Oct 30, 2011; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Steve Slaton (23) is tackled by New York Giants defensive back Deon Grant (34) during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Farrell/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

If you haven’t seen it yet, Athlon Sports decided to publish their rankings of the Top 50 Running Backs of the BCS Era.

Unsurprisingly, the West Virginia Mountaineers placed two running backs on the list. What is surprising is that there were not three running backs for the WVU.

The two Mountaineers players who did make the cut were Avon Cobourne and Steve Slaton. Cobourne landed at #23 while Steve Slaton bested him by two spots at #21.

Cobourne earned the #23 spot thanks to a school best 5,039 career rushing yards and 42 touchdowns. He probably would have been much higher on the list had the Mountaineers realized more success during his time in Morgantown.

Slaton ended up two spots higher fueled by a couple of dark-horse Heisman campaign and a pair of BCS bowl rigns. In Slaton’s three seasons on campus, he amassed 3,923 rushing yards, 805 receiving yards, and 55 total touchdowns.

The surprising omission on the list for the Mountaineers is the lightning bug Noel Devine. The rise of Devine led (partially) to Slaton’s decision to opt out early of college and head to the NFL draft. Noel was the featured back in Morgantown for three seasons. He racked up 4,317 rushing yards, 710 receiving yards, 736 return yards, and 31 total touchdowns.

Devine checked in on Athlon’s supplemental 50 list at #93 overall.

Still, even with the oversight, the Mountaineers landed three players out of a list of 100 running backs from more than 120 FBS schools over a 12-year period. That is impressive to say the least.

When Athlon publishes a list of the top 50 running backs of the College Football Playoff Era, don’t expect to see a single Mountaineer on the list. Coach Dana Holgorsen’s offense is far to pass heavy for any WVU running back to amass any kind of significant stats.

Big East Commissioner John Marinatto

So, the Big East even put in their two cents about the settlement between them and WVU. But, we’re not going to “just post it.”

No way, Jose! We’re going to tear this baby apart, FireChuckLandon.com-style! Time to expose the Big WTF Conference and their spin on the settlement.

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On February 14th, WVU and the Big East signed their “breaking up papers”, paving the way for WVU to “head out west” to play some REAL football, and leaving behind the 7 slapdicks WVU played football with in the Big East since 2005; Pittsburgh, Syracuse, South Florida, Rutgers, UConn, Louisville and Cincinnati.

After the jump is all the fun details!

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OK, folks, it seems like there’s finally a light at this tunnel. Oh wait, Marinatto was literally blocking it. Glad his fat ass finally moved out of the way.

Mike Casazza and Jared Hunt of the Charleston Daily Mail both say that a “conditional settlement” has been reached between WVU and the Big East. More after the jump.

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So, while I’m at work, it seems these type of things happen.

According to the sock-sniffer Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports, WVU and the Big LEast Conference are nearing a settlement for $20million to escape the sinking ship, while teams such as Boise State, Memphis, Central Florida and Houston climb on.

Also, as part of the supposed agreement, WVU will help find a replacement for 2012 to fill out 7 other Big East teams’ void in their in-conference schedule.

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Incredible!

I am still elated over last night’s 70-33 drubbing of Climpsum in the Discover Orange Bowl!

After the break is where we start all the breakdowns and partying.

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So the Mountaineers have reached the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL to play the ACC Champion, the Clemson Tigers (or the “Clempsum Taterheads.”)

The Mountaineers attained a record of 9-3 and a share of the Big Least Championship, and due to the 3-way tie in the “conference”, the rules defer to the BCS rankings, and WVU had the highest BCS rank of Cincinnati and Loserville.

Meanwhile, Clemson found some magic this season due to, I don’t know, beating the always-overrated Virginia Tech twice in ACC play. Once during the regular season and again in the ACC Championship game. While Clemson got the ACC’s default BCS spot, Virginia Tech got lucky and landed in the Sugar Bowl, screwing Kansas State out of that game.

Anyway, like we’ve done all season, we the staff bring you our separate thoughts. While The Deuce is no longer a part of this site, he still took time out of his schedule to finish up the season with us. Also, I’d like to welcome Amy, Josh, and Tyler to the group preview. And, for the final game this season (and hopefully win #10, something the last coach couldn’t achieve), away we go!

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Recently, the Big East filed a motion in Monongalia County Circuit Court to have Judge Russell Clawges dismiss WVU’s lawsuit against the conference. WVU had an opportunity to respond to that motion, and they did on Friday.

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Due to technical difficulties, we were unable to update our site after the Kansas State victory.

However, it should all be fixed at this point, and away we go with the results of the last two games. First up, the Kansas State game, then the Miami game.

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WVU, after being ahead for most of the game, blew their lead, and at one point was down by 7. However, the team put together some 4th quarter heroics that allowed Tyler Bitancurt (*gasp!*) to nail a 28 yard field goal with :03 to go in regulation, sealing WVU’s share of the Big East title.

WVU now awaits the fate of the Connecticut-Cincinnati game. Despite Cincinnati being out of BCS contention, this is their opportunity to keep their rivals (Louisville) out of the BCS. [Keg of Nails rivalry]

Now, follow me as we break down the numbers.

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