PITT FOOTBALL WVU's Jones faces big challenge

The cornerback will look to slow Panthers standout Larry Fitzgerald.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald has seen just about every gimmick defense a coordinator can concoct, from man-to-man coverage with a hands-on defender to umbrella schemes where three players flood his area.
What college football's leading receiver hasn't seen so far is the game he'll play Saturday night at West Virginia.
It's called Pac-Man.
West Virginia sophomore cornerback Adam "Pac-Man" Jones challenged Fitzgerald by saying he's looking forward to covering him. Until now, that's a sentiment shared by few who have defended against Fitzgerald this season.
"I love playing against great competition," Jones said. "I'd rather play against somebody like Larry Fitzgerald than a 'rinky dink.' He has the hype. I think it will wake up this defense a lot."
Comments
Jones' comments weren't meant to be disrespectful of Fitzgerald, nor were they as inflammatory as those by former West Virginia cornerback Richard Bryant before the Pitt game two years ago. Then, he made fun of receiver Antonio Bryant, saying he didn't know much about him and that he, not the Panthers' All-American, would be the better Bryant.
Antonio Bryant, obviously motivated, made 11 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown in out-gaining the Mountaineers by himself in a 23-17 victory. Afterward, he read Richard Bryant's remarks to reporters, then asked them to judge who was the better Bryant.
Despite Jones' confident words, Fitzgerald doesn't expect a lot of back-and-forth jawing Saturday at Mountaineer Field because it would distract from the job at hand. No. 16 Pittsburgh (7-2, 4-0 in the Big East) is the only unbeaten team in Big East play, but unranked West Virginia (5-4, 3-1) still could win the conference title.
Lauds Mountaineers
Fitzgerald called the Mountaineers the "best non-ranked team in the country, by far" and said no team in the country wants to be playing them right now.
Anyone from West Virginia looking for bulletin board comments from Fitzgerald weren't about to get them.
"This year, I can't say anything bad about any team we've played," Fitzgerald said Tuesday. "Nobody's put a cheap shot on me or done anything ... if you start being cheap with people, you'll get cheap shots back your way. But I don't think the game of football should be played like that."
Of course, Fitzgerald didn't know the game could be played quite the way it has this season, when it seems every opponent has a different idea how to defend him.
Not much has worked, as evidenced by statistics that are being called Heisman Trophy-worthy: 142.4 yards receiving per game, 17 touchdowns in nine games and 68 receptions for 1,282 yards. He has at least one touchdown catch in every game this season and in an NCAA record 15 consecutive games dating to last season.
Fitzgerald had eight receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 31-28 victory over then-No. 5 Virginia Tech, including three important catches during a decisive 70-yard scoring drive in the final minutes.