West Virginia will go 10-2 in 2010

West Virginia head football coach Bill Stewart made a grave mistake earlier this season.

No, it wasn't giving his team the OK to wear pads on the first day of fall camp or his support staff to give out instructions at past spring practices.

He predicted how many wins this year's Mountaineers would have. The Mountaineers' third-year head coach said the goal is to win 10 games and a Big East Conference title.

That's a number Stewart and his teams of the past were unable to meet, after going 9-4 for two-straight seasons.

Now, Stewart has to live up to that number.

In 2010, can his team meet his own expectations?

Sure.

Following the team's spring game, I would've laughed at the idea of WVU winning 10 games. That's why games aren't played in June, though.

The questions remain: Will the Mountaineers win 10 games for the first season since 2007 and return to the national spotlight? Or will Stewart continue to lead the program down a steady hill to mediocrity?

The tools are there for this year's WVU football team to win 10 games, a Big East title and head to a BCS bowl.

Leadership on this year's team is stronger than it has ever been under Stewart. Players like Noel Devine, Jock Sanders and J.T. Thomas have brought a newfound confidence to this year's roster.

To me, the swagger is almost back.

In the 2007 season, players and coaches walked around like they were the best. No one was going to knock them down. It was West Virginia. Then, it was everyone else.

Over the last three seasons, some of that swagger has left the Puskar Center. As players like Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt and Pat White left town, so did the confidence of the one-time Big East power.

You didn't hear players answer questions with phrases like "national championship" or "Heisman Trophy" over the past two seasons. The goals seemed more subdued. It changed to "Big East title" and "all-Big East."

WVU slipped a bit under Stewart in his first two seasons. by not winning or challenging for a Big East title. However, the 2010 season is where the slide should stop.

Yet, it all depends on Stewart, his coaching staff and its ability to use its playmakers. The players are in place to easily reach 10 wins.

Will WVU use Devine like it should? Will it throw down the field more often in 2010? Will it manage to find room for Tavon Austin and Sanders, too?

Mountaineer fans will surely remember the second half of the Gator Bowl when Devine didn't have a carry. I'm sure you'd also like to forget the passing game near the end of the season; the one that poofed into thin air.

The Mountaineers have all the pieces to make a BCS bowl.

But, can they put it all together?

Yes.

Despite the negativity surrounding the program after a tumultuous summer, West Virginia will go 10-2 in 2010, quieting some of the chatter that the Mountaineers have lost some of its swagger.

Those two losses will come in some sort of combination of games at LSU, at Connecticut, vs. Cincinnati or at Pittsburgh. For Stewart's sake, two Big East losses would be a worst-case scenario.

Fans across the country will forget about the February meeting with the NCAA for a few months as WVU racks up early in the season.

Sophomore quarterback Geno Smith will prove to be more consistent and accurate than last year's starter Jarrett Brown. In addition, the coaching staff will use Devine and the Mountaineers' weapons more effectively. Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel will do as solid of a job as he does in any year – solidifying this year's defense as one of the best in school history.

All of that, helped by the leadership and determination of this year's senior class will return the WVU football program to Big East prominence.

Stewart will look like a genius after this season.

His 10-win mark will be spot on.