ESPN Big East Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

The Best Case for you is that this series is wrapping up now with our final team, West Virginia. (And remember ... oh, you know the drill by now).

Best Case

This is the year. Pat White wins the Heisman Trophy while excelling both on the run and with the pass, and Noel Devine makes a super sidekick. The little tweaks to the offense makes the Mountaineers nearly unstoppable as they average 43 points a game. The defense does the rest. The state really starts to believe after a thumping of Auburn at home on Oct. 23 runs the Mountaineers' record to 7-0. They then cruise into the rematch against Pittsburgh and win. 40-2, ruining the Panthers' bowl hopes. South Florida comes to Morgantown in a showdown for the Big East title, and West Virginia runs past the Bulls in the December snow. In the BCS title game, the Mountaineers have way too much speed for Ohio State and claim the crystal football. Bill Stewart writes a national bestseller called "The Hills are Alive: the West By God Virginia Miracle." Oh, and Michigan goes 0-12.

Worst Case

This isn't the year. The offense still scores a lot of points, but the idea of having White throw more is a disaster. Devine can't withstand a full season of punishment, and White gets hurt trying to do it all himself. Meanwhile, the formula of star senior quarterback plus new head coach minus seven defensive starters works about as well as it did for Louisville in 2007. The Mountaineers drop their third game at Colorado, can't compete with Auburn with White injured and lose to eventual Big East champion Pittsburgh for a second straight year. South Florida delivers a humbling season finale defeat, leaving 8-4 West Virginia shut out of a January bowl game for the first time since 2002. Fans wonder if Stewart was the right hire. Oh, and Michigan goes 9-3 and Rich Rodriguez is named national coach of the year.