Dec 19, 2002 By Matt Stanmyre Associated Press Writer 2 min read

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is leaving his Gator Bowl blues in the past. Rodriguez, who criticized Notre Dame two weeks ago after the Irish denied the No. 15 Mountaineers a spot in the Gator Bowl, said Wednesday that his team has its full attention on Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl on Dec. 28 in Charlotte, N.C.

Meanwhile, No. 11 Notre Dame will play No. 17 North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1.

“We aren’t harping on the fact that we didn’t get the Gator Bowl bid,” Rodriguez said. “We haven’t talked about it since (Dec. 9), and we’re excited about going to Charlotte and making history by being in a first-year bowl that’s a sellout.”

The Mountaineers (9-3) are looking for their first 10-victory season since the 1993 team went 11-1 and lost 41-7 to Florida in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1994.

Getting 10 victories “is our greatest motivation because it hasn’t been done around here in a while,” Rodriguez said. “All the seniors would like to go out on a high point.”

Most of West Virginia’s seniors will close their careers where they began them in 1999 – at Ericsson Stadium. The Mountaineers lost that year’s season opener 30-23 to East Carolina in a neutral-site game.

West Virginia’s 286 rushing yards per game ranks second in the nation, and Virginia (8-4) ranks 105th nationally against the run, giving up 206 yards per game.

Avon Cobourne, named a third-team All-American earlier this week, ranks eighth with 132 rushing yards per game.

He has scored at least once in 11 of 12 games this year. Only Syracuse kept Cobourne out of the end zone.

“When we run the ball, it’s a lot easier to control the game from a tempo standpoint … not just offensively, but defensively,” Rodriguez said. “It takes a lot of pressure off of our defense when we run the ball.”

Rodriguez is concerned with Matt Schaub, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s offensive player of the year who passed for a league-best 27 touchdowns and completed nearly 69 percent of his passes as the Cavaliers bounced back from a 5-7 season in 2001.

West Virginia’s six-victory improvement over last year’s 3-8 season is tied with Fiesta Bowl-bound Ohio State and California for the nation’s top turnaround.

Kickoff is 11 a.m. Dec. 28. The game will be televised by ESPN2.