Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which doesn’t have a problem with what Geno Smith said.

I don’t necessarily encourage speaking out against officials, but I don’t think his words were so bad that he has to apologize — and I hope he doesn’t. I really don’t think anyone is to blame here. I don’t blame anyone asking the question. I don’t blame Geno for replying honestly. I don’t blame people for writing it. I don’t blame the Big East for enforcing its rules (How about that? The Big East got WVU to follow the rules!). I don’t blame Oliver Luck for his reprimand that didn’t really say anything more than what was required of him.

I covered all the bases there, I know, but I do think it’s silly to keep people from speaking their minds. That’s probably a product of my chosen profession, but I guess I do understand rules are rules, even if they’re dumb rules. And I guess I don’t want a world where we’re inundated with people sniping at the officiating.

But let’s be honest: The officiating is a story. If you’ve got a tin foil hat, you can speak to the idea the Mountaineers might be prejudiced against by the Big East because of its move to the Big 12. If you have two eyes and a television, you can speak to the fact officiating has been bad. I think it’s very fair to ask and report the question and I think Geno is fine with that reply. And the Big East is entitled to ask for a reprimand.

It just can’t stop there.

Here are seven names I want you to remember: Tracy Jones, Greg Brenner, Tom Considine, Tod Reese, Jonah Monroe, Jim Smith and Bruce Williams. There will be a quiz at the end.

No one can or is going to stop me from saying this next thing. I thought the officiating was very bad Saturday. Both ways. I thought there were too many flags. I thought there were missed penalties. I know there were missed calls. I know there were mistakes. I know there was persistent hesitancy on what are supposed to be decisive and accurate snap judgments.

Rather than go through it all, let me submit one sequence from the end of the third quarter. It’s second-and-15 and Cincinnati’s Munchie Legaux passes to D.J. Woods. It happens right in front of Dana Holgorsen, who throws his hands in the air and waves them like he just doesn’t care for where the ball was spotted. Woods pretty clearly goes down a yard before the first-down marker. The ball is spotted a yard after the marker. The officials call it a 17-yard gain and a first down. First down Bearcats, who, by the way, are down 17-14, but are also leading the Big East at 3-0 and are now at the WVU 41-yard line.

Holgorsen decides to challenge the sport — and remember he did the same thing and won on his last drive against LSU. He wins again and the ball is moved back to the 43. That’s a two-yard error. Now the officials signal to restart play on second-and-1 … except that it’s third down and both sidelines know it. Holgorsen and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood are pleading their case and the referee has to stop the play and actually review the down. I’ve never seen that and I know why. It’s inexcusable.

Those were two of six reviews in the game. Six!

The name of the referee? Terry Jones. Remember him? I mentioned him above. He was the referee Saturday. He was also the referee when he and his crew historically screwed up an extra point … which is hard to do. Who managed to do it? Jones, Brenner, Considine, Reese, Monroe, Smith and Williams.

Back in September, Syracuse scored a touchdown at home against Toledo to take a 29-27 lead with 2:07 left in the game and then missed the extra point. Jones and his crew said it was good and confirmed it on a review, which, for the life of me, I cannot understand. The Rockets then drove down the field and kicked a field goal as time expired to force overtime, even though it should have been the game-winner. Toledo lost and Toledo was mad. The school wanted to have the loss vacated.

The Big East addressed it and the supervisor of officials, Terry McCauley, issued a statement:

“After studying the videos of the Syracuse extra point attempt at 2:07 of the fourth quarter, we have concluded that the ruling on the field that the kick passed between the uprights was incorrect, and that the replay official made an error in failing to reverse that ruling.  In reviewing the video, we have determined that the angle from behind the kicking team shows conclusively that the ball passes outside the right upright.

Our review of the process determined that the replay official mistakenly focused his attention on the sideline angle, which proved to be distorted. We are confident that our officiating staff will learn from this situation in order to prevent a reoccurrence.”

The last sentence needs to be repeated: “We are confident that our officiating staff will learn from this situation in order to prevent a reoccurrence.”

Saturday’s crew? Jones, Brenner, Considine, Reese, Monroe, Smith and Williams.

The Big East has rules and Geno Smith was in violation of this one:

2) Individuals shall refrain from all public criticism, inclusive of all forms of communication, relative to game officials, student-athletes, coaches, team personnel, athletic administrators, Conference office staff members or spectators.

Clear. Crystal. So the league’s senior associate commissioner for football, Nick Carparelli, called Luck and about Smith’s quotes and asked how Luck was going to handle it. Luck went with the reprimand because that’s what the rules say. Violations “may subject the individual to public reprimand and/or suspension from participation by the member institution and/or the Conference. Penalties are determined on a case-by-case basis.” If Smith pops off again, he could be suspended, even though I think his words are right, though voicing them might not be.

I know egregiously missing an extra point, when all you have to do it look up, is very different from blowing a series of smaller calls, but when one follows the other, doesn’t that have to matter? At what point are the officials held to the same standard as the coaches and players?

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be honest.

Dave said:

While I honestly do not believe that most officials play favorites, with the media technology, I think some of this has to do with the increase in the number of officials and the scrutiny they are under.

Years ago, I don’t really think eyesights were better I actually think people could get away with more if they wanted … but when you have 5 angles on a play and can slow it down to frames, you’re going to have more questions.

Maybe I’m wrong … are Pitt, Syracuse, Missouri, Texas A&M also complaining about the same thing? I would think that the BE would want us to be as successful as possible because I just don’t see how Boise and BYU make this suddenly an AQ conference, much less the others. Grab the spotlight while you can … neither travels like we do or has the high profile when we look at SoS and other components.

Parents, umpires, referees, teachers … I’ve only once had a situation where they replied, “you have a good point, maybe I need to fix me.” Every other time, you basically put a target on your chest when you complain.

We’re soft, we don’t blow up the line of scrimmage, we’re lucky to get through a game without a disasterous special teams play … has anyone looked at this …

Marshall, LSU, Louisville, Syracuse, Cincinnati … long returns, blocked kicks. I honestly have followed the team since the old field and while it might not be the statistically worst special teams we’ve fielded, I don’t recall five out of 10 games giving up horrendous plays.

I’m with you, Dave. Not only have cameras and angles changed the way we watch and digest games, but there are more media platforms now and more inches, pages and hours to be filled, which subsequently creates a need for more content and angles, which turns the spotlight on things like officiating. The combination has educated fans like never before and there’s nothing quite as forceful as an angry, educated fan. I don’t know that officials are any worse today than they were 10 or 15 years ago, but I know some of these guys now were guys back than … and that’s curious. I think a lot of criticism is warranted, but I also think it’s screaming into the night. That said, there should be some sort of a valuation process in place.

ccteam said:

I don’t believe WV was getting jobbed by the refs in Cincy, but what if Geno had just said it was the worst officiating he had ever seen without implying they were making calls against WV. Truth is the perfect defense. Would he still have been reprimanded?

Probably. I think that’s dumb.

rekterx said:

Somebody tell Geno to wait until next year and then he can say whatever he wants to say about the Big East officials.

But “I” have a question about BE officiating. Is my general observation correct that Big East video reviews of calls on the field take, on average, about three times longer than it does in other conferences? Or is this just happening in Mountaineer games?

It’s brutal. Games I watch on TV, the reviews take like 90 seconds. When I’m in the press box, it seems like nine minutes. And I think the Big East reviews more plays than any other league. There has to be a stat somewhere for that. (Edit: I looked. Can’t find one.)

glibglub said:

Deniz Kilicli answers the question no one asked: What if Bea Arthur had a beard?

Interesting, but, yes.

Clayton Bigsby said:

I like the white lettering on WVU’s jerseys.

Of course. It’s white.

JC said:

Would you believe WVU special teams aren’t awful…..only after numerous $9 beers. I mean really, inconsistent kicking is putting it mildly. Return coverages may have improved lately, but going from horrid to not quite terrible isn’t saying much. I do think the return games are solid, but field goal blocking is sketchy at best. HCDH and company better be pounding the pavement looking for a couple kickers in this recruiting class…..as we’ve seen, good kickers aren’t a dime a dozen.

But Bitancurt was great at the beginning of the season. He was. It looked like he turned around whatever got to him at the end of last season. And yet, here he is again. That’s what concerns me. He’s falling apart at roughly the same time he did last season.

Dave said:

So you’re saying that the special teams isn’t terrible because if we take out all of the mistakes, they’re pretty good? I disagree that not being able to return multiple 11 and 12 yard puts makes the return defense … anything but what it is when they’re giving up long runs.

But you did clarify something, every time I’ve heard the word “awful” in relation to our special teams, I actually thought they meant “offal.” j/k.

Well, I said “decidedly not terrible” and “OK” before asking if they could be called “not too shabby.” They’re not “pretty good.” I only took out the mistakes to qualify the difference between “very good” and whatever it is that WVU is, which isn’t very good. Also, I thought WVU was good covering punts before Smith and Molinari lost it, with that one exception at the very beginning of the season. That’s not the 107th best punt return defense in the country.

Dave:

I guess I am gauging it on my cringe factor and I seem to cringe anytime we kick this year … whether it’s a blocked FG, a 12 yard shank or a long return … we’ve been like this for quite some time.

Agreed. True story: In the press box at halftime last week I’m talking with someone who believed WVU would win. I bulged my eyes and rolled my neck. “Eeeh, they can give up a kickoff return or miss two field goals or shank three punts.”  When those things started happening, that someone leaned in on press row and got my attention and mouthed: “Wow.”

ccteam said:

No I don’t believe it. They are awful. Saying they aren’t bad if you disregard all their bad plays is nonsensical. All I know is I have a bad feeling whenever special teams hits the field except for the kickoff return team.

OK, I didn’t say to disregard the big plays. I said what WVU’s kickoff return defense has done since the Syracuse game is good and had the Mountaineers done all season what they’d done in the past three games, they’d rank much better nationally. And I think WVU’s punt return defense is much better than 107th in the country. That’s skewed by the first punt of the season. I don’t think they’re great on special teams, by any means. The other shoe looms every game with them.

Gordo said:

Yeah theyve improved but it couldnt have been any worse at times. Seriously, we’re talking about “improvement” not 2 weeks after a FG attempt was returned for a TD, a potential 10 point swing that pretty much lost the game in a critical BE game. I’m not buying.

I only wrote about kick and punt return being good and kick and punt return defense getting better. Field goals and punts are a show. I know this. I’ve written a bunch this season in the blog and in print that WVU’s special teams have swung and lost games. Three games this season were irreparably damaged by special teams. Believe me, I know it. You’ve heard Yakety Sax, right?

Drew said:

I think the main culprit is how many huge negative plays there have been on special teams. They may not be consistently bad, but when they have been bad, it’s been lethal in a mostly suicidal way.

Think of how many awful plays occurred on special teams in the three losses. Against LSU it cost us field position the entire game and changed momentum in a flash.

Killed momentum again at Syracuse along with negatively affecting field position throughout.

UL was given short fields several times where they capitalized, once to tie it before the half. The blocked fg disaster was the game’s deciding play.

Momentum matters a ton in this game, particularly at this level. Special teams has killed our momentum and fed the opposition’s often this year. That’s something that doesn’t show up in statistical rankings.

Yes. Yes. I don’t think WVU can go into a game and feel confident it gets out of the game without one significant special teams gaffe. Been saying that for weeks and weeks. Cringe factor is the best way to put it. Dog ear it.

Dann White said:

The discussion; facts notwithstanding, numb the mind. I’m not even going to try to understand the finer points of this team’s problems – there are just too many .

One bright point; one of the last teams I recall that showed alternating flashes of brilliance and bumbling was the 87 team, (perhaps you will remember what the 88 team did) if this team follows the same progression, I will be ecstatic.

Hey, at least we’re not dealing with something like Columbus or State College has to……….

DW

Daron Roberts and Steve Dunlap would be ecstatic, too.

Josh24601 said:

Redemption is spelled “E-A-I-N!”

The lad was having a bad game until the last play of the game. Good for him for mangling his hand in the name of FREEDOM. Also, shouldn’t the Mr. T pre-game bit on the Mountaineer Field videoboard go: “‘Prediction?’ –’Yes, prediction.’ –”EAIN!’”

Matt Wells … we’re talking to you.

IrishBill ATL said:

Mike – legit question – is this the sloppiest team you have seen in your tenure?

Nah. The 2004 team was the sloppiest I’ve been around. Total disregard for a lot of the norms of football and the locker room was poisoned by a lot of it. That was a hell of a team, too. I’m not even sure this team is sloppier than last year’s team. That UConn mess cost Stewart his job. Speaking of last year, I really enjoyed everyone’s contributions in the “A year ago today …” post. Good stuff. Read through them now, if you haven’t already.

cccteam said:

Saw Mike’s comment on Pead only getting 19 carries in the game Saturday and think it is spot on. I was watching the game with my Dad and told him at halftime that Butch might take his lead from his old head coach and run zone read run plays the whole second half. Of course, WV loaded the box and enticed Jones to dial up more pass plays. Think in hind sight he might have been better off challenging the WV front line with the run.

WVU blitzed a lot more in the second half because of Munchie. Cincinnati kind of played to that and called plays that adapted to instead of discouraged the plan — and it nearly worked. Pead was arguably the best player on the field. He ended up with a lot of total yards, but I’m building my game plan around him at halftime.

wvu304 said:

Have I missed any discussion of Holgorsen’s decision to attempt a 47 yd. field goal into the wind at the end of the Cincy game? Even if we made it, and that was a big “if”, we would have still only been up by one score. I’ve seen very little mention of it. I watched Holgorsen’s press conference, and didn’t see it brought up. I thought I might see something in the recap of today’s chat, but didn’t. I’m just curious to hear what his defense of that decision was.

A six-point lead is larger than a three-point lead and Cincinnati was going to need a touchdown instead of a field goal to win. He did the same thing at Maryland. I think the plays before the field goal were more suspect. Pretty sure he wasn’t happy with how he handled it, especially when the ball was in the red zone.

hershy112 said:

I just remembered the other thing I wanted to add from reviewing the chat. On the run Louisville had when Pat Miller was “blocked” all the way down the field, he was held HORRIBLY. You couldn’t even see the #6 on the back of his jersey because it was on his shoulder. Not saying that Miller hasn’t been disapppointing as of late, but that one was a missed call that, granted, may not have mattered. I was one that had been impressed with Miller early in the season, and I wonder if it has been a result of the increased competition as of late in relation to his performance. Who is the safety that is usually on his side? Does that correlate with the struggles he has had?

Safety on that play was … Travis Bell.

Mack said:

I guess I watched a different game than everyone else because I saw West Virginia blow a 10-point halftime lead in the third/fourth quarter because the other team seemed to want the game a lot more than WVU did.

I thought WVU felt a little too accomplished, a little too safe for a bit in the fourth quarter, which was just awful and inexplicable timing, but I also thought WVU was the more enthusiastic team throughout the game. And I thought that propelled them at points. I don’t think they played a clean, efficient, impressive game at all. I still can’t believe the Mountaineers played with that many mistakes and won.

The 25314 said:

I’m with Mack. The only difference between the Cincinnati and Louisville games was when Louisville blocked a Bitancurt FG, it bounced to a Cardinal in stride.

I suppose that’s a good point. Neither game was especially endearing for WVU, though I think there are other differences. The offense was better against Louisville. The defense was better against against Cincinnati. To me, WVU’s effort and energy was noticeably better against Cincinnati.

Brother X said:

Apparently the Cinnci fans took this enthusiasm as taunting, etc. If the message board chatter is to be believed that is. Meh…whatever.

Haven’t seen the MBs, but I saw the postgame stuff. From some players, it was taunting.

Mack said:

Well, I guess people can say that the effort/enthusiasm was what won the game… Personally, I think it had more to do with the Collaros injury and the fact that it took a quarter or two for the UC offense to get itself together afterward.

Absolutely. But Butch Jones couldn’t concentrate in the presence of the clamor WVU’s enthusiasm created.

Mooresville Jeff said:

Level of performance aside, the sideline was noticeably more animated. I recall seeing Dana walking the sideline, clapping his hands and shouting encouragement. Good. He should set the tone.

A modern day Bill Stewart!

JP said:

Dana will be matching the mountains before you know it

See!

overtheSEC said:

The way I understand it, apparently Louisville fans felt very similarly about Edgar Sosa as WVU fans feel about Truck. The last sentence by JP and Charleston’s comment both summarize how I feel too, for the most part. It’s one of aggravation because we know he can do more. It’s an up and down battle. Missed layups, held breaths whenever he drives to the basket overshadow his performance in the huge Notre Dame win last year and his performance in the Clemson game last year, and the Marshall game his freshman.

Spot on. You’ve got to accept the stink bombs because he’s going to blow up in a good way, too. I think he’ll figure out this season better than he has before how he has to play. His role has never mattered more and it’s on him and Huggins to make sure he understands that better than ever before.

jtmountaineer said:

It’s impossible to disagree that Truck makes too many ill-advised drives to the basket and goes colder with his jumper than we’d prefer, I’ve got to take up for him and point out how consistent he has been over 3+ years, particularly with free throws and learning to play an acceptable point guard when ball handling is clearly not his mettier. He played a bad game yesterday, but a lot of turnovers were caused, as has already been pointed out, by other players giving him no option when he had to get rid of the ball. When no one makes themselves open, you have two options: keep dribbling or stand still. I don’t know if expectations for Truck have been consistently higher than they should have been in his tenure at WVU, but people bag on him a lot more than his pretty consistent play deserves.

Mettier! The guys around him last night were much better than they were Tuesday morning.

Patchy said:

To use the old cliche’, fans are going to have to throw the record out this year. In a cruel irony, the last two FF holdovers are Truck, who remains fond of his Rocketeer routine as he flies through the lane without giving a fleeting thought to scoring, passing or landing, and KJ, who is a serviceable role player but steadfastly refuses to grab iron despite his lengthy frame. The frosh look like they walked in off a junior high playground – there is no precocious Darris Nichols type ready to play D-I ball.

Huggs’s Captain Hook routine will be nigh-on impossible since jerking a player off the floor after the most minor transgression requires a viable substitute and he has none. It won’t stop him from trying, of course, but it certainly won’t solve extreme youth.

Paul Williamson begs to differ with your last point. Huggins said he played PHW because he knows what he’s going to get. Huggins said the guys he’s not playing are trying  to “outstubborn” him. Also, as for the inevitable PHW/Jonnie West comparison, they’re both good shooters, and PHW can make them, but West was better. West was also sneaky athletic and is more athletic than PHW. Truck kind of likes his walk-on from Logan, though: “Not to take nothing away from Jonnie, but Paul’s an upgrade from Jonnie West. Jonnie couldn’t guard anybody.”

netbros said:

A bit off topic, but this is a basketball thread. I see where Huggs has signed Terry Henderson today, to go with Harris and Macon last week. Since the full compliment of 13 scholarships are presently is use, and only Jones and Bryant will use up their eligibility this year, please help me with the math. Is Huggs counting on someone else leaving the program, or is he planning on pulling someone’s scholarship next spring?

It’s one or the other. Of the 11 juniors, sophomores and freshmen, one isn’t coming back or one isn’t keeping his scholarship. There’s one exception: Remember all three freshmen have to make it. Hasn’t always happened for Huggins the past few years — and Macon needs a 1010 or so on his ACT to get in while keeping his GPA healthy.

IrishBillATL said:

Does JackBo routinely wear Bill Cosby sweaters? TREMENDOUS fashion statement for an early morning WVU game.

Bogaczyk is Polish for “argyle.”

Simple Jack said:

It’s not cold outside, and the coliseum is aslways fairly warm: what’s with the sweater?

Simple. Jack.

pknocker40 said:

“Sean McDonough was taking a sip of his coffee four feet away. Yes!”

And undoubtedly could not hear JackBo’s comment over the din of his sweater.

This cracked up people on press row. Well done.

glibglub said:

It’s a beautiful thing that equilateral triangles of so many different colors can coexist. Are you seeing this, human race?

Idea: If we all ever have an occasion to be in the same place at the same time in the not-too-distant future, perhaps to commemorate some sort of an event, let’s make it a JackBo Sweater Party. OK?

SheikYbuti said:

Glib, I thought those were isosceles triangles?

Enjoy the weekend!