2008 Fiesta Bowl - MSN highlights

[@jackhovatter]

I weep like a child every time I see that speech from Coach Stew. Mountaineer Pride personified in that man. He says "I picked us a good one today boys" you can feel how much he loved those guys, how much he cared about this program. Then Owen.... That beautiful monster of a man sums it up. Probably the proudest day in modern Mountaineer history, my favorite sports memory of my life.

[@613and802]

Leave no doubt

[@joshuahaynes7128]

Jack Hovatter I agree man.. if that speech doesn't send chills down your spine then something's wrong... wvu hasn't had a team as good as that team since ... we could've won the national title that year... teams couldn't stop our running attack simply because Patrick white was that good ... we had a great defense then to

[@WVgunfun]

@@613and802 They shouldn't have played the old gold and blue, not this night!

[@tygerman797]

He was one of my coaches in high school. Loved and respected him

[@majorwvufan]

Owen Schmitt was a true Mountaineer

[@WVgunfun]

*IS

[@thejammfam]

@@WVgunfun Bill stewart...

[@ChrisBakerauthor]

No, he was "a runaway beer truck."

[@cellophaneriot]

From 2006-2009 was special!! white/Slaton/Schmitt/Reynaud/etc were all incredible

[@garrettthorn9550]

No one deserved that more than bill… we miss you! Leave no doubt will carry tradition at this school forever. Thanks you Stew. We’re still smelling the roses🤘🏻

[@TheBlueMew]

Rest in Peace Coach Stew WVU has never had anyone better.

[@joshuahaynes7128]

TheBlueMew I agree .. everyone hated on coach steward simply because he was a religious man

[@joshuahaynes7128]

One of the best pre game speeches ever imo

[@mocarpenter8836]

Never find a person that loved this State or WVU more than Bill Stewart !! Loved Coach Stew !! A gr8 teacher of young men .. RIP Coach

[@lewisthomas2613]

As a Mountaineer fan, this has to be the best video I've ever seen. If it doesn't bring a tear to your eye then you are lying .

[@matthewconway1494]

Pat McAfee, Owen Schimt, Steve Slayton, Pat White, Coach Stewart were true mountaineers . Best team ever 💪!

[@dewaynebrogan542]

So much fun to watch!! Most entertaining team in the country!!

[@DreDay53]

I always wished WVU played USC when those guys were there it would have been a game for the ages because whenever they played in the dynasty of ncaa it was a high scoring game

[@jeralnlawrence5011]

This wasn't the best team! 88 Team was the best! However this team even with the loss to USF should have beat Pitt and beat Ohio State for the Title! But Dick Rod had Michigan on his mind instead of the Pitt Game!

[@thejammfam]

Love McAfee but his performance in the biggest (worst lose) game in the history of Mountaineer football was tragic. He missed field goals consistently. I think that that was the only time in my memory that WVU WOULD HAVE BEEN the favorite to beat Ohio State and win the national championship. It is hard to get over , the Mounty's were 24.5 favorites at home against Pittsburg. The WVU FOOTBALL team has more wins than any team in the history of the NCAA; That has not won a national championship. Look to the baseball team for a Champion!

[@fashiondiva6972]

@@jeralnlawrence5011 Thanks for sharing what amounts to nothing more than your unsolicited opinion. How exactly did you reach the conclusion as to which team was the “best?” Is it strictly premised on stats, i.e., a win-loss ratio or individual player stats? Or is it something more? Clearly in this context the “something more” is all but smacking you in the face yet you’re too willfully ignorant to see it much less understand and apply it. The team that just learned their head coach was dumping them and felt compelled to announce it before the end of the season (RR’s final f-you to WVU) knowing full well how it would adversely impact players, culminating in a loss to their longstanding rival which ruined their undefeated season. In terms of morale it couldn’t have sunk much lower. In response to the nonstop blows hitting the team, then came acting head coach Bill Stewart. The man personified the concepts of teamwork, optimism and encouragement. He was so well liked and respected that the team regained their footing and wanted to win for Coach Stew above all else. Coach Stew stayed fully engaged with his players well after the season ended. The players became part of his family. This is the “something more” that elevates this team above others. Personally speaking, I got to know some of the players when they lived next door and above my younger sister (she dated Pat for a few months). They were good kids playing a game they loved. The end🤦🏾‍♀️

[@denvEER]

Every time I hear that speech I go and build a wall in the backyard so I can just run through it!

[@WVUer21]

Leave. No. Doubt.

[@frankmay7532]

That's awesome bro

[@scottbuckles3780]

I'm a lifelong sooner fan and West Virginia has become somewhat of a rivalry game but........ hats off to the West Virginia Mountaineers great game, and what an awesome pregame speech

[@ZekeThePlumber86]

Unfortunately, that's the only one we ever got on y'all lol. Thanks for the kind words. Hope to see y'all in the B12 championship.

[@spoopbagoot4628]

Too bad it’s a one sided rivalry. We’ll get you again sometime

[@thejammfam]

My first day on campus. We were playing baseball in Maryland. On our way back home we were stopped a dozen times. Many couches were burning in the streets ; That was September 1982. Jeff Hostetler and the mounty's spotted Oklahoma Two touchdowns and then whipped them going away. In the bowl game the year before WVU whipped the Florida Gators. The chant was " Sooner or Gator college football will understand". California was and is my home but I Loved my years in Morgantown. PEACE P.S. How in the hell did we lose to Pittsburg?

[@krankrocker]

@@thejammfam I remember watching the '82 WVU-OK game on closed circuit TV with my dad at a large civic center with hundreds of people in attendance since it wasn't broadcast on regular television. OK was nationally ranked and had not lost a home opener for ever before that. What an awesome game! What I remember most was an old guy in the crowd decked out from head to toe in Sooner garb that the camera man kept showing throughout the game. As the game went on, each time they showed him, he had less air in his balloon and fewer people around him. In the 4th quarter they showed him one last time sitting down, dejected, and no one around him... haha. I also remember Rich Hollins catching a long pass from Hostetler, and Curlin Beck running up the middle for a long TD through a hole Coach Nehlen said you could drive a truck through. Great memories.

[@thejammfam]

@@krankrocker Good for you. It wasn't on tv live but as I recall it was replayed on a new network several times that week ( ESPN was three Years old). My favorite part was spotting them 14 points and the whipping them pretty good. PEACE

[@christophersine84]

Rich Rod screwed those boys so bad that season. They should have had a shot at a national championship.

[@TheOpinionSports]

How?

[@mikeyoungblood1642]

@@TheOpinionSports His head was in Michigan when WVU was threatening to be in the National Championship Game and then he skipped town prior to the bowl game

[@baltimoregirlphotography225]

Ohh I don’t know @okcboi, maybe by messing up their heads by being in a Michigan the day before the game? Maybe by not allowing Pat White to go in after following him around with a helmet in his hand. Maybe because he has Owen Schmidt so messed up he flubbed a 14 yard kick. Rich Rod is a POS and karma gave him his. Also, to your above comment on another thread about us not beating LSU, this night, we would’ve beat anyone. Oklahoma were suppose to be the best that year and we proved that narrative wrong.

[@johnathanrush4666]

​@@mikeyoungblood1642Rich Rod didn't miss 2 field goals

[@billyelich9810]

R.I.P coach bill. u will b missed by all of us Mountaineers

[@Koinoyokan01]

This has to be my favorite pregame speech of all time. Stew truly loved that team.

[@BluKush420]

I was at the game and it was the best day of my life.I will never ever forget that day.RIP Coach Stew.And yes I cry everytime I watch the highlights of this game.

[@randallpowell722]

Gotta watch this every so often. Coach Stew was such an inspiration, especially for this game. He will forever be remembered by West Virginians. R.I.P. Bill

[@PostiveChange]

Pat White, Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt, Noel Devine, Darius Reynaud, Johnny Dingle, Scooter Berry, Ellis Lankster, Mortty Ivy, Pat MacAfee and so many more. What a squad. Maybe the best team in WVU history

[@emadeit704]

Without a doubt.

[@firemaker7016]

I’ll never forget I was coming through the mines on the motor, tears rolling down my cheeks getting the broken broadcast. I got outside and there was a crew of men surrounding a small radio!

[@WVURxMan]

Good stuff

[@zacharyvalloric9076]

That’s awesome made me cry

[@wvualum95]

Leave no doubt tonight! One of the greatest pregame speeches ever. RIP Coach Stew.

[@skinscountry]

I never get tired of this. After the last two weeks I had to come back and watch it. It does not get better than that speech by Coach Stewart before the game, the post game interview by Owen Schmitt, and the way the whole team played that night. Lets Goooooo Mountaineers.

[@PogoCorpsePeepShow]

god bless you Coach Stewart,you will never be forgotten

[@randallfranklin2548]

Coach Stew makes me cry every time!!! He meant and believed every word he said!!!! What a team!!!!!

[@foxnewsfanify]

I never wanted him to be the full time head coach, but this was a moment in Mountaineer history. Considering all the bad press RRod left us with, trying to destroy the program on his way out, this was POSSIBLY the biggest win our football program ever had. We could have layed an egg, but we beat a team that was as talented as any in the nation. It's still hard to imagine, he went out to play a game of golf, and that was it. Time heals all wounds, but time was a luxery Stew didn't get. Live life.

[@angelatoler4269]

Still gives me chills to this day one hell of a locker room speech I’ve ever heard rest easy coach Stewart you will always go down in mountaineer nation as one of the best

[@jeffrichards1537]

As a life long resident born and raised in West Virginia and a life long fan of the Mountaineers coach Stewart's pregame speech brought tears to my eyes. Especially when he said make them wish they didn't play the blue and gold on that night. LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS. Take me home country roads.

[@Tanks.With.Teeth.Malloy]

I still get teary eyed watching this. What a year that was.

[@springfield03a36]

LEAVE NO DOUBT!!! Those were and still are some powerful words!!!

[@sr5610]

RIP Coach Stewart. You have the heart of a Mountaineer! We will never forget!

[@christopherparadine4260]

I love my WVU family!! I was there from 06-10

[@brianhenry9799]

I give so much credit to Bill Stewart for this legendary win in Mountaineer history. May he rest in peace. With Coach Stewart's inspiration, Coach Calvin Mcgee's play-calling and Pat White and company motivated to show the nation what they were made of after the Pitt/RR debacle- well, as a fan I was so happy for this team.

[@unclelarry9138]

Pitt came to play. They wanted it bad. WVU just didn't perform in a way to win it. It didn't come down to a play or two. They had the whole game to beat Pitt and couldn't do it. Pitt had their staring QB get hurt earlier. They had a freshman at running back. They had their best receiver hurt. They had a touchdown called back for a suspect holding call. Pitt also missed a field goal. They also gave WVU two points at the end. Nuff said.

[@1omega]

I had chills the whole time watching this. Man I was in middle school when all this was going on. Great times for the whole state. God bless mountaineer football.

[@marcusherbold993]

One of the most incredible moments in WVU football history

[@wbinwv]

I still get cold chills. Once a Mountaineer...ALWAYS a Mountaineer.

[@PaulWolford]

This was a GREAT DAY to be a MOUNTAINEER!!!!

[@UWish0430]

Yes it was. And every other day is also a great day to be a Mountaineer!

[@mn-wk3ju]

R.I.P. coach Stew! You are missed! You did a great job! 👏

[@rjpeck9718]

The proudest moment ever was watching this team and coach Stewart have each other's backs!!

[@kelseywhitlatch173]

No matter what you’re doing in life, just listen to that speech before you start it… be almost impossible not to perform like wvu did this night! What a great day to be a MOUNTAINEER!

[@evnphs2012]

Goddamnit I miss that man. He was the epitome of a true Mountaineer.

[@abrahamdinian1363]

I still have never watched the "highlights" of the Pitt game that year, and still remember how eerie 100,000 people being silent was, but this result and watching these highlights and crying like a baby couple times a year makes it less and less painful. Thanks.

[@fishersfishing7092]

Rip coach Stewart

[@westbygod_304]

Find myself rewatching these memories more and more with the current state of our athletics

[@MrSuzuki1187]

I have been a Mountaineer fan since I lived in West Virginia in the late 1980s. I just wish the glory days like 2008 would happen again.

[@steveromano6390]

In his speech, when he say's "I got you a good un" look at Owen Schmitt's face. Priceless

[@davidroberts7622]

It was a great day to be a Mountaineer where ever you may have been 💛💙🏈

[@randyfranklin117]

Coach Stew was the perfect ambassador to our great state!!!

[@amandanilles8038]

Every WVU Football team should be shown this at the beginning of every game. It shows where we can go when we leave no doubt. Every game is an opportunity. No matter who's coaching, you're a team and you work together. Hear those words and go and do it for the Old Gold and Blue.

[@tinamarking6164]

A true Mountaineer. Leave no doubt. Rest easy, Coach.

[@nala2425]

Living in West Virginia and being a Mountaineer fan this was truly an epic moment in our history. From 2004-2010 WVU football and basketball had a ton of big wins: our men's team during that span went to the Final Four in 2010 and the Elite Eight in 2005 and our football team from 2005 to 2007 had a combined record of 33-5 with BCS Bowl victories in the Sugar (against Georgia in 2005) and the Fiesta (against Oklahoma in 2007). Not a bad five year plan and nobody could argue that WVU shouldn't be considered one of the best Universities with BOTH a solid football and basketball program probably top ten-ish.

[@sabancuz6871]

Pat White never lost a bowl game at WVU! Sugar over Georgia, Gator over Georgie Tech. Fiesta over Oklahoma, and Meineke Car Quest over North Carolina

[@straightupjacked]

YOUR THE MAN COACH STEW!!!

[@hotwort]

My favorite football game of all time! Let's Go Mountaineers!

[@johnnymace2751]

Watching this video and crying in 2020

[@jon6811]

Good ole Owen .. I miss him

[@reginaperez8886]

Coach Stew's speech needs to be played before every game.

[@TOF2485]

Crazy year

[@geraldfields4469]

Man, wouldn't be a bad idea for coach Holgerson to show them boys this clip. This is what it takes to be Oklahoma. We haven't since but this clip would serve as a battle cry. One of the best games in WVU history no doubt.

[@MattB-ry7qx]

It wouldn't have been but he's been ready to leave. Now he's just badmouthing our boys.

[@sabancuz6871]

Holgerson hated Bill Stewart for trying to dig dirt up on him. He would not have used that speech even if it guaranteed a win over the Sooners. Holgerson was a terrible for the program and left it A LOT worse than he got it! The only 10 or more wins he ever got was with Coach Stewarts recruits/players Tavon Austin, Steadmon Baily and Geno Smith to name a few

[@MattB-ry7qx]

@@sabancuz6871 Yeah Holgerson really screwed things up a fair bit, but you're right the only few wins was with Stewart's picks. Maybe our new coach can bring back that golden age of the Mountaineers in some way.

[@zprice2311]

saban Cuz not advocating for Holgs bc I’m glad he’s gone too but he went 10-3 in 2016 with Skylar Howard and those were definitely all his own recruits by that point

[@donnabruhn6907]

He was never a Mountaineer

[@BJtheMountaineerguy]

Best team in the Country 💛💙🔥💯

[@johnchristy6639]

This was the biggest WIN in our history.

[@evnphs2012]

I'll take these memories over a national championship any day.

[@ARTWV]

Damn, those were some great times. I had a small party every game in my house. It’s been hard lately.

[@zacharyvalloric9076]

2007 national champions West Virginia Moutaineers

[@garettjunkins8674]

It made me cry when I seen stew.

[@jeremybailey9951]

National Champs in my opinon. Nobody wanted to face this team.

[@TheChameleonCarroll]

I am gonna cry my mom family from Brewind WV

[@noahcrawford6020]

This speech pumps me up for mountaineer football

[@kylecavalier1727]

Who came back to watch this after last Saturday? I sure did

[@denisegiardina1649]

This was the best team in the country that year. Rodriguez Pitt debacle was so devastating.

[@BiggidyBtotheOPP]

The good lord took a great one from us: I hope ur enjoying things up there, kickin it with Jesus. RIP Coach Stewart

[@nickwood6612]

rip stew love you

[@ecnalnitram8306]

Pat white, steve slaton, owen schmitt, noel divine. One of the greatest backfields in history idc what anyone says.

[@chuckHart70]

Stay within the legal limits of the game Nothing cheap! RIP Coach. Put in a good word for us.

[@squidskid4101]

One of my favorite parts is pat mcafee in the background during the speech

[@gramps5157]

Great pre game speech. I wanted to jump into the computer screen with them.

[@WVdavidB]

Really missing my college days in Morgantown right now.

[@PMAS9]

Let's Go!

[@TheNightNinja161]

+Phil Mason MOUNTAINEEEEERS!!!!!!!

[@angryangryowls3958]

They were National Champs that year, in my eyes

[@thejammfam]

What??? Are you nice to your seeing eye Dog?

[@josephthomas4513]

Should have been National Champs that year

[@Corey-tn3fo]

What a backfield! Owen Schmidt at FB. Pat White at QB. Steve Slaton at RB. Noel Devine at WB.

[@jeffrichards1537]

Owen Schmidt is a legend in Morgantown wv.

[@michelleauville3991]

Man I love from 5:01 to 5:32, it says it all

[@tailhookmd2546]

The only way to interview Owen Schmitt is bleeding. Damn right! No player has ever defined Mountaineer football better than Schmitt.

[@christopherparadine4260]

RIP Coach Stewart!!

[@TheHumanCasper]

We wouldve whooped Ohio State like we did these guys... Also, RIP Bill Stewart.

[@danielwcooper83]

The last GOOD coach WVU had, brings tears to my eyes every time I hear this.

[@pv2500]

Great speech. But Bill Stewart was a totally over matched as a coach. Had no business being hired as head coach.

[@danielwcooper83]

@@pv2500 He has something the last 2 coaches have had and heart!

[@TheHumanCasper]

In my opinion the best player in WVU history.

[@sabancuz6871]

Was Pat White

[@terrishorter4630]

Rest in peace the people play that game

[@samangius6424]

The geatest WVU team ever...Pure Owen thats cool...love..

[@Mamba1743]

Yall wooped our ass! too bad there wasnt a play off. Pat White was the shit!

[@Chase-hr1ey]

What is the music in the background called?

[@machobob9401]

I fuckin' love Bill Stewart.

[@Sascrotch304]

Scmitty got me ugly crying every time I see that post game interview

[@JoshuaAvery-gp5dm]

This speech gets me so hyped I miss what football used to be old school smash mouth everything u got leave it on the field and hit somebody in the damn mouth it's real simple!

[@RAID3R63]

like a runaway beer truck

[@sexyTEAZ41]

Should have went to the championship that year. Last game against Pitt smh

[@motownrecruiter]

That was a great day to be a Mountaineer.

[@motownrecruiter]

Though I do disagree with one thing. WVU did not beat the best team in the country that year. The best team in that country that year beat Oklahoma.

[@MissMeowMania]

ain't fucking NOBODY beating them boys, on that night, after that speech

[@TouchdownSooners]

I was at that game. We got beat in every phase that night.

[@DubV-qr5xb]

We were the best team in the nation from the moment White and Slaton took over

[@ThatGuyNamedR0b]

We did Coach Stew dirty, he died of a broken heart

[@loganscott733]

leave no doubt

[@WVUer21]

Not tonight.

[@jeffallen255]

WVU fans, if you put together your team of players from 2005-2015 do you put White or Smith at starting QB?

[@michealblankenship1743]

Simple. Both!

[@MrMountaineer77]

+Micheal Blankenship White. He just knew how to win. Three straight 11 win seasons in a row and four straight bowl victories says it all.

[@WVURxMan]

Depends on who's coaching. Holgorsen, Smith. Rodriguez or Stewart, White.

[@joshuahaynes7413]

WVURxMan good point.. if we run the Rodriguez system ill take white

[@jondouglasanderson7040]

I like the fantasy of having BOTH Patrick White & Geno Smith @ quarterback...White could run & Geno could pass; add Noel Devine & Tavon Austin as running backs, & we have an unbeatable offense!!!

[@julesx7713]

I never saw this.

[@jenrferruso]

WVU!!! Life is a game it not weather you win or lose but how you play it! - Totally getting back in West By GOD Virginia! Place your hand up - and do it to it ... A-okay PEACE is With You! Lovingly 10 yrs of me graduating back from Fla -- I truly Never Fear!!! THANK GOD!

[@osu5inarow]

Shame they did Bill Stewart dirty with how they brought in Holgerson and now he's up and left for Houston.