MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- It's not that Pat White is conveniently forgetful and chose this week of all the others to fail to remember the events of past games against Saturday's opponent, East Carolina.
To review, in 2005 and 2006 the Pirates stymied West Virginia's running game and held the Mountaineers to 280 total rushing yards and 47 total points.
In 2005, White was not yet the phenom he's since become, but he played and didn't play all that well -- 5-for-8 passing with two interceptions and a touchdown, three carries for five yards.
A year later, he was a far different player, but had similar trouble. He gained just 39 yards on 11 carries and completed 17-of-24 passes for a career-best 216 yards, but also threw three interceptions. One was an insignificant deep pass at the end of the half, but one came on a bad read in ECU's end zone and another was a bizarre throw across the field under pressure.
To be fair, though, he threw two touchdowns, including a short pass to Darius Reynaud that he turned into a 60-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
"You're asking me questions about games from years ago and I really can't answer them," he said. "I'm just being honest."
That includes last year, which was one of White's better games in both statistics and in significance. The 48-7 final included 397 rushing yards. White accounted for 42 of those and scored twice, but he also was 18-for-20 for 181 yards and two more touchdowns.
"I don't even remember the score," he said.
Pirates Coach Skip Holtz does and he watched with trepidation the film of what White did last week against Villanova. No longer do the same plans apply to stopping WVU's offense.
"The biggest difference is the emergence of Pat White as a thrower and how he's evolved as a quarterback," Holtz said. "The first couple of years we really felt like we needed to stop the run and make him beat us left-handed and make him beat us throwing the ball.
"The first two years we were successful in that we did bring safeties way downhill and almost cheated in the back end to get extra defenders in the box to slow the run game down. But last year, Pat White comes out and goes crazy against us."
The 90-percent completion percentage set a school-record that stands on the eve of Saturday's 4:30 p.m. ESPN game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium only because a few dropped passes last week cost White an even higher percentage. He was 26-for-33 with five legitimate drops for 208 yards and five touchdowns, a WVU record at Mountaineer Field.
"It was really exciting for us as offensive linemen to have him get a record other than rushing," left tackle Ryan Stanchek said. "He's evolved now. I think he's showing people another dimension. He's learned more about defenses through the years, which has helped him out a lot."
About all that White will concede about his past in relation to his present is that he's more able now than he was before. That, though, only means so much.
"I'm more prepared," he said. "Sometimes things go well for you. Sometimes they don't. All I can do is study hard and practice harder and show up ready to play. Whatever happens is not in my hands."
White has no control over the plays that are called and those will likely be the result of plays and schemes perpetuated by the Pirates. The Mountaineers are committed to throwing if a defense tries to take away the run -- and vice versa -- and yet curious about what ECU will offer as resistance.
"The way he came out last year loosened us up," Holtz said. "He backed us up the way he threw the ball. He proved he was good enough to beat us that way. Then we had to turn around and stop the bleeding in the passing game and the running game started going. That's why it's so difficult to stop them and that's what makes him one of the best players in college football. I've been amazed with the way he's evolved and I commend him for that."
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- It's not that Pat White is conveniently forgetful and chose this week of all the others to fail to remember the events of past games against Saturday's opponent, East Carolina.
"I honestly can't remember," he said.
To review, in 2005 and 2006 the Pirates stymied West Virginia's running game and held the Mountaineers to 280 total rushing yards and 47 total points.
In 2005, White was not yet the phenom he's since become, but he played and didn't play all that well -- 5-for-8 passing with two interceptions and a touchdown, three carries for five yards.
A year later, he was a far different player, but had similar trouble. He gained just 39 yards on 11 carries and completed 17-of-24 passes for a career-best 216 yards, but also threw three interceptions. One was an insignificant deep pass at the end of the half, but one came on a bad read in ECU's end zone and another was a bizarre throw across the field under pressure.
To be fair, though, he threw two touchdowns, including a short pass to Darius Reynaud that he turned into a 60-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
"You're asking me questions about games from years ago and I really can't answer them," he said. "I'm just being honest."
That includes last year, which was one of White's better games in both statistics and in significance. The 48-7 final included 397 rushing yards. White accounted for 42 of those and scored twice, but he also was 18-for-20 for 181 yards and two more touchdowns.
"I don't even remember the score," he said.
Pirates Coach Skip Holtz does and he watched with trepidation the film of what White did last week against Villanova. No longer do the same plans apply to stopping WVU's offense.
"The biggest difference is the emergence of Pat White as a thrower and how he's evolved as a quarterback," Holtz said. "The first couple of years we really felt like we needed to stop the run and make him beat us left-handed and make him beat us throwing the ball.
"The first two years we were successful in that we did bring safeties way downhill and almost cheated in the back end to get extra defenders in the box to slow the run game down. But last year, Pat White comes out and goes crazy against us."
The 90-percent completion percentage set a school-record that stands on the eve of Saturday's 4:30 p.m. ESPN game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium only because a few dropped passes last week cost White an even higher percentage. He was 26-for-33 with five legitimate drops for 208 yards and five touchdowns, a WVU record at Mountaineer Field.
"It was really exciting for us as offensive linemen to have him get a record other than rushing," left tackle Ryan Stanchek said. "He's evolved now. I think he's showing people another dimension. He's learned more about defenses through the years, which has helped him out a lot."
About all that White will concede about his past in relation to his present is that he's more able now than he was before. That, though, only means so much.
"I'm more prepared," he said. "Sometimes things go well for you. Sometimes they don't. All I can do is study hard and practice harder and show up ready to play. Whatever happens is not in my hands."
White has no control over the plays that are called and those will likely be the result of plays and schemes perpetuated by the Pirates. The Mountaineers are committed to throwing if a defense tries to take away the run -- and vice versa -- and yet curious about what ECU will offer as resistance.
"The way he came out last year loosened us up," Holtz said. "He backed us up the way he threw the ball. He proved he was good enough to beat us that way. Then we had to turn around and stop the bleeding in the passing game and the running game started going. That's why it's so difficult to stop them and that's what makes him one of the best players in college football. I've been amazed with the way he's evolved and I commend him for that."
