And away we go. Figure that a lot of stories this week will be about the future of the WVU-Marshall series. Here’s a preview: There is no series and there might not be a future.

West Virginia has no room on its football schedule before 2016. Marshall falls off that schedule as of Saturday. Thundering Herd athletic director Mike Hamrick would obviously like to see his team on the WVU schedule as soon as possible, but the Mountaineers have very different ideas.

They want to rekindle older rivalries and engage in short non-conference series. One way or the other, WVU doesn’t sound as though it wants to get into a long contract and/or play someone the fans have seen a bunch already. There are too many options and the variety is too strong to ignore, especially when put aside a series that hasn’t been too compelling and may not offer much incentive than other “Hey, we’re in the same state.”

“I don’t know if who wins or who loses should be a determining factor of whether these two programs play each other in football,” Hamrick said. “I’m a native West Virginian, I left for 30 years and I came back three years ago and wasn’t caught up in all the politics of the game.

“For me it’s just ‘why not play?’

“Put the politics aside, put the everything to lose and nothing to gain mentality aside, put the big alumni aside. Throw all of that out.

“It’s a good game for the state of West Virginia and it should be played.”