Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which will be in the Blue Lot next to a smokestack of ribs, beef and sausages early in the morning tomorrow … and then later in a shirt and tie and in the press box at around 4 p.m. Night games are about as close to “real life” as I get to be for a home game. And that’s juxtaposed with the jerk back into reality that, no, this Nestea is fine because I have to go to work later.

But I’m fine with that, believe me. I know no one will play sad violin music as I talk about the pities of my job, but I just want you to know that one some days, and specifically some nights, I’m jealous that I can’t get that experience. Tomorrow night is going to be fun and even without bias I’d like to be a party to the party because I feel like that’s going to be a good game and a great environment. I can root for and be a fan of those things.

What strikes me is when I look at things on paper, yeah, Texas has the better roster. More depth, more talent. I don’t think I’m wrong here: Texas has the best roster WVU has faced or will face this season. But there’s a lot of paper to look at and the more I get into it, the more I think these teams aren’t much different from one another.

New defenses, though Texas tried to do it midstream while WVU reorganized before the season, and then midstream a little, too. Both have defensive fronts that establish the tenor of games and defensive ends who make plays when they’re playing well. Both will feature a nickel back and both will move a safety around to blitz or to play the run, which means both will play a lot of man-to-man in the secondary.

Texas wanted to have its offense spread teams and play fast this season. Major Applewhite, the Texas offensive coordinator, spent the offseason putting that together. The Longhorns now play slower and run the ball. WVU is running more and better than it passes the ball, but WVU, of course, wanted to play faster and throw  more. Each team has made changes the the offensive line, but none in the past five games. Both are reaping the rewards of that continuity.

Why have the offenses sputtered and called audibles this season? Quarterbacks!

Both teams have made changes, and dealt with injuries, and neither team has a quarterback is wholly trusts. Still, both teams will take shots down the field and both teams have receivers who can actually stretch the field — and that’s really underrated about the Longhorns. They have a fleet of playmakers there, and this is where you circle back to the part about man-to-man in the secondary.

Then you’ve got coaches who can’t please fan bases and athletic directors making headlines and, well, who knew Texas, held in the highest  possible regard in the Big 12, had so much in common with the newly arrived Mountaineers?

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, stay in line.

Spatial Angel said: 

Rutgers 2.0 on Saturday. Then, if they can just manage a split of Kansas/Iowa St.

Rutgers 2.0 is the best thing this week. Worst? Prospect of Rutgers 1.0 in the Pinstripe Bowl. 

Mack said:

The sparse crowd was more of a late-arriving crowd. It filled in fairly nicely by the start of the second quarter. The TCU student section, which fills in the lowest level and spans the length of the field, had at least one-and-half sections without a single person in them.

With the above said, the crowd also left early and seemed to all leave its seats at halftime, so the crowd wasn’t bad when it was at its peak,but it seemed like everyone was in their seats for only a very short amount of time.

Otherwise, perfect weather and a still-good atmosphere (and a win) made for a great afternoon.

This isn’t exactly congruous, but it has to do with the stadium and the crowd and specifically the student section and the jokes made at TCU’s expense: It’s important to remember TCU is a private school with about 9,500 students. WVU has, what, 30,000 students and 12,500 student seats at home games. It’s not really a fair comparison. The real battle with TCU is the competition for attention. There was a Cowboys game the next day, a weekend full of NASCAR events and home games for the NHL and NBA teams. That’s why people who talk about market size are sometimes full of it.

Drew said:

I’ve thought for a long time one end zone needs dedicated to students and the band together. Less overall seating for students which is necessary, more donation level seats for season tickets. It helps the atmosphere with students being close to the field. It gives us a end of the field to choose in overtime. The visitor section would need moved, but that shouldn’t be a big deal.

I’m with you. I totally dislike keeping students far away from the playing surface at a college game. Marlon LeBlanc lets his students on the damn pitch! I mean it. They’re on the field behind the end line. But what WVU does for football and basketball is not what all of WVU’s Big 12 peers do. There aren’t a lot of alternatives for WVU, though I like the end zone idea. That has potential. Something can be done, and I imagine it’ll happen because WVU knows it can make more money off of it, and that’s always going to matter most. Whatever the case, I’m always going to advocate for students and the college experience, so I’ll want to see them closer to the field. 

smeer said:

FS – it goes both ways

He was an alum who could have done anything yet he came home

he brought change – and his connections did count – he moved faster than ULCard’s AD – wasn’t afraid to throw money at the Big LEast because he knew more would be coming in. Remember that bold statement that WVU would be a part of the B12 in 2012 – no and, ifs or buts. That’s kahunas and takes a special leader.

another AD might still be begging the ACC or SEC because – you know – geography and rivalries and nostalgia/tradition . . .

and doing all this, a percentage wanted to run him out of town on a rail

there are some who are happy to see this alum go – why? – well partly because he wasn’t born in the hollers and didn’t understand the culture . . . and “this move just proves it”

Luck has laid a foundation for the next AD to be successful beyond anything we’ve ever had before. And Clements will bring in the best our new money can afford

I will miss him. I will wish he had stayed. But I will not begrudge him this move. And in another way – if we don’t burn the bridge – we have an ally in one of the biggest most important programs in the country – having a huge say in whether the B12 expands east or west.

Plus – the other half (plus children) of his family has Texas roots and that needs to be factored into his decision. Ollie will be taking Mrs. Luck home.

The only way the door stops revolving is when we become a Big Boy – a destination (or we hire good ole boys who aren’t up to the job’s demands and just wanna coast to retirement)

said my peace – feel free to disagree

Betcha Oliver doesn’t leave.

Drew said:

The real Holgorsen ia following the fake Holgorsen on twitter as of this morning.

The circle is closing!

Sammy said:

Mike, I liked your point about WVU trying to buck the trend of the year. Coaches like to talk about seasons as if they were games — first quarter, second quarter, etc. And the way the schedule set up this year it was always about making it to the “fourth quarter” — the easier part of the schedule — with a chance to “win”: make it to a bowl. I give the team some credit for having done that.

Now the question is whether that fourth quarter is more like TCU or Texas Tech. I’m hoping for TCU.

Yeah, thanks. I didn’t mean the Mountaineers were actively trying to do it, like coming up with new plays and ideas. I think it’s fair to say and easy to see there’s been a shift in what the Mountaineers are doing, though, and it’s happening in this second  half of the season. I know it was a foot to the posterior, even if the score was a tad misleading, but I actually thought there were some acceptable flashes against Kansas State — but I also thought the Wildcats were way better when it mattered and pulled the game away from where WVU wanted to take it. The competent stretches have by far outweighed the incompetent stretches lately, whereas that was not the case earlier. I think it’s pretty clear the coaches know what they’re doing and the players are catching on now. But don’t get me wrong: They still have some issues and they’re nowhere near where they want to or even need to be, but this is better than it was before. 

Mack said:

The touchback that should not have been a touchback . . . I disagree and think it would have taken a much better play than any West Virginia punt team I’ve ever seen to keep that from “breaking the plane.” The thing landed on the three, so you either have to catch it on the fly or have cat-like reflexes to stop the crazy bounce.

You’re allowed to disagree. And there’s nothing wrong with being wrong. There were four guys there when the ball hit and bounced. Two went for it and both deferred to the other on the bat back. Oops. That bat back would have gone to the two players who were standing there waiting for the ball. It was set up and it went bad. Now, to your point about “a much better play than any West Virginia punt team I’ve ever seen,” I guess that’s valid. It’s not an easy play. But WVU was in position there. 

EnginEER said:

Mike, with your comments about the team being who they are at this point in the season and few practices remaining, do you think this team needs to become bowl eligible if only to get the additional practices? I see the potential extra practices for this team not so much as getting much better for a bowl game but rather more of an opportunity for additional reps in the system (film material for the offseason?) before heading into spring ball and next season. Once again, great job with the Good/Bad.

To be honest, I think that deal about bowl practices is overrated if you’re not playing in a bowl on New Year’s Day or later. Between classes, coaches recruiting and the team breaking for the holidays, you get a handful of extra days, including the time on site for the bowl. If WVU plays Dec. 27/28, you’re looking at about seven practices, including time given to young players, and that’s interrupted by the break for Christmas.

Gordo said:

I like the direction this defense is heading under Patterson. I think we have a lot of younger guys that are developing into pretty good football players. If coaches stick around we could have a stout defense in the next few seasons. Too many ‘ifs’ in that last sentence?

Just one if, and it’s a big one because WVU needs, maybe more than anything else, some coaching continuity. I think your story of the spring is what Patterson, Mitchell and Gibson do with the secondary. Worley, Banks and Bell are there, but we can’t be made to sing the same song about depth with Napoleon, Chestnut and And Also Avery Williams. But more than that, is Joseph going to stay at safety? Are Tyler and Dillon good enough to play there? Can Harper or Greaves make a move? That’s critical because the defensive line and the linebackers are loaded next season. 

Rick said:

Dallas News now reporting Steve Patterson has emerged as front runner for AD job at UT.

I always knew he’d be a candidate.

Mack said:

Regarding the improvement of the special teams, I think there is a steady improvement of every facet of this team except for the secondary and the quarterback.

Regarding the defensive line, looking at Mike’s paragraph about Noble Nwachukwu, I noticed the following:

Noble Nwachukwu
Will Clarke
Kyle Rose
Shaq Rowell
Darrien Howard
Dontrill Hyman

All of the above names were mentioned as contributors in the TCU game. This defensive line is great when everyone is available.

I would like to consider renaming Hyman to Even Dontrill Hyman (“Even Dontrill Hyman had a few flashes”). This illustrates the difference between Hyman and And Also Avery Williams. Hyman is just another contributor in a group of very good players. Williams is a “plus one” in a group of players that don’t do a whole lot of contributing.

I think you’ve earned that right. Let’s do it. As for the line, here are two things that make me feel good about myself. (And understand I’m not bragging, but am instead celebrating because that the lid they keep on the program and practices makes it hard to write and to say things like what follows because you just never know who or what to believe.) Fifteen months ago, Erik Slaughter was explaining how things will work with his defensive line and was describing his philosophy for how to use guys, and somewhere along the line I said, “It sounds like you’re talking about a guy like Kyle Rose…” and I was hesitant because, no offense to Kyle Rose, but, c’mon, Kyle Rose. But Slaughter knew what I was talking about, and I suspect he meant Kyle Rose all along without ever using his name because, no offense to Kyle Rose, but, c’mon, Kyle Rose. Well, the laughs are at my expense right now because, sheesh, Kyle Rose is a player. And he’s followed and mastered Slaughter’s formula. I spotted Nwachukwu against Kansas State and thought he was good and I circled him. I kept noticing him against TCU, but in the game, I wondered if I was believing my own hype or if this was just because Nwachukwu played a lot and thus was easier to notice. But he was very visible because of his plays, so I followed up this week and the Mountaineers will have you believe this is merely the beginning for Noble.

Rugger said:

Dallas News has UT hiring ASU’s Patterson. Shows what I know. I thought Luck was a done deal. I’ll be right on something here sooner or later.

You’re right about that.

 

AnxiousEER97 said:

Now the question becomes – what’s wrong with Luck? Spurned by Stanford. Spurned by Texas. 

Are we sure he was spurned by Stanford? I’m not. But, obviously, I’m not an expert on this matter. I will say this: Things changed Sunday, and that, it turns out, was when Texas sent an Army to persuade Patterson. But on Saturday, it seemed imminent. People I trust were trying to convince me and were asking me what I knew … and imagine my mood when I told them I “knew” nothing. Because I didn’t. Exact details were hard to uncover and thus convey to my audience. Nevertheless, I prepared a story Saturday morning saying Luck had taken the job, leaving blank the parts for when and for reactions or confirmations, and I saved so I could quickly produce a story if Luck were named Sunday or Monday or Tuesday — and the word out of Texas was it the school would name its hire Monday or Tuesday. Granted, I’ve done that in the past to be on top of breaking news, but I was starting to believe that would indeed be breaking news. I was talking to people Monday night before and after the basketball game who thought it was a matter of time. They were asking me about and even throwing out names of replacements. And some of them texted me pretty funny messaged Tuesday afternoon when UT hired Patterson. But there are two things I have to accept here: 1) Luck keeps a really tight circle. 2) I think no other school has stories shaped by rumors/”insiders” more than WVU. The amount of nonsense people were presenting as fact on this one is shameful and I truly hope you were keeping score.

AnxiousEER97 said:

So much for the Oregon AD shopping himself.

Yes, yes, the A.D. at the school that until last night was on the cusp of a national title was trying to persuade WVU to hire him because WVU had already lost Oliver to Texas. That’s kind of what I’m talking about. You should totally disregard the source of that rumor forever. And I’m not knocking you for thinking that — honestly, I’m not. It’s part of being a fan and following a story to feed an appetite. I get that. I love that. I just want to encourage people to be extra safe and suspicious about where they get their information and, more specifically, how seriously they take it. If nothing else, the ridiculous sideshow this time shows a lot of people don’t take what they’re doing seriously and don’t even seem to care. It pisses me off.

ffejbboc said:

A couple of things…

Don’t underestimate how big the victory over TCU was. It totally changed the trajectory of this season. 3-6 and needing three straight victories to qualify for a bowl versus 4-5 and only neededing two wins in the next three to qualilfy. Huge difference. It also probably changed the trajectory of the 2014 season as well because the bowl game and (more importantly) the practices leading up to the bowl will go a long way towards putting an improved team on the field next season.

To take it a step further…TCU’s int return for a TD that was wiped out by penalty was possibly the biggest play (no play) in the last two seasons. No penatly and WVU undoubtedly loses and probably limps in for the last three games.

And in regards to the 2014, who would have ever imagined a West Virginia football schedule that had the Mountaineers playing Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma in the same year?

That last point is a place-hands-on-both-shoulders-and-shake-like-hell awakening. Not a lot of people get to do that. I’ll put the potential in the pick six penalty, but I can think of a few plays last year that merit consideration. I can give you three against TCU: the botched punt TD, the 94-yard touchdown pass and the two-point conversion. And against Oklahoma, that fourth-and-5 touchdown pass to win the game was obviously big. WVU really was close to a 9-3 record last season.

MontanaEer said: 

We will face Saban one way or another.

True. That Texas thing has legs. It does.

Foul Shot said:

Tough getting too pumped for that Iowa St finale.

It’s the new Brawl. Plug time: I booked Tim Allen, the Senior Associate Commissioner of the Big 12, before the schedule came out. He’s the guy who puts the schedule. His 15 minutes on Thursday’s show were terrific stuff, specifically about how he and the Big 12 treats WVU, about how the playoff will affect the early part of the schedule and about what coaches want most when it comes to their slate. You can listen to the first 39 minutes if you want, but Mr. Allen starts at :40 and I think you’ll like it.

Joey said:

Why does Mike always put “(anything)” after the word “stuff”? I’ve seen it in TFGD too.

Because I’m hilarious.

glibglub said:

A reference to some amusingly poorly chosen words from long ago. Why, I can still remember when it all began, as if it was yesterday …

http://blogs.charlestondailymail.com/wvu/2011/08/18/rules-and-brews-to-live-by/

That, too.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

I will be curious to see what the reaction is here on the board to Luck not being picked for the Texas job. I find it funny that there were some out there who actually WANTED him to go — whether we like the Holgerson hire or not can be debated, but Luck is running the department like a business rather than the Mom and Pop operation that it was before…..agree or not, but the athletic department IS now big business.

He replaced the football coach, a man that I admired a lot, with the hottest assistant in college football at the time…..and a guy who had no connection to the university. He also has replaced the baseball coach with a guy who has ties to the area, but without a doubt, is a home run hire.

He’s put us in the best available big boy conference, increased additional revenue by getting OUT of the TV business and selling beer in the stadium. I personally don’t like beer in the stadium, but in his mind the end justifies the means……in this business, those with the most toys wins……and toys cost money. We don’t have someone like Boone Pickens who will drop 100s of millions of dollars in to the athletic department. We have some money as alumni, but not at the level that it takes to compete at the big boy level in an immediate way.

I’m glad he’s staying and feel like the department remains in the best hands we could have — Texas only looks at the best, so anyone else would likely have been a step down.

I’m with you, but I believe people fail to recognize how much he had to do when he walked in to get WVU up to speed. Things like making sure the campus bus schedule was synced up to get students to volleyball and soccer matches or making sure people turned the lights off in the Coliseum to save thousands of dollars in power bills or to prune the spending on bowl travel or to make the academic support at least functional. He’s never told me this, but people have told me that when he walked in, he was shocked at what he saw in some day-to-day procedures and expenditures. Perhaps it’s the fault of people like me for not telling that side of the story, but it was tome-consuming work. And then had had some NCAA issues that he inherited. I mean, a lot happened before he could make other things happen.

(Aside: Bad stories coming out of academics these days, where it seems the late Curtis Jones is dearly missed …)

netbros said:

I’m thinking now there is probably no other AD job that would entice Luck to leave. Not to say that he wouldn’t leave for some other job in business or administration, but Texas and Stanford were it so far as lateral moves.

Which means for better or worse, WVU probably has him now for awhile. I think that is a good thing… as long as he remains motivated.

Agreed. Those were the two schools that would pull him strongest. And agree that he’s still not tethered to WVU or college administration.

Letgomtnrs:

Luck will leave eventually when the right opportunity presents itself. Just look at his history. He goes from job to job doing what needs to be done before moving on. My guess is: President or GM of an NFL team. Specifically the Houston Texans.

Whither politics? Or the MLS?

SkeikYbuti said:

I suspect there would have been a Tier 3 lawsuit, no matter what. The AD’s misstep appears to me to have been that he rather naively thought he could forestall that inevitability by taking a public relations tack to document the logic behind the switch to IMG and attempt to spin it as fair and open. He probably knew that he had the absolute legal prerogative to make a unilateral decision (and the decision was almost certainly unilaterally made, despite the dog and pony show). His mistake was underestimating the resolve of the displaced to make a stink over the new direction no matter what (which any advisor with any experience in matters West Virginia should have seen coming a mile away), and then, having decided to go through the motions, failing to take their substantive and procedural aspects seriously enough to forestall legitimate reproach. He left himself very little PR leverage as a result, which is wryly ironic.

The thing is, this sort of miscalculation happens in business all the time. Luck should have avoided it, but he didn’t, and it’s not a huge deal. IMG holds the media rights, WVU is benefiting, and the lawsuit will go away.

I can buy that. Feelings were going to be hurt and there would be consequences. But relative to his role, the oversight was completely absent, too. The A.D. doesn’t and shouldn’t be allowed to run procurement. You know who does? The procurement office. I like the issue of wry irony, too. Well done. And true, that lawsuit will eventually go away, but it’s going to cost WVU time and money. They just started deposing people and those things will go public and, I’m sure, have some salty details to make this uglier than it it or was.

Big Al said:

Mike is obviously wearing pink in support of Breast Cancer awareness. Nice move, Mike!

That’s not pink.

Dann White said:

I believe Mike may have raided the Mrs.’ closet for this ensemble, however, if he did so to remind us of the struggle against Breast Cancer – then MORE POWER TO HIM.

Not. Pink.

Shoot4Show said:

I can’t get through the whole video with that pink track suit. I can’t avert my eyes and redirect my attention to the information being shared. This is way worse than the black polo sartorial controversy. Disturbing. Very disturbing.

Liverpool. Reds. Not pink. (Not the time or the place to tell you the jacket was a gift from Colin, I suppose.)

Rugger said:

One of those fuchsia track suits would be a nice stocking stuffer for my wife. Where can I get one?

Not. Fuchsia.

Shoot4Show said:

Rugger, evidently there is a Casual Male in Morgantown. Try there.

Enjoy the weekend!