The Big East conference doesn’t get enough credit when it comes to the caliber of its football teams.
 
At least that’s West Virginia coach Bill Stewart’s opinion.
 
The No. 22 Mountaineers (3-0) will have a chance to silence critics in a matchup Saturday against No. 15 LSU (3-0) at 8 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
It is the two teams’ first-ever meeting on the gridiron.
 
“This is a big week for us for notoriety,” Stewart said. “I guess it’s the basketball image, but … all I see is how bad [the Big East teams fare] after week one.”
 
The Big East is not irrelevant, as some college football aficionados might think. The conference is 16-6 in bowl games since 2006, when its teams went undefeated in bowl appearances at 5-0.
 
Last season the eight Big East teams finished 36-10 in out-of-conference play, a winning clip of 78 percent.
 
That number is not far behind the Southeastern Conference, whose 12 teams finished 49-11, a winning percentage of 82 percent, in out-of-conference games.
 
LSU is certainly not taking West Virginia lightly, as the Mountaineers bring their unique version of the spread offense to Baton Rouge.
 
LSU senior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said West Virginia’s offense will be tough to handle, and the challenge will be a test of LSU’s mental and physical repertoire.
 
“They run the hurry-up, the no-huddle spread,” Sheppard said. “We basically have to take control of the line of scrimmage and bottle up the ball in between our gaps. … Playing against a team like them this early in the season is going to be good for us.”
 
One of West Virginia’s premier players is senior running back Noel Devine, who spurned the NFL draft to return for a final season.
 
Devine has rushed for 3,735 yards and 26 total touchdowns in his career.
 
“There’s some get-along in [Devine’s] frame,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “He’s a dangerous runner, elusive, and his stop and start is very good. He was a tremendous back coming out of high school, and I wish I’d had greater success in pursuing him.”
 
Devine is a small running back at 5 feet 8 inches and 180 pounds, similar to former LSU running back Trindon Holliday (5-foot-5 and 166 pounds), who was a weapon for LSU on offense and special teams.
 
The Mountaineers are No. 3 in the Big East and No. 43 in the country in rushing offense with 179 yards per game. The LSU defense is No. 2 in the SEC in rushing defense and No. 16 in the nation, allowing 80 yards on the ground per game.
 
LSU junior safety Brandon Taylor said Devine will be a focal point of the West Virginia offense that LSU will have to contain.
 
“[Devine] is probably the best running back we’ll see until Alabama,” Taylor said. “He has good vision … and he’s hard to tackle, so we have to wrap him up and get a lot of people to the ball.”
 
Sheppard called Devine “explosive” and said the reigning First-Team All-Big East player is a touchdown threat if he gets a seam to run through.
 
“I’ve watched him over his entire career in college, and I never thought we’d be playing West Virginia,” Sheppard said. “He’s an amazing running back. Now it’s our time to face him.”
 
 
 
 
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Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]