Why West Virginia won't win the Big East...

West Virginia's 17-14 overtime loss to Colorado Thursday confirms something that first became apparent last year in the Mountaineers' late-season debacle against Pittsburgh. No passing attack equals no chance in critical situations. None.

Look, no one is faster in the backfield than West Virginia with QB Pat White and RB Noel Devine. Even backup RB Jock Sanders is a burner. Yet I am convinced teams examined the Pittsburgh game and mastered the rushing attack of the Mountaineers. Excluding their somewhat fluky Fiesta Bowl win, West Virginia has not been the same.

Sure, Pat White gets his yards. But generally, defenses are playing West Virginia like this: Keep the Mountaineers in third and long. Protect the middle of the field and the middle of the line. And force West Virginia's explosive speed to the outside. Against Colorado, the Mountaineers constantly faced third-and-8s and third-and-12s. Without a legit passing attack, Colorado simply stacked the line and it worked. The Mountaineers kept running option even in the two-minute drill because, well, that's all they have. East Carolina used a similar strategy two weeks ago and we all know how that turned out (an East Carolina upset win).

There will be times later this season that West Virginia will face much stouter defenses than Colorado's (Auburn and South Florida come to mind.) If the Mountaineers don't figure out how to counter how defenses are playing them, I foresee a bowl in Charlotte versus one in Miami or Tempe.