If you've been bad mouthing the West Virginia Mountaineers, it's time to shut your mouth and eat your socks.

Under the leadership of interim head coach Bill Stewart, WVU upset the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners last night on national television in the Fiesta Bowl. The Mountaineers rushed for 349 years against the Sooner defense, with WVU quarterback Pat White gaining 150 of those ground yards and then throwing the ball for another 176 yards.

It was a game the Sooners never led. The Sooners cut the led to five early in the third quarter, but WVU responded quickly and put the Sooners' hopes to rest.

In the wake of the unexpected victory in Glendale, WVU President Mike Garrison said that he'd be willing to talk to interim coach Bill Stewart about the head coach position for the Mountaineers. Within hours the job belonged to Stewart.

Stewart's coronation as head coach for the Mountaineers was in some ways a surprise. WVU has interviewed several nationally recognized candidate in the past few weeks: Doc Holliday, the recruiting coordinator for the Florida Gators; former Auburn coach Terry Bowden; and Butch Jones, whose Central Michigan Chippewas won the MAC title during his first year but lost to Purdue in the Motor City Bowl last month. Stewart was never mentioned in the mix.

Stewart has been at WVU since 2000. He was one of the few people Rich Rodriguiz kept when Rodriguiz became head coach in 2001. Stewart is 55, a WV native, and a graduate of Fairmont State College in West Virginia.

Reaction to the decision has been mixed. CriticalFanatic at Fan IQ questioned the decision.

Uh oh. I don't like this. Can we all agree some of our worst decisions have been made by emotional overreactions? Maybe some of the best, too, but I think WVU overreacted in this case.

Stewart's only other head coaching job was at Virginia Military Institute (1994-96) and his record there was a dismal 8-25. Of course, VMI isn't much of a football school...

One the other hand, Pat Forde at ESPN has dubbed Stewart "Coach Stew" and seems to think that the Mountaineers will do fine under their new leadership.

And the player think Coach Stew deserves the job. Scout.com is one of several blogs and news sources quoting QB Pat White "He needs that job," said White. "He deserves it, the head coaching job. Great man, great coach. All the players respect him and love him. Couldn't ask for a better man to lead us to victory today."