Terry Bowden calls WVU a top five team

MORGANTOWN -- Terry Bowden has joined those preseason prognosticators who believe West Virginia University will be a solid top five football team this fall and national championship contender.

The veteran television analyst and highly successful former head coach has ranked the Mountaineers No. 3 in his "Sweet 16" for Yahoo! Sports.

What's more, Bowden thinks quarterback Patrick White and running back Steve Slaton form the most potent one-two offensive punch in NCAA Division I-A ranks.

He picks USC Trojans NO. 1 on his list, with Michigan No. 2, Louisiana State No. 4 and Texas No. 5.

Rounding out his top 10 are Florida, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Ohio State.

Louisville is 11th, Auburn 12th, California 13th, Nebraska 14th, UCLA 15th and Georgia 16th.

Here's what Bowden said of West Virginia, for which he played as a running back in 1977-78 after graduating from Morgantown High School: "When it comes to ma