27th vs. Pittsburgh

December 5th at Rutgers

When looking at this schedule I think it is fair to say that the WVU Mountaineers will have a very successful upcoming season. Despite loosing their all start duo of Pat White and Steve Slaton over the past two seasons, it should be noted that the team is playing in one of the worst conferences in college football. Teams such as Syracuse, South Florida, and Louisville who have lost their stars are prime time games that this team should win. I would also expect for the team to have little trouble in weeks one and two vs. relative unknown teams in Liberty and East Carolina, who although started out successfully last fall does not look to make a serious run this year. Contrarily I see a bit of a nail biter coming up in their week three match up with the Auburn Tigers. Auburn who plays out of the SEC (South Eastern Conference) has been tested vs. the best teams of the country, most notably the Florida Gators.

At the end of the day no one can make predictions, but if I had to look into my genie bottle I would say the the WVU Football Schedule for 2009 makes them a prime contender to win the Big East, and advance to a top bowl game. The only reason I can see that not happening is if for instance the team is unable to make a play book adjustment now that their run and gun quarterback is no longer with them.