What have you done for me lately?
That is what West Virginia University head football coach Bill Stewart is hearing on the airwaves around the Mountain State as he prepares to lead his No. 23 Mountaineers into Nippert Stadium to take on unbeaten No. 5 Cincinnati.
All the native of New Martinsville has done since taking over the old gold and blue is post a 17-6 mark (65.3 percent) and lead WVU to a pair of bowl victories.
So, why are so many fans coming down so hard on the 32nd head coach of the Mountaineers?
It may very well be that Stewart's only signature win during his brief tenure as head coach came in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl where his staff was mainly comprised of assistants who worked under his predecessor.
While the 48-28 win over a heavily-favored Oklahoma Sooners program catapulted Stewart into the national limelight and earned him the heading coaching job, it also ignited a flame among Mountaineer fans that WVU's tenure as a Top 10 program and annual entrant into the Bowl Championship Series would continue under its new leadership.
That hasn't happened.
Friday night's clash with the Bearcats is being viewed by many as Stewart's chance to finally post that signature victory that will once and for all etch his name into the West Virginia history book.
To accomplish that goal, however, Stewart and his staff will have to find some way to slow down UC's 'play like your hair's on fire (wait that sounds like something another coach once said)' offensive attack with a defense that surrendered 301 yards to a Louisville team battling with Syracuse for the basement of the Big East.
The offense will be playing with a less-than-100 percent quarterback in Jarrett Brown as well as a banged-up Noel Devine and a front five that has been about as inconsistent as the Mountaineers' kickoff coverage.
All the signs point to a West Virginia meltdown that will make the 9-point spread placed look like a sure bet.
But, wait.
The last time Stewart took a Mountaineer squad into a game with a prediction that 'the sky is falling' around the old gold and blue, he led them to one of the most impressive wins in school history.
Can history repeat itself?
You bet.
But, WVU will have to play perfect football. That means the kickoff coverage unit can't give up a 100-yard kickoff return to the Bearcats' Mardy Gilyard on the opening kick.
Its secondary cannot turn UC sophomore signal-caller Zach Collaros into an instant Heisman Trophy candidate. And, its once-vaunted running attack must get untracked against a Bearcat defense that surrendered 45 points to Connecticut last weekend.
If Stewart and his staff can accomplish those goals then a signature win will be within their grasps.
A loss, especially like the one at South Florida, will only strengthen the opinions of those who believe his hiring was a mistake.
Contact Jim Butta at jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
