Respect Would Be Sweet for Them

There are a lot of things that seem as if they don’t quite belong at this Sugar Bowl, displaced from New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina.

There was the Mardi Gras-style parade down Peachtree Street on New Year’s Eve, a small but earnest attempt to bring a little bit of the Big Easy to Atlanta.

There is the game itself, tonight in the Georgia Dome instead of the damaged Louisiana Superdome.

And then there is West Virginia, representative of the Big East, the weak sister of the bowl championship series after losing Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Mountaineers are 10-1 and ranked 11th, but they played only five teams with winning records and have lost 11 of their last 12 bowl games.

Their opponent is local favorite Georgia, 10-2 and ranked eighth.

“We have had bowl trouble in the past,” West Virginia fullback Owen Schmitt said. “You can see that looking back at our history. We lost the last time we were in the Sugar Bowl. A win here would mean a lot to the school and also to the state of West Virginia. It would help put us higher in the rankings and that would help us with our recruiting.”

West Virginia entered its last Sugar Bowl in 1994 undefeated, then lost to Florida, 41-7.

This team must face a Georgia team that won the Southeastern Conference title and is playing on its own turf, only 70 miles from its campus in Athens.

“I don’t base any stock in who is picked to win the games,” said West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez, whose team’s only loss was 34-17 to Virginia Tech. “Georgia should be the favorites. They are a very good football team. We are playing them in their home state. It will be a tough game.”

Georgia’s main task will be containing Pat White, the West Virginia freshman quarterback who ran for 220 yards against Pittsburgh and has rushed for 875 yards -- considerably more than his 708 passing yards.

“They do such a good job with the run game that they don’t have to throw very often,” Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said.

“The quarterback ... is as good as anyone we have played this season,” Martinez said. “He plays like a tailback with his running capabilities. You then throw in his throwing abilities and it is like a tailback playing quarterback.”

Both teams have defenses that rank in the top 10 nationally. But Georgia is concerned about West Virginia’s scheme.

“It’s a defense we have not seen all year long. It’s a 3-5-3,” quarterback D.J. Shockley said. “It’s a defense that has caused teams a lot of problems this year.”

For Georgia, which lost only to Florida and Auburn, playing in Atlanta will be almost like playing at home. It will be the Bulldogs’ third consecutive game in the city after playing Georgia Tech in their regular-season finale and defeating Louisiana State in the SEC title game.

“Playing in the dome will be great for us,” Georgia Coach Mark Richt said. “We have had some great experiences in the dome. Our fans have been fantastic in there.”

Georgia suffered a late blow when receiver Sean Bailey tore a knee ligament during a December practice.

But the Bulldogs’ real concern is a West Virginia team with plenty of motivation.

“I don’t think anyone likes to hear that they don’t belong,” Richt said. “Usually the team that is told that they don’t belong will play better sometimes.”

That’s what West Virginia will try to do.

“We have to come out and prove that we don’t play in a weak conference,” Mountaineer linebacker Kevin McLee said. “We will be carrying the weight of the Big East on our shoulders and I like that feeling. We will be trying to come out and win for us, West Virginia and the Big East Conference.”