The numbers have not let me down yet. I keep telling the loyal readers of this site every week that we should win based on the numbers and guess what? We keep winning. Trust me, I’m not that good – it has to be the numbers.

One thing the numbers don’t take into account though are injuries (Jarrett Brown)…or in the case of our next opponent UConn, death.

UConn knocked off Louisville last Saturday and some players attended a school sponsored dance afterwards. A fight broke out and starting cornerback Jasper Howard was fatally stabbed.

By all accounts this is a senseless act and certainly one that could have been avoided. No parent should ever have to bury their child. RIP Jazz Howard. Thoughts & Prayers go out to the family.

Coach Stew has decided to honor the memory of Jasper Howard by wearing the #6 on our helmets and some other pregame ceremonies. Kudos to Coach Stew – always the class act.

The numbers probably favor West Virginia in this game although not by much. UConn is 84th in passing, they’re about middle of the pack in kick-offs & give up a fair bit of sacks. They have a pretty good defense checking in at 28th, but I still have to believe that we’ll be able to score points on them (Pitt racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense; Louisville QB A Froman had 295 yards passing last week).

The big question is how will the UConn team play after losing a teammate? Will this be the most focused & motivated bunch we’ve ever seen or will they be emotionally spent after what has to have been a very difficult week.

I have to believe this will be a focused team and I believe that we’ll have our hands full. It would be a huge benefit for us to get an early lead to try to take the emotions out of the game. We could be in for a long day if they take an early lead.

No bold victory predictions this week. I think this will be a tight, close one. Let’s hope that we can weather the emotional storm and hang on for victory.