MORGANTOWN - For a while there, it looked as if West Virginia and Louisville were starting one of the better rivalries in the Big East.

Both teams were loaded with NFL talent - Pat White and Steve Slaton with the Mountaineers, Elvis Dumervil and Brian Brohm for the Cardinals, to name a few.

And the matchups were fascinating.

Who could forget that colossal fourth-quarter comeback White engineered as a redshirt freshman for WVU at Mountaineer Field. Or the next season at Louisville, when the Cardinals beat the Mountaineers in a battle of Top-5 teams back at Papa John's Stadium?

Then Bobby Petrino left Louisville for 13 games with the Atlanta Falcons before signing a lucrative deal to coach at Arkansas.

In came Steve Kragthorpe, out went Louisville's national ranking, and the Cards haven't beaten the Mountaineers since. In fact, West Virginia is 8-2 all-time against Louisville.

Making matters worse for the Cards, there are rumors circulating Kragthorpe, whose two-plus-year record at Louisville is 14-18 overall and 4-13 in Big East games, is on the hot seat.

Here's a good example of what's going on at Louisville at the moment. Three different quarterbacks have taken snaps for the Cardinals this season, including walk-on Will Stein, who threw for 232 yards in his first career start in a victory against Arkansas State last week. Of the last four games Louisville has won, four different QBs have started, dating back to last season.

When asked what it was like trying to deal with all of those quarterbacks, Kragthorpe said that particular position was the least of his worries.

Ouch.

''We've got a quarterback controversy,'' Kragthorpe declared. ''Will performed very well for us.''

Louisville's other two quarterbacks are Justin Burke and Adam Froman, who both figure to be ready for the Mountaineers, along with Stein.

Louisville has thrown only six touchdown passes all season - with no one having more than three.

''All three of those guys, hopefully we'll have them available, and we'll see how the week of practice goes and it'll be a game-time decision,'' Kragthorpe said.

That seems like a lot for West Virginia and coach Bill Stewart to think about.

Stewart laughed.

''I don't know,'' he said about preparing for any one of three guys. ''You prepare for what you think the base will be, and you have to react to everything else. I don't think (Kragthorpe will) leave his base too awful much. We have to shut down the run and react to the pass.''

The Cardinals also lost starting running back Victory Anderson prior to last week's game - a player WVU recruited hard and may return in time to face the Mountaineers.

''I think Vic's closer,'' the coach said. ''It depends on how much work he can get and how good he feels in terms of taking physical contact. We'll wait and see (today) and make a decision.''

Running back Darius Ashley ran for career highs of 77 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries against Arkansas State.

As you might expect, Kragthorpe thinks his team is in for quite a battle at noon on Saturday in a game that has been selected as the Big East Game of the Week.

''It's a huge challenge for us,'' he said. ''(WVU running back Noel) Devine gosh dangit, every time that guy touches the ball, you have to hold your breath. And it's one of the great places in the Big East Conference to play. Great challenge for us. I was just telling our kids about the passion of the fans. It'll be a full house. It's a lot of fun for us to compete in that kind of environment.''

The Mountaineers, of course, are coming off a 30-19 loss to South Florida last Friday in a game that left them one back of conference leaders Cincinnati and Pitt.

''There was a lot of hitting going on in that ballgame,'' Stewart said. ''I sure hated to come out on the losing end but we did. We'll grow from it, we'll learn from it, and press onward.

''I anticipate just another Big East banger. We just bang each other up.''

Game Notes

• Louisville is dead last in the Big East in total defense, scoring offense, and scoring defense. It's sixth in total offense.

• Stewart was asked if Devine's night against South Florida, where he rushed for only 42 yards on 17 carries - a season-low - perhaps took him out of consideration for any postseason individual honors.

''One game, a season doesn't make,'' Stewart said. ''I'll leave it at that.''