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MORGANTOWN - West Virginia University defensive end Julian Miller knows he will need another Big East Player of the Week performance if the Mountaineers are going to be successful Friday night against No. 5 Cincinnati.

Miller, a sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, had six tackles, including three for a loss, in the Mountaineers' 17-9 win over Louisville. He had consecutive sacks of the quarterback to ice the game for WVU.

That kind of effort will be needed from the entire defense in the 8 p.m., nationally televised contest if the No. 25 Mountaineers are to have any hope of upsetting the Bearcats.

"Everybody needs to play their roles and play smart, solid football," Miller said Tuesday. "We can't let (emotions) go over the top of our heads."

Coach Bill Stewart said Miller's play is "vital, very vital" to the success of the Mountaineer defense, which he said will have its hands full in trying to stop an offensive attack that is averaging about 40 points a game.

"I anticipate a tough football game," Stewart said. "They have guys who stretch the field and guys who go underneath., and they're all fast.

"We just need to go play," he added. "It's Friday night, we're the game of America, so let's go play."

Miller said the game will be sort of a homecoming for him, as he grew up about an hour or so away from Cincinnati and even visited the campus as a potential recruit.

The coach left, and he opted instead to enroll at West Virginia. He said he wants to prove to the Ohio fans that he made the right choice of colleges.

"I'm really excited for this one," he said as he rattled off names of Bearcats he knew or played against in high school. "I want to go back home and try to get the upper hand."

Miller recorded his first collegiate sack of a quarterback, yanking down Tony Pike in last year's overtime loss to Cincinnati at Mountaineer Field. He's hoping to bring home many of those same individual memories again this time around, only with a better team result.

"This game last year was like a coming out game for me," he said. "I would like to do that on a consistent basis to help our defense more."

The game is also a must-win game for WVU, 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big East Conference, if it wants to continue entertaining thoughts of being the conference representative in the Bowl Championship Series. Cincinnati, 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference, leads the way.

"Getting up for this game is a definite must," Miller said.