Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which just stuffed a pair of galoshes in its carry-on. I love a parade and hate when it rains. Having written a dozen stories on the topic now, I’m pretty well convinced tomorrow night, under the ideal conditions, would be a pretty neat college football game.

You have the ESPN2 stage and the big crowd, which WVU doesn’t see a lot of, but there’s so much more. Casteel v. Malzahn seems chessy to me and Jeff Mullen coached against Auburn’s D.C., Ted Roof, many years in the ACC. There’s something genuinely intriguing about the Mountaineers against a SEC team and about the Mountaineers doing what they now do. Add Auburn and what it does and you’ve got a fun little game, yes?

Trivia question: When was the last them WVU was a regular-season underdog? The loss at Louisville in 2006.

Honest/trivia question: When was the last time WVU played a football game known as the passing team? Serious. You might say the last game of the Nehlen Era, but Ole Miss was pretty good through the air that year. Maybe a year earlier against Navy? I don’t know. Just throwing it out there.

It’s an interesting dynamic, to be sure, especially when you see just how well Auburn, obsessed last year with installing a spread offense, is running it. Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to think those ground stats are a little overrated — opposition, game situation, Wildcat — whereas WVU’s gotten its scores, leads and wins through the air. There may be a difference in there, though I’m not sure. That’s why we gather tomorrow night. And in the oddest twist, rain, so long as it’s not a monsoon, tends to favor a passing offense because the quarterback and receiver know where they’re going whereas the defenders do not.

And don’t look now, but if the underdogs come out on top, there’s a very real chance they’re 7-0 when they travel to South Florida on Halloween weekend. So tune in and, please, text your quips and observations from game day. We call it Texts from Game Day.

Onto the Feedback and then Auburn, where I’lll be interested to see if it is, indeed, the Loveliest Village on the Plains. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be diligent.

thacker said:

[…] one was that goofy sweaty-hands fumble by Brown

How vulnerable is Brown’s style of running? How soon will an opposing defense key on such a vulnerability?

3rd image … http://charlestondailymail.com/Sports/WVUFootball/200909130392  

Excellent point, valid concern. He’s got big hands though. Just saying.

Jeff in Akron said:

Thacker – I saw that too. couple that with “sweaty hands”. Didn’t I read that you had access to some special peanuts. I may need a web sight, before the year is out.

The “sweaty hands fumble” on Saturday wasn’t JB’s first. The same thing happened in’07, I beleive it was against USF. It too was a pass play, to Reynaud, if memory serves. The field position was far worse, as was the outcome of the game.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge JB fan. Watching him play the past two games has been a thing of beauty. However, this revelation, coupled with JB’s running style…

I wonder if Jobe would mind wearing one of those bath blankets tucked into the back of his pants. Okay, Thacker, forget the end of the year, I need the web site.  

True, he’s had the fumbles before and if it’s raining tomorrow night you become a little more worried. It’s just a matter of time now until single or first defenders go for the ball when they go at JB. To ease your mind, WVU has been addressing this in practice, but I’m not allowed to tell you exactly how. Here’s the conversation, though.

Me: … oh, so you’re trying to fix that?
Player: Yeah, but you can’t tell anyone how.
Me: …OK… but you didn’t tell me anything.
Player: I’m not supposed to tell either.

EER96 said:

Maybe the special teams unit could carry pistols to cover kicks…I couldn’t resist piling on!  

Um, I don’t think another body on the pile is going to matter much.  

Homer said:

Given the team running it, should be customized as “The Musket.”

The one thing I love about teams copying these offenses is the way they individualize them with their own names. USF’s version of the Wildcat? Toro Loco! I love and hate it. The Musket is a lock for the Pistol. What about the Wildcat? I refuse to call it the Mountain Lion. Bad memories from my wedding day, but we can also do better.  

Rob W. said:

I honestly believe we are the most talented team in the conference – with Pitt right behind us. I live in Cincy and all my family and friends out here are UC fans. I’m happy for them, but still don’t know how they can really get by with having lost 10 defensive starters. I think the key for WVU is the offensive and defensive lines at Auburn. That is going to be the proof in where we stand and what the season holds in store.   

How will Cincinnati do it? Well, how did WVU do it when it lose all those starters from the 2007 team? What we’re forgetting is The UC is now doing this with a new defensive coordinator, too, which might help. Everyone, in essence, is a new starter with him. Lessens the effect, I think, and that offense is a great reinforcement for the defense. Plus, everything Brian Kelly touches turns to gold. And no doubt the game is won ~in the trenches~ tomorrow night.

Jeff in Akron said:

Rob W – What UC has over WVU, and Pitt is polish. They are a more “finished product” right now, in my opinion. You are correct in that WVU has more raw talent.

Auburn is a huge test. Again, you’re correct, we have to control the line of scrimmage.

I get the sense that WVU is building something special this year. Should we get past Auburn, WVU will be rolling.

I agree completely on the polish. There’s a lot of continuity on offense, which you just need if you’re going to play that style. This is year three for Kelly and many of his players. As for WVU, provided it gets past the Tigers, it might be onto something. Last week’s win did a lot for collective confidence. I think that Colorado game is going to be tricky and then there’s a weird pressure about playing at Syracuse. Point being, there are just enough issues out there to keep the team focused on the little picture first.  

Mack said:

I think I hate UConn more than any team in the conference. Randy Edsall is pretty much the embodiment of everything I hate in sports but can’t find the words to articulate… and the team has been as boring as any team from the time they were admitted into the Big East.

On top of everything, they win more conference games than they should just so they can go to a bowl and lose to crappy non-conference teams.

I’m glad WVU has never lost to UConn.

Yikes. Fortunately for you, sir, the Huskies aren’t beating WVU this year, either. I’m about to put them in the ECU/Rutgers “Can’t win in Morgantown” category. Remember the 2007 Big East title game? That was kind of embarrassing for the league, I think.

JP said:

Mack, maybe it’s the Calhoun effect that feeds your dislike. That and Edsall not having a neck. His head is Just a crewcut on shoulders. See for yourself.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=randy+edsall&gbv=2&aq=0&oq=randy+edsa&aqi=g1

When is Syracuse going to get it’s head out of its own arse and stop embarrassing the Big East? We can’t expect Rutgers to hold up forever. The Orange needs to step their game up.

Cincinnati is a flash in the pan after their current coach defects after the end of this season. Meanwhile, we need to beat those sons of guns in the fugly jerseys.

OK, Edsall is about the kindest person you’ll run across in coaching. Vanilla? Sure. I still don’t get the fury. And what makes you worry about Rutgers so much? The fact the Scarlet Knights are a .500 team after beating Louisville in 2006? Or that their coach is probably willing to listen to any offer now, be it Penn State or someone else? And I’m telling you, the Bearcats are not a flash in the pan. Everything that’s happened in recent years — Dantonio through Kelly — is emblematic of a growing program. Wait until their stadium gets overhauled. I don’t think Kelly jumps in the offseason unless it’s a job he absolutely wants. First, he seems to genuine like building and winning and he can do both there. Meanwhile, his ego is stroked and he can bide his time racking up superlatives, wins, titles and bowls until the ideal job comes along. Chances are that by then the program is humming along nicely and the Bearcats find a caretaker to coach it along.

overtheSEC said:

Stew may not call friends for favors but does he shop at Amazon?
http://www.amazon.com/Hurry-Up-No-Huddle-Offensive-Philosophy/dp/1585186546
(Order by 6:30 today and have it delivered tomorrow.)
Of course, Stew is on Twitter so maybe he’s more of a Kindle guy (in which case he’s out of luck)

I actually saw a UPS truck outside the Puskar Center Wednesday afternoon.

Karl said:

Overthe SEC … fantastic post. It made me immediately think of — and Coach Stewart would appreciate this — a famous scene from “Patton.” The general’s Allied force just destroyed the Germans in a battle in North Africa, and Patton, staring over a battlefield full of smoldering tanks rejoices, “Rommel … you magnificent bastard! I read your book!” Let’s hope for the same result in Alabama Saturday.

Stewart thinks that’d be neat to see. 

Jeff in Akron said:

I thought I had the Auburn game all figured out, before the season started. I was sure it would be a defensive struggle, with WVU winning. I guess that’s what I get for thinking.

My money is on Casteel and Co. They had a pretty good spread running attack too defend in practice everyday, a couple years back. I’m very confident the WVU defense will be prepared. Additionally, Coach Casteel has watched how other teams shut down the “old” WVU offense. Auburn, no doubt, has quality athletes running their spread. No way they’re of a higher quality than the athletes that ran our spread.

Auburn has put up big numbers the last two games. The Off Coordinator has put up big numbers the last few years, at different places. It’ll be interesting to watch the adjustments.

I can’t touch that.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

This game will stoke the players, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. This environment, Sat night game, etc, will stem the tendancy for slow starts and, let’s face it, Miss St changed staffs and are in adjustment mode.

The Auburn team was working the spread last year and then junked it. They had recruited to it for 2 classes in a row now, and they will be able to implement it, but our guys should be able to stand against it.

Biggest problem I see in this game will be how the O-Line responds to the adversity of the road for the first time. Auburn traditionally is a good defense with athletic players — their strong suit.

The crowd/electricity either overwhelms or baptizes WVU pretty quickly, I think. I also wonder how much Auburn blitzes given JB and his mobility. Might play into some of WVU’s plans, especially if it rains. Why do I see a Noel Devine shovel pass or middle screen going for a big play?

Mack said:

THe one thing I like about playing SEC teams is that WVU isn’t the biggest game on their schedule and, thus, they don’t seem to gameplan specifically to stop our offense.

I’d agree with that, but I think this is different. Auburn was pretty much pantsed last year and that had a lot to do with the coaching change. It means a lot to the players as well as the coach. What WVU has going for it is the plan to stop the offense isn’t out there (yet) because the offense is really just two games old. The old offense was much more vulnerable because it was so dated, studied and copied.

EER96 said:

Mike:

Is John Sanders required to do every WVU football and basketball game that is not on a major network? I can hardly wait for basketball season and his patented “bending, bending, bending”…

I hope so.

roopoo said:

So you add Memphis…then what happens to the basketball side? I can’t see a 17 team conference working out very well. Do you ask one of the basketball onlys to go there own way? Do the basketball onlys form another conference that has been rumored in the past? There are a lot of dominos here.

This is the only comment I want to include from the Memphis/Big East discussion … which was really good. This one is pretty generic and addresses a lot of what was later discussed, though. If Memphis joins — and that’s off in the horizon — you’d see a split. Basketball on one side, basketball and football on the other. You’d have your nine-team football league (WVU, UConn, Cincinnati, Memphis, Louisville, Syracuse, South Florida, Pitt and Rutgers) and the traditional round-robin basketball schedule. The basketball side (Seton Hall, Villanova, DePaul, Marquette, Georgetown, Providence and St. John’s)could easily add to get to nine teams or more … and also align itself with Notre Dame since there’s no football connection there to deal with later on down the road. It really does work and you could find ways to guarantee the two conferences play one another in basketball in the nonconference portion. Georgetown-Syracuse, for example, has to exist in basketball. Memphis provides a good southern market and a good recruiting area. The facilities are nice, but perhaps not nice enough. Don’t say the Tigers don’t have money, though. They have FedEx and Auto Zone. If they get in, they’re going all in to make it work.

Karl said:

To me, the most surprising passage of the story was:

Make no mistake, this team has problems. The guy wearing the wizard hat on Saturday was defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, whose rope-a-dope tactics only disguised the shocking lack of depth in the Wolverines’ secondary.

Stunning, I agree. I still wonder what happened the first time the Product threw an R-rated fit in practice directed at the defense and gentle Greg Robinson watched on with no clue how to react.

overtheSEC said:

If Weis had called two running plays instead of arrogantly passing it, one wonders how this article might have been rewritten.  

That was horrible to watch. And the story would have been written about Notre Dame instead. No question. Oh, and this will really rattle you. Michigan could be 8-0 when they play host to Penn State.

Erinn said:

The best part about this is the man “ain’t” even smart enough to correctly quote a character from The Lion King. I know we’ve discussed it before, but his misuse of the quote “it’s in the past” is comical enough to revisit.

Rafiki wants Simba to LEARN from the past … not FORGET it. This idiot can’t get past his ego long enough to do that. Someone should leave a book outside his office.
Here’s a suggestion..

Enjoy the weekend!