In essence, Saturday’s game is one between two teams occupying the same state. It is most certainly not a rivalry, though. Even the name lends itself to a particular lameness.

Marshall can help make it one with a victory. See, there are three things that have to happen for a rivalry to exist. First, the teams have to play ever year and for so many, many reasons, it’s just not happened here. Saturday’s game will be the eighth between the teams and the fourth since 1923. Secondly, there has to be an equity in results and that hasn’t happened either. Marshall hasn’t cost WVU anything or caused any embarrassment — though, again, that can change. Lastly, there has to be some animosity and while there may be a little disdain here and there, it’s largely respect and flattery.

It’s reached humorous levels among the coaches and WVU’s Bill Stewart can’t say enough nice things about his counterpart, Mark Snyder, who’s reciprocated the praise. None of that whips the fans into a frenzy. In fact, it’s worse on WVU’s side, which sees a coach praising the enemy … the enemy who seems to have been through what Stewart is going through. That, like almost everything else, isn’t accurate either.  

“My situation was so much different than walking into a program that was established and had its scholarships and you get there in December like everyone else,” said Snyder, who was hired in April, after the Thundering Herd already had conducted its spring drills.

“Mine was just a different situation that I don’t know if anybody has been through. I had nobody to call about getting hired after spring ball with the things that were going on here.

“I was kind of the test case. … Because of the late hire, I had some new coaches and I’m sitting there coaching the coaches along with the players. That’s tough at that stage, if that makes sense.”

Uh-oh. Do I sense some fury? Um, no.

“He’s going to be just fine. Let me tell you, that’s a good football team. They’re going to be just fine. I just hope they ain’t just fine this Saturday.”