The University of Charleston just concluded a six-game stretch as tough as any in Division II this year. The Golden Eagles' first six foes entered this week with a combined record of 21-14, and four of those teams had records of at least 4-2.
It's nearly the same slate of teams that West Virginia State prepares to face starting this week.
The Yellow Jackets dive into the meat of their schedule at noon today with a visit to No. 9 Shepherd, and they're eager to test their mettle against a streak of stiff competition. The Golden Eagles host Fairmont State at 1 p.m. today, trying to stave off any potential letdown.
"That's the big deal," UC head coach Pat Kirkland said. "We have to talk to them on a daily basis about taking this day by day and focusing hard on preparing for Fairmont. That's why we're 5-1, because we're dialed in during the week."
Kirkland can take from past disappointment in warning Charleston (5-1, 5-1 Mountain East Conference) about taking any opponent lightly. In 2012, his team was 7-1 and ranked in the top 20 in the nation when it faced a Glenville State team sitting at .500. UC lost to that Pioneers team 14-10, and it kept the Golden Eagles out of the postseason.
"It was a game everyone probably thought going in that we had this," Kirkland said. "We can draw from past experience in educating our guys and let them understand, don't wait for something catastrophic to happen before you start working hard."
State (4-2, 4-2) shouldn't have any focus problems today or any other weekend for the rest of the year. Of the Yellow Jackets' final five opponents, only 3-3 West Liberty, which upset Concord in the season opener, entered this weekend with fewer than four wins.
But this State team already has won more games this year than it has in any full season since 2008, the second of back-to-back 7-3 campaigns. And it finally scored a win at home in its third try, beating Notre Dame 32-29. The Yellow Jackets are enjoying momentum they haven't seen in a long time, and head coach Jon Anderson said that's bolstered the group's self-assurance as it begins a very tough slate of games.
"It's a confidence in what we're doing as a team, how we're doing it," he said, "a team that understands it's going to have to be in a dogfight every week."
State tangles today with the biggest dog in the Mountain East. The Rams (5-0, 5-0) lead the MEC in both points scored (44.0 per game) and points allowed (16.0 per game). They don't give the ball away, either. Shepherd's four turnovers lost are the second-fewest in the conference behind Fairmont State, and Rams quarterback Jeff Ziemba has yet to throw an interception while tossing 14 touchdowns.
WVSU, on the other hand, enters the weekend with 10 interceptions, three more than the next-closest team in the MEC, and the Yellow Jackets defense is anxious to see how it will fare against such an efficient signal-caller.
"He's extremely talented," State linebacker Dennis Gardeck said, "able to read those coverages and everything. But we work on a turnover circuit. We have to get three interceptions every practice. If we don't, we're doing up-downs. We kind of expect those big momentum-changing plays, so it's going to be fun to play such a highly rated quarterback."
The entire State team is eager to begin the home stretch of its season. WVSU's coaches have preached a one-day-at-a-time mentality all season, and offensive lineman Nick Dreixler said that wasn't an issue this week.
"I'm really excited about this game," he said. "I'm really excited to face who's supposed to be the best team in the conference."
Fairmont State (3-2, 3-2) stumbled early, losing its first two games of the year, but the Falcons have rallied through their next three games on the back of their defense, third in the league in yards allowed (357.0 per game) and fourth in the league in points allowed (28.6 per game).
UC quarterback Jeremy Johnson said that, in comparing the game film he saw of the Falcons this season to the film he saw last season, he's definitely seen a boost in effort and intensity on defense.
"To be honest, for a defense, that makes everything," he said. "It doesn't matter what you know. Effort is what's going to get you to take advantage of the offense. Once you show effort, the passion will show and that's contagious with the other players. Everyone's really coming around and flying to the ball, and it's harder to game plan on the field when you have a linebacker and a safety full-speed at you every game."