These are the times stories are a little difficult to come by — check tomorrow’s hypothesis dressed as a column — and require some digging. This was not one of those stories.

WVU’s media guide says Canute Curtis had a school-record 16.5 sacks in 1996 and Gary Stills followed with 12 and 10 the following two years. I was only a little surprised to discover no one has reached double figures since … but slightly shocked to learn this is OK with today’s players.

A year ago, John Holmes’ five sacks led the team.

Second was Julian Miller, seen more or less as a pass-rush specialist, with 3.5. The Mountaineers totaled 25, which ranked 59th out of 119 Division I-A teams.

And so you ask Miller, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive end, what might be a take-notice sack total today when the players are bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic than ever.

“Eight,” he said.

Eight! Not half of Curtis’ record. Double what Stills had against Marshall in 1997.

“When you think about it, it’s almost like it shouldn’t be hard to get one every game,” Miller said. “But a lot of things have happened now and you just don’t have as many opportunities to get sacks.”