On a windy day at Dowdy-Ficklen Field in Greenville, the Mountaineers registered their only loss of the 2008 football season. On their way to an 11-1 season capped off with a BCS Orange Bowl victory over Georgia and a number 6 national ranking, the Blue and Gold mailed it in before a record crowd and an ESPN television audience. "Nothing seemed to work," one of the Mountaineer coaches said after the game, "but what the heck, last year's national champion had a loss as well." Most of the Mountaineer players were devastated by the loss but informed sources saw the game for what it was - stitches in a wound which will heal into stronger than ever scar tissue. During the ensuing ten win stretch, the Mountaineers pushed the ECU loss further and further into the rear view mirror. After the 52-10 Orange Bowl victory ESPN analyist Brock Allen had this to say about the ECU loss. "That early loss looked bad but after that there was a certain fragrance in the air in the Mountain State - the refreshing smell of couches on fire."
Some say only, I say first.