The Mountaineers have descended upon Arizona and suited up for their first practice today at Scottsdale Community College. Interim head coach Bill Stewart said that practices at home had been going well and that practice in Arizona is going to help the team ?shake off the rust? since the team has been off the field for a while to spend time with their families over the recent holiday.

Bill Stewart has a very positive outlook for the team and has a good outlook for the game against the Sooners. ?As I said last week, we have a few bullets in our gun. I know this: the holsters will be empty when we leave the field. We call them race cars. Nos. 2, 5, 10 and 35 must touch the ball. If those guys get a chance to touch the ball then we should have a fine time. But we are going up against a very fast and formidable opponent,? he said in a press release.

Keilen Dykes, defensive linemen for the Mountaineers, said that the welcome to Arizona was really nice, including a red carpet awaiting their arrival and a mariachi band that greeted them at the airport. Dykes said that the team has been in high spirits, even in light of the loss of their former head coach, Rich Rodriguez. A turning point in the lifting of their spirits was when former coach Don Nehlen and Governor Joe Manchin came and spoke to the team shortly after Rich Rod announced he was leaving WVU.

?Don Nehlen came and talked to the team last Wednesday. He talked about distractions. Coach Nehlen told our players that he thought his team was distracted 20 years ago. He cautioned them on that. He said, ?Guys, don?t let distractions eat at you the rest of your life.? It hit me hard,? Stewart said.

Stewart watched tapes of Oklahoma?s practice and had a few words to say regarding their program and how he, and the rest of the Mountaineers, might prepare for the Fiesta Bowl. ?I see a lot of speed. I see a lot of size. And a lot of strength. They are ranked nationally in every category on offense and defense. They hit on all three phases. They are really good. And they should be. They?re Oklahoma. It?s a great tradition and a great football power. They?re pretty special and we?re not too bad ourselves,? he said in the press release.

Sooners Head Coach Bob Stoops watched a tape of the Mountaineers practice and had some interesting words about the variances between the two teams? defensive tactics. ?It can create some uncertainty on where they are going to be. It still comes down to being physical and getting off blocks, covering people. And us being able to sustain blocks, finish blocks. Running backs have to have some patience and wait for it to happen. There are no magical defenses or offenses. It just gets down to who can fundamentally be physical and tackle and do things necessary to execute their defense,? Stoops said in a press release.

From what I can tell, it seems like the team, and interim coach Stewart, have the right attitude for the game on the 2nd. Hopefully the morale of Mountaineers fans has begun to turn around since the announcement of Rich Rod?s departure to Michigan. All the controversy surrounding Rich Rod?s departure from WVU has placed the Mountaineers in the national spot light. Coverage of the events surrounding Rodriguez?s decision to leave WVU has been all over EPSN. In a lot of people?s minds, Rodriguez is seen as a leader who left his team and followers when he was needed most. Subsequently, the Mountaineers have gained a lot of support from college football fans who may have otherwise been indifferent to the outcome of the Fiesta Bowl. People across the country will now be tuning in and rooting for a team that has more than a nationally ranked offense to stop and a nationally ranked defense to penetrate. We may be carrying the weight of a loss on our shoulders, but the entire nation will be watching, and the coaches and players have more than just the Morgantown faithful in their corner.