Published: September 19, 2009 01:29 am      

Can WVU use pistol to offset Auburn’s wildcat?

Will West Virginia use a pistol to offset Auburn’s wildcat tonight when the two teams meet at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.?

While the Tigers have had great success running the wildcat in their first two games (quarterback Kodi Burns has four TDs out of the formation, including three last week in a 49-24 win over Mississippi State), WVU flashed signs of what is known as the pistol in a 35-20 win over East Carolina.

The game will be televised live on ESPN2 (Mark Jones, play-by-play, Bob Davie, analyst) at 7:45 p.m.

In the formation, quarterback Jarrett Brown stands in shotgun formation, with tailback Noel Devine lined up two yards behind him.

“Noel is comfortable running out of the pistol,” Brown said. “It helps our offensive linemen with their blockers. (Opposing line) ’backers won’t overload a side. They (the defense) probably think it’s an empty backfield because I’m covering him up.”

Last season in WVU’s 34-17 win over Auburn, Devine ran for a career career-high 207 yards.

Will the pistol help? Coach Bill Stewart believes so.

“Anything balanced causes defenses to not fly to the ball just as fast as they would out of a loaded set or a one-back set,” Stewart said. “You get in that pistol, you balance them out with your wide receivers and say, ‘Where’s the strongside (line)backer going, where’s the free safety going.’ That’s where we try to get an advantage in.”

Auburn first-year coach Gene Chizik is well aware of Devine, pistol or not.

“He’s a big-play guy. He’s as fast as probably anybody in the country — rushing for 1,200 or 1,300 yards (1,228) a year ago,” Chizik said. “He really came into his own. He’s exactly what you look at. You know you tackle him a few times, then he makes you miss and hits a crack, then the next thing you know, he’s hitting his head on the goal post.”

Devine has rushed for a team-best 192 yards and two touchdowns, just two off his total of four last year. Brown is second with 142 on 19 carries.

Brown has also completed 43-of-47 passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns.

His top targets are Jock Sanders (17 receptions, 194 yards), Bradley Starks (7-110) and Alric Arnett (4-83).

Auburn has won at will against Louisiana Tech (37-13) and Mississippi State.

Ben Tate is seventh nationally in rushing at 137 yards per game. Onterio McCalebb leads the Southeastern Conference, averaging 196 all-purpose yards per game. Both backs have topped 100 yards rushing in both the Tigers’ games.

As mentioned, the wildcat is the Tigers’ change-up. Chris Todd is the Tigers’ starting QB and has completed 27-of-49 passes for 441 yards and two scores. But Kodi Burns is the man who runs the Wildcat.

In addition to his four TDs, his one completion on the year went for a 13-yard TD.

“It’s like with Patrick White, we were probably a wildcat with him,” Stewart said. “If we’re lucky enough to get ahead a little bit, maybe they’ll have to throw the ball a little more and take them out of the running game.”

Chizik has been impressed by a WVU defense that has given up just 75 yards rushing per game.

“Let me tell you, they are excellent at their trade,” he said. “They are really, really good at what they do in terms of three-down defense. And that’s why, if you look at them over the course of time, those guys know exactly where they are supposed to be. And they’ve got so much speed. You can tell they really built their defense around that speed, but there also is so much carry-over of knowledge.”

Auburn is averaging 43 points a game, compared to 34 for WVU. WVU is giving up 20 points per game to 18.5 for Auburn.

WVU is 5-0 in its last five games against SEC foes. Since 2003, WVU is 26-11 on the road, seventh nationally in that span.