MORGANTOWN - A couple of weeks ago it seemed only a nuisance, one of those things that opposing defenses had to spend time preparing for only to see it a handful of times when it really mattered.

That's no longer the case with Rutgers' Wildcat formation.

Instead, it is going to one of the primary focuses for West Virginia as it heads into Saturday's regular-season finale at Rutgers. Mohamed Sanu saw to that on Saturday.

That's when the Rutgers freshman lined up behind center and ran the ball 18 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the Scarlet Knights' 34-14 pounding of Louisville. Now instead of a gimmick, it appears to be part of Rutgers' base offense.

"He's is a big man,'' West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. "He's fast and he's tough.''

West Virginia (8-3, 4-2 Big East) faces Rutgers (8-3, 3-3) at noon Saturday at Rutgers Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Until Saturday, the Wildcat had not been a huge part of the Rutgers offense. In the first 10 games, Sanu had carried the ball just 18 times for 110 yards. He was a much bigger part of the offense as a receiver, having caught 40 passes for 427 yards. In fact, in his debut in a season-opening loss to Cincinnati, Sanu caught 10 passes for 101 yards.

But after carrying the ball just once in the first five games, he had either four or five carries in four of the next five. Still, his best game as a runner was when he had 42 yards on four carries in a stunning loss at Syracuse. And 33 of those came on one play.

And then came Saturday's explosion. Not only did he set a season high for rushing yards by a Rutgers player, he scored twice. Oh, and he threw two passes, too, although both fell incomplete.

"With Mohamed it's a little different because he has the ability to throw the ball, as well,' Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. "That really helps us. Mohamed was a high school quarterback and he's very comfortable. Whether it's action passing or drop-back passing, I think he can do that. And the package can continue to grow as he gets more and more comfortable with it.''

High school quarterback or not, though, Sanu's primary threat is his ability to run. He's 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds and against the Cardinals, he ran past and over defenders. He has completed just one of his five passes this season, but that was for a 38-yard touchdown against Syracuse two weeks ago.

Sanu's running threat is quite the contrast to that of regular quarterback Tom Savage. The 6-5, 230-pound freshman is primarily a drop-back passer.

MORGANTOWN - A couple of weeks ago it seemed only a nuisance, one of those things that opposing defenses had to spend time preparing for only to see it a handful of times when it really mattered.

That's no longer the case with Rutgers' Wildcat formation.

Instead, it is going to one of the primary focuses for West Virginia as it heads into Saturday's regular-season finale at Rutgers. Mohamed Sanu saw to that on Saturday.

That's when the Rutgers freshman lined up behind center and ran the ball 18 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the Scarlet Knights' 34-14 pounding of Louisville. Now instead of a gimmick, it appears to be part of Rutgers' base offense.

"He's is a big man,'' West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. "He's fast and he's tough.''

West Virginia (8-3, 4-2 Big East) faces Rutgers (8-3, 3-3) at noon Saturday at Rutgers Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Until Saturday, the Wildcat had not been a huge part of the Rutgers offense. In the first 10 games, Sanu had carried the ball just 18 times for 110 yards. He was a much bigger part of the offense as a receiver, having caught 40 passes for 427 yards. In fact, in his debut in a season-opening loss to Cincinnati, Sanu caught 10 passes for 101 yards.

But after carrying the ball just once in the first five games, he had either four or five carries in four of the next five. Still, his best game as a runner was when he had 42 yards on four carries in a stunning loss at Syracuse. And 33 of those came on one play.

And then came Saturday's explosion. Not only did he set a season high for rushing yards by a Rutgers player, he scored twice. Oh, and he threw two passes, too, although both fell incomplete.

"With Mohamed it's a little different because he has the ability to throw the ball, as well,' Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. "That really helps us. Mohamed was a high school quarterback and he's very comfortable. Whether it's action passing or drop-back passing, I think he can do that. And the package can continue to grow as he gets more and more comfortable with it.''

High school quarterback or not, though, Sanu's primary threat is his ability to run. He's 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds and against the Cardinals, he ran past and over defenders. He has completed just one of his five passes this season, but that was for a 38-yard touchdown against Syracuse two weeks ago.

Sanu's running threat is quite the contrast to that of regular quarterback Tom Savage. The 6-5, 230-pound freshman is primarily a drop-back passer.

"When the person who is getting that snap is a viable ball carrier, now the mathematical numbers change defensively,'' Schiano said. "If the quarterback hands the ball off and is no longer a threat, then you're playing 11 [defenders] against 10. So it changes things quite a bit.''

Sanu's development is remarkable in that he didn't play football his senior year at South Brunswick (N.J.) High School because he was just past the age limit. He did practice, though, and then enrolled at Rutgers in January and went through spring drills.

But for most of the spring the Rutgers coaches watched him play safety. He was finally moved to wide receiver the last week of drills and then began playing around with the Wildcat in the fall.

Part of Sanu's success against Louisville, of course, was no doubt due to how the Cardinals were defending Rutgers, generally concentrating more on defending the Scarlet Knights as a passing offense with Savage behind center. West Virginia will certainly give Rutgers a different look.

Still, the Mountaineers have to be ready for Sanu.

"The Wildcat is a very simple formation that puts the ball in an athlete's hands. That's what it is meant for. Everybody zone blocks and lets the guy out-sweep them or cut up,'' Stewart said. "He's an H-back kind of guy. He isn't a tight end, but he's not a flanker. He reminds me of Pitt's No. 2 [Dorin Dickerson]. He is that kind of athlete and much like our Will Johnson.''

Bitancurt, Sands honored

West Virginia kicker Tyler Bitancurt and Robert Sands were named the Big East special teams and defensive player of the week, respectively.

Bitancurt booted four field goals, including the winning kick from 43 yards away as time expired, in the Mountaineers' 19-16 upset of No. 9 Pittsburgh on Friday. He also hit field goals from 20 and 39 yards.

Sands recorded seven tackles, an interception and three pass breakups.

Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.