WVU, Miami have history on the field and recruiting trail
West Virginia and Miami haven’t played in 13-years but there is plenty of history between the two.
Both on the field and on the recruiting trail, West Virginia has gone against the Hurricanes quite a bit over the years in the fertile grounds of South Florida.
On the scoreboard, Miami holds a 16-3 advantage will the bulk of those coming during the dominance the Hurricanes experienced in the late 90’s and early 2000s. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was part of those games and remembers them well.
“Took some beatings that book place and some heartbreaks that took place,” he said. “I was on both ends and we never beat them. That’s probably the only team in the Big East we didn’t beat.”
Those Miami teams were loaded with future NFL draft picks and while the Mountaineers got close on certain occasions couldn’t get over the hump during the early Rich Rodriguez years.
It’s not that West Virginia hasn’t had success against the Hurricanes, the showdown in 1993, and the victory in Coral Gables in 1997 standout in that category.
So even though Miami enters the game unranked at 8-4, there is more than enough motivation against a Hurricanes team that has historically had control of the series.
“They could easily be 11-1,” Gibson said.
Not to mention the fact that while none of the players are familiar with the previous games, all of them are more than acquainted with the Miami program.
“The kids understand who Miami is, the history of Miami. The program, they know,” running backs coach JaJuan Seider said.
Seider was the backup quarterback on that 1997 team that was coming off the shock of the now infamous Tremaine Mack punt block the year before. A native of South Florida, the assistant has developed into a premier recruiter in the area.
He grew up around the Miami program and understands the importance of squaring off against the Hurricanes on the field when it comes to recruiting against them.
“I think it is. Where the big game label comes from is that it gets us back in south Florida because we miss not having that Miami game every year so the kids get to see you a lot,” he said. “To have a presence and play Miami you can showcase it. It gets south Florida gets excited again.”
The Mountaineers also have a strong alumni base in the area that is now in the high school coaching ranks. That is another valuable tool that can emerge from a game like this.
An important game on both fronts.