MORGANTOWN - Jeff Casteel keeps hearing the comparisons and they amuse him.
But it's not funny as in "ha ha," but rather funny as in annoying.
His West Virginia defense is being compared to the 1996 Mountaineers, who led the nation in total defense.
Already.
After one game.
Against Coastal Carolina.
"Those are things that are being generated by people who generate things to stir up interest, I suppose,'' Casteel said. "We're not even close. We have a long way to go. We're not anywhere near as good as what people think or expect us to be.''
Casteel, West Virginia's ninth-year defensive coordinator, knows a thing or two about highly regarded defenses. He's coached a few, including a 2007 group that was among the nation's top 10 in total defense and scoring defense.
And perhaps before the season is over, this defense will rival that one. Perhaps comparisons to 1996 will be legitimate.
But now? Wait a while. After all, when the No. 23 Mountaineers (1-0) face Marshall (0-1) Friday night in Huntington it will be the first test against an FBS opponent. And with games to follow against Maryland at home and Louisiana State on the road, the tests will only get harder.
As for now, the results are mixed, although Casteel did like a lot of the things he saw in the opener.
Article Preview
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Casteel: Easy on the 1996 comparisons
MORGANTOWN - Jeff Casteel keeps hearing the comparisons and they amuse him.
But it's not funny as in "ha ha," but rather funny as in annoying.
His West Virginia defense is being compared to the 1996 Mountaineers, who led the nation in total defense.
Already.
After one game.
Against Coastal Carolina.
"Those are things that are being generated by people who generate things to stir up interest, I suppose,'' Casteel said. "We're not even close. We have a long way to go. We're not anywhere near as good as what people think or expect us to be.''
Casteel, West Virginia's ninth-year defensive coordinator, knows a thing or two about highly regarded defenses. He's coached a few, including a 2007 group that was among the nation's top 10 in total defense and scoring defense.
And perhaps before the season is over, this defense will rival that one. Perhaps comparisons to 1996 will be legitimate.
But now? Wait a while. After all, when the No. 23 Mountaineers (1-0) face Marshall (0-1) Friday night in Huntington it will be the first test against an FBS opponent. And with games to follow against Maryland at home and Louisiana State on the road, the tests will only get harder.
As for now, the results are mixed, although Casteel did like a lot of the things he saw in the opener.
Click here to sign up for a one month subscription.
1 Month Online + Print Delivery
$31.99
Click here to sign up for our Premium subscription package.
MORGANTOWN - Jeff Casteel keeps hearing the comparisons and they amuse him.
But it's not funny as in "ha ha," but rather funny as in annoying.
His West Virginia defense is being compared to the 1996 Mountaineers, who led the nation in total defense.
Already.
After one game.
Against Coastal Carolina.
"Those are things that are being generated by people who generate things to stir up interest, I suppose,'' Casteel said. "We're not even close. We have a long way to go. We're not anywhere near as good as what people think or expect us to be.''
Casteel, West Virginia's ninth-year defensive coordinator, knows a thing or two about highly regarded defenses. He's coached a few, including a 2007 group that was among the nation's top 10 in total defense and scoring defense.
And perhaps before the season is over, this defense will rival that one. Perhaps comparisons to 1996 will be legitimate.
But now? Wait a while. After all, when the No. 23 Mountaineers (1-0) face Marshall (0-1) Friday night in Huntington it will be the first test against an FBS opponent. And with games to follow against Maryland at home and Louisiana State on the road, the tests will only get harder.
As for now, the results are mixed, although Casteel did like a lot of the things he saw in the opener.
"Yeah, I think so. It was a good way for our guys to start,'' Casteel said. "But if you go in the room and watch the film like we do, there's a lot of work to be done.''
So what did Casteel like after his defense held Coastal to 63 rushing yards and 186 total?
"Guys made enough plays when they had to. I think our tackling was good, which was a little bit of a concern in an opening ballgame,'' Casteel said. "And for the most part we didn't make a lot of dumb mistakes. We weren't jumping offsides, not a lot of penalties. It was a pretty clean game. So from that standpoint we did a pretty good job.''
And the Mountaineers also swarmed to the football, which any coach likes to see.
"We've stressed that a lot,'' Casteel said. "That's when you're going to have a chance to be good, when you can swarm the football. If you make a mistake, guys who are playing hard can cover some mistakes up by running to the football.''
The Mountaineers were also good on third downs, holding the Chanticleers to just two conversions in 14 attempts. Casteel would like to see more than two turnovers forced, though.
Oh, and then there was the 31-0 shutout, West Virginia's first in five years.
"I guess it's pretty tough [to do] if it was five years,'' Casteel said. "But those are things you don't concentrate on. You're looking to win. It'd be great if you shut everybody out, but you're looking to win. If you win 42-41, you win. If you win 3-0, you win.''
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Casteel: Easy on the 1996 comparisons
MORGANTOWN - Jeff Casteel keeps hearing the comparisons and they amuse him.
But it's not funny as in "ha ha," but rather funny as in annoying.
His West Virginia defense is being compared to the 1996 Mountaineers, who led the nation in total defense.
Already.
After one game.
Against Coastal Carolina.
"Those are things that are being generated by people who generate things to stir up interest, I suppose,'' Casteel said. "We're not even close. We have a long way to go. We're not anywhere near as good as what people think or expect us to be.''
Casteel, West Virginia's ninth-year defensive coordinator, knows a thing or two about highly regarded defenses. He's coached a few, including a 2007 group that was among the nation's top 10 in total defense and scoring defense.
And perhaps before the season is over, this defense will rival that one. Perhaps comparisons to 1996 will be legitimate.
But now? Wait a while. After all, when the No. 23 Mountaineers (1-0) face Marshall (0-1) Friday night in Huntington it will be the first test against an FBS opponent. And with games to follow against Maryland at home and Louisiana State on the road, the tests will only get harder.
As for now, the results are mixed, although Casteel did like a lot of the things he saw in the opener.
