Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which knows important people. Would you look at that! I (kind of) work at the College of Media. I wrote a book. I did not get a standalone. I did not get a ballroom. I need to fire my agent.

/Hires an agent
// Fires agent

Congratulations to Mr. Ahrens, who you know from here as the one who has strong feelings for Doug Rigg. Remember back when I was peddling my book, and some people literally swore off the blog (P.I. Reed, ironically, was among the few) because there was a good bit of promotion here?

Blame it on Frank. He’s the one — well, the first one — who told me to go all out on the promotion because I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t. Years later, he’s out there practicing what he preaches for Seoul Man. And, hey, no game next week, so my Tuesday is all clear.

Also, I sold out the Brew Pub. They ran out of beer. Top that, Frank!

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, let it ride.

netbros said:

This game shouldn’t have been close, but since it was, perhaps it bodes well that this team can win close games. They now continue with momentum, and they have plenty of coaching material to work on in the coming week.

As successful as the stacked receivers had been the first couple games, it seemed odd that the formation was not deployed in this game. Yet, there is now that much more that opposing defenses will have to look for in the future. What is it Holgorsen says he likes his offense to be? Multiple.

In a vacuum, WVU v. BYU was probably what it should have been. If you look at the box score and the final score, I think it works. There are some deviations — BYU’s passing game, WVU’s run defense, special teams — that are larger than you might have expected, but on the whole, you anticipated a close game, that WVU’s skill and speed was too much for the Cougars, that the Cougars would not go away quietly. On the field, no, it shouldn’t have been a three-point game and BYU should’t have been throwing at the end zone with a chance to win. The Josh Lambert wins against Maryland and Texas Tech in 2014 were good for that team because they helped rinse away the stink of 2013. The 2015 team did not stink, but when everyone — players and coaches — say last year’s team doesn’t win last week’s game, it’s reasonable to believe a similarly significant step was taken at FedEx Field. As for the stacks, it was a curious omission, but did the offense need them? Maybe not that day, but they’ll be needed again in the future. You’re right: It’s in his bag, and opponents have to be wary. 

Barbolo Escobar said:

If it weren’t for the let down at the end of the game that made the score close and the win in jeopardy we would’ve all been satisfied with a solid victory. My only complaint is the designed running plays for Skyler. Especially in running situations. I feel he is a good scrambler when he needs to be. But pocket the designed runs.

But if you sit down with Dana or Tony Gibson, they’ll sell you on the play. No one accounts for the quarterback, so you have an advantage in the run blocking. I do think it can be deployed in better and less-obvious situations.

JAL said:

I thought another pass was in danger, just no defenders in good position. Don’t remember the time but Howard drops back, get pressure, rolls to his right the throws a pass from way right into the middle. Dangerous throw but dropped harmlessly to the turf.

Correct. In the fourth quarter, no less.

PeterB said:

JAL is right, that was the one other dangerous pass that didn’t cost us.

Arizona ran stacks twice that I noticed. One in the second half they ran out of it on 3rd down and the ballcarrier fumbled, but wasn’t looking to make the first down line anyway. They also used it in OT once, also to no result. I think they ran the ball out of it again but I can’t remember–my brain was high on #Pac12afterdark

These Pac-12 games on Saturday night are no joke. Arizona’s been involved a few times, including one against Doug Williams-less Grambling State, when the Wildcats finally slowed the Tigers when the Tigers lost their starting quarterback. Anyhow, it’s a copycat sport, but I found it funny this happened right after Dana Holgorsen said The Product is doing a lot of the things he’s doing. 

Three or four years ago there were a lot of differences in the Pac-12 and everyone else. The Pac-12, there are a lot of similarities and what we do and what the Pac-12 does now. Look at what Arizona is doing, at what (Arizona head coach) Rich (Rodriguez) is doing, there’s a lot of stuff that we do. What Utah does, there is a lot of stuff with what we do. So yes, a lot of carry over.

There are no … nah, that’s a coincidence.

Craig said:

Hard not to be troubled by late game mistakes by seniors. 5 years and still way too sloppy. Refusal to run the ball late is also troubling. Holgorsen would rather be clever rather than wise.

Welcome in, Craig. I think you’re onto something with the late-game mistakes. Tony Gibson yanked his backups against Missouri, was infuriated by the way the starters finished against Youngstown State and then saw two sieve drives against BYU, a frustration complicated by the fact he didn’t trust the personnel enough to call blitzes. Three like instances can indeed trouble you, and Kansas State is not a team you want to let linger — like WVU did last season. As for the refusal to run the ball, that’s part of Dana’s M.O. BYU likely anticipated the Mountaineers would run, so BYU loaded the box. That’s football common sense. Dana’s perpetual counter is not to run into a wall and take what’s available. BYU was susceptible to the pass, so Dana called four passes. Two were complete. One was dropped. Also, are we sure WVU can run when it wants to run? There’s evidence to suggest it cannot, at least not automatically. 

BobbyHeenan said:

Kudos to Skyler, Dana game plan/play calling (4th down QB keep notwithstanding ), and the defense for making a play when they had to.

My main concern now is LB play and QB pressure. It’s time for Preston to wake up and meet that potential. Noble has been stymied largely because the blitzer(s) are not getting there or drawing enough attention.

I’m with you on the main concern. As it happened, I didn’t think Justin Arndt was having a good day. Watching it a second time, he was actually good — physical! — and certainly the best of the bunch. He just so happened to have the, uh, privilege of playing the strong side, which meant repeated run-ins with the fullback and the tight ends. He was sometimes giving himself up so others could make plays, and those favors weren’t being returned. WVU could get a lot from Nick Kwiatkoski and Shaq Petteway in the blitz game last season. Arndt can scoot, but Sean Walters hasn’t flashed, and the pressure needs to come from the outside linebackers. We did see middle linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton blitzing a bunch and on ordinary downs and distances in the first two games, but you do like to keep your mike in the middle and get pressure from elsewhere. As for Preston, he’s in a weird spot. Arndt just doesn’t come off the field, but Preston did blitz and was coming off the edge, almost as a down lineman, in the second half. Let’s keep an eye on that.

SheikYbuti said:

I believe Mike mentioned some time ago that these were the same officials that were assigned to the Missouri game. I thought they were excellent in both games, and I’m sad to see them leave as we return to the usual conference zebra dreck.

Both SEC crews. The referee and the umpire were the same in both. I did’t have an issue with them at all. 

Oklahoma Mountaineer said:

Is it me, or do you guys feel we are replaying last year’s games on offense?? Very efficient passing game and decent running, at times, for the non-conference……and then conference play starts and we lose the passing game?

I don’t think we can expect Gibson and Durante to simply run deep and the ball come over the top as it has in these 3 games in conference. Someone besides Shorts has to be able to catch the ball inside or across the middle………

Well, WVU had 31 more yards through three games last season (1,630 then, 1,599 now) and scored much better then (126) than now (99). Last year, WVU ran for 661 yards in its first three games. This year, 625. Last year, WVU passed for 969 yards in the first three games. This year, 974. Last year, WVU completed 69.5 percent of its passes in the 3-0 start. This year, 67.3. So, yes, very similar. I’d say the defenses the Mountaineers faced so far this season are better than the first three defenses last season, so maybe it’s better preparation or a lighter shock to the system once WVU gets into conference play. I also think WVU’s talent is better this season. There are more and better receivers. There’s camaraderie. The line can actually pass block. It’s more competent. Kansas State’s defense is No. 1 in this and that, and that’s skewed by the schedule — Stanford’s offense isn’t lighting anyone up, FAU is FAU, last week’s game against Missouri State was called at halftime — but it still might be the best in the Big 12. The Wildcats had four first-team all-Big 12 players — two on the line, one at linebacker and one at safety. They’re going to be good. 

Down South said:

26/40 307 7.7 2 1 78.0

31/40 332 8.3 1 1 76.4

One of those is Skyler’s line against BYU this weekend. The other is Josh Rosen’s line against the Cougars, the guy who most people predict will be the number one pick in the NFL draft when he comes out. Compares pretty favorably. The biggest knock on Dana, here and in other places, is that he can’t recruit elite QB’s. A lot of people, here and in other places, yell and scream about any mistake that Skyler Howard makes. I think it is pretty clear that Dana has done an excellent job developing Skyler into a pretty good college QB. As far as he’s come and as hard as he plays, he probably deserves a little more benefit of the doubt from the fan base here.

Now, anyone know any spells to kill a really old, really powerful wizard?

Honestly, I don’t know what more you could have reasonably expected/demanded out of Howard in the first three games. The question now, though, is what do you reasonably expect/demand in conference play? Actually, two questions: Do the results of the first three games adjust your reasonable expectations/demands for the Big 12 schedule?

Down South said:

I didn’t get to watch the game until the last five minutes or so, so someone correct me if I missed it. I see a lot of texts complaining about a failed QB run on fourth and short. At some point in the last three or four years, Dana put in a package where we would go under center from an I-formation in short yardage when we were having problems converting short yardage situations. Don’t recall seeing it last year or this year. I’ve never been a big fan of going out of the shotgun in short yardage situations. I wonder why we stopped running from under center and out of the I in those situations.

Honestly, I wonder how much they practice it. Remember, this is the team that in 2012 took knees out of the shotgun because it didn’t work on the traditional victory formation. 

The 25314 said:

Skyler isn’t a good runner and Crest and Chuganov aren’t good quarterbacks, so there is zero reason Dana should ever have Skyler run the ball.

I was wondering if people would be down with William Crest in the Jarrett Brown Short-Yardage Package Oll Stew popularized in 2008. It was cliche as hell, but it was effective.

Vaughn said:

Skyler took a QB keeper on 4th and 2 against Oklahoma last year for 50 yards and a TD. Not defending the playcall, and I wish Dana would bury all QB run plays in his playbook on short yardage, but it has worked before.

Any word on “Joyous” Avery? Would have rather seen him out there than Sharif. Wasn’t on the participation chart.

That was a bootleg, so I’m not sure we can count it. Avery’s been beat up since the Youngstown State game, so either he’s had three weeks to get ready or he’s hurt badly enough that three weeks won’t be enough. I don’t pretend to understand the veil of secrecy one needs to keep around Joyous, but it’s a consistent practice. 

Drew said:

Mike, if it makes you feel any better, my now-wife, then-girlfriend did the same thing you did at her apartment in Morgantown when we were in college. She left her keys in the door carrying in groceries and some jerk took them. He (we were pretty sure we knew who did it, but had no proof) rummaged through her car and took some stuff (anything?), but nothing of significant monetary value. She bought one of those steering wheel clubs from infomercials and became generally, and rightfully, paranoid for a week or two. Eventually she put a note on her car asking for the jerk to just return her keys so everyone could move on. He left them in the car, but not before bending them all, rendering them useless. Moral of the story? I guess some people just suck. Good luck getting your affairs back in order.

Thanks … but how is that supposed to make me feel better? Now I feel bad for your girlfriend! Also, do you know how hard it is to bend a key? That guy went out of his way to be a jerk. We’re back to normal now. Both cars have new locks, ignition panels, keys and key fobs. Last night was interesting, though. My wife used a palette for an arts and crafts project and left the farm of the palette on the back porch. This was like two weeks ago, so if she’s reading, maybe she’ll put it away. Anyhow, it blew over last night and fell onto our fire pit … that I left on the porch about two weeks ago, come to think of it. But it made a loud noise and my dog went crazy. An hour later, I was back to sleep.

Mack said:

Justin Crawford averaged roughly 10 yards per carry against BYU. That is a great number no matter what team you’re talking about. But he carried it roughly nine times. When WVU had the ball in the fourth quarter and simply needed to run the clock and move the chains, it wasn’t giving the ball to Crawford? Why? Because whether it’s perception or reality, we don’t have a running game that is actually strong enough to get the yards when the other team knows it’s a running down.

I worry, to an extent, that the offense is someone Mullen-like. It has a ton of weapons, but it doesn’t have a single thing that you can rely on when you need the plays. As I said earlier, the best plays against BYU appeared to be the long-developing pass plays. . . which are the same types of plays that are probably most worrisome to run when you’re in those type of “clutch” situations.

Hmm…

Down South said:

The last meaningful offensive play that WVU ran Saturday was a 19-yard run to Crawford, with about 3:00 left in the game. The next play was the bad snap and fumble. I think most coaches don’t want young guys at the end of games because they are afraid they will make mistakes at a time when those mistakes are much more costly.

And Crawford was known to fumble in junior college.

I love you, Doug! said:

I was pleasantly surprised and happy that they fed Durante so well and so often so early. OK Mountie, I think he can be that guy — he looked night-and-day different than the first two games. And he definitely has the speed to beak an over-the-middle drag all the way. I always though of him as a bonus, anyway, but Saturday was a solid, workmanlike effort. Also — Deonte Mathis needs to always be the designated blocker on the WR screens. He’s tough.

More Mathis. Please.

Mack said:

One more . . . Has Cam Cameron been a good coach anywhere ever?

Not in college. Was a pretty successful offensive coordinator at Baltimore and San Diego in the NFL, though.

BobbyHeenan said:

@ Mack – Cameron had a good run as OC in SD, but absent Drew Brees, LT, and Antonio Gates, his record or resume is not exactly great (18-37 in college, 1-15 in the NFL -ouch).

The LSU coaching search will be very interesting. Got to think they take a shot at Tom Herman or David Shaw. Expectations are high in Baton Rougue, but that’s an elite program and job with talent in your back yard.

I don’t know if LSU fans, jaded by Les and Cam, could get down with David Shaw. Agree with you on Herman, though, and I’d add Jimbo Fisher, Gary Patterson, Bob Stoops and Brian Kelly. LSU is going to aim so high. (Question: Mike Gundy? I only ask, because this was really weird, and it only serves to recycle animosity.)

Down South said:

I don’t know if he could be hired before some of the investigative reports (and their hidden bombshells) start to leak, but Art Briles to LSU is scary. His proximity to and knowledge of Texas football (recruiting) combined with an ability to take all the elite Louisiana recruits and plug them into his offense would be pretty scary. Scoring 88 points against Kentucky and South Carolina would, unfortunately, forgive all his past sins.

… man, why do I get the feeling Briles ends up back at Baylor?

Mack said:

I know that nothing ever went wrong when RichRod was the coach . . . but WVU lost at South Florida in 2007 (you know, possibly the best WVU team in the history of the school) specifically due to messing up a snap from the center to the quarterback just like they did Saturday.

There were like six bad snaps that game. And Mike Dent was, otherwise, an ace.

CC Team said:

WV needs to win this game. Has HCDH grown up or will the Wizard school him again? KSt will be strong, fundamentally sound and good in the kicking game. WV will be whiz bang fast and fancy but not always sound. Can the Mountaineers minimize their mistakes and coax the Wildcats into a couple? Will the Wildcats be able to pound the run game like BYU did? A win will put the Mountaineers into the conference championship conversation. A loss will start discussion about Dana’s fitness for duty. Very big game.

Those last three sentences, it’s such a disparity, but it’s not erratic.

Sid Brockman said:

Normally I would say it is hogwash that one result can either put WVU in the conference championship race or increase the heat of Dana’s seat. But in this case, I don’t think it’s wrong to feel that way.

I can’t disagree with that. Honestly, it’s time for the Mountaineers to change their scenery, and that means finishing above some of the teams that normally finish above them.

Dan White said:

Thanks again, (as always) Mike. G&B is the real sh_t as sports blog features go. You are still the man.
A couple of thoughts on the subject matter.
a) It didn’t seem Skyler had a good game against weak-sister non-conference adversary. He seemed to display a confidence in his decisions that Dana claims he has had for a while; yet Skyler has only seemed to embrace gradually over the last 4 contests.
2) Kennedy McKoy is a promising talent. I am certain we will see him featured this season and increasingly over the span of his career.
Do I see him getting major PT while the upperclassmen languish without sufficient opportunity to work on their resumes? No!
3) I was heartened to see Rushel show himself willing to pick his way North and South when yardage was needed, not just launching himself in the defense’s direction.
I do believe, on closer review that he just may have studied a certain Mr. Smallwood’s running style – and benefited from it.

I am, by the way, anticipating a 4-0 start.

Dann

Dann! Also, McKoy is on (or, I guess, was on … who knows what changes are coming?) the kickoff team. A freshman running back playing as a blocker on the kickoff team.

OhioMike said:

HCDH has taken advantage of his lucrative OJT to become a better head coach since he’s been at WVU. But it will only take a couple of brain farts like the QB run that got stuffed against BYU to give KSU’s venerable coach enough of an opportunity to out-coach him once again. He still can’t manage the clock . . . so much so that it seems Tony Gibson basically said “If you ain’t gonna use ’em, I’ll take ’em on defense!”

Eh, Gibby has that freedom. Dana doesn’t mind letting the guy in charge of the defense call timeouts to get his guys a breath or to change personnel. Dana can still step in and call one if he’s trying to get the ball back with time let on the clock.

BobbyHeenan said:

Great as always.

I think on the “Howard Incomplete” video (motion Shorts, then cut White inside on a slant) Howard is worried about the middle linebacker dropping and getting in the way of that slant to white. With White’s length/height, I think he can put some air under it to get it over the MLB and into White’s hands (especially because the safety on the other side of the field is wwaayy far away worried about doubling Gibson), but I think that’s his concern there.

Really nice play call and worked how you wanted it; one of Howard’s rare misses on the day.

===

Really liked Crawford again. Excited to see him moving forward. If he looks like Mizzou/BYU Crawford rather than YSU Crawford we’re in business.

I considered that, but White would be running away from him and — the video angle is not good — has a lot of room for Howard to use to “throw” White open. That said, you’re likely right. It’s a bang-bang sort of thing in that if you don’t trust it right away, you can’t come back to it. I’m pretty sure that was the first read. There was value in discretion.

I love you, Doug! said:

Bobby — odds that Skyler couldn’t see White? It looked like a real pileup in the trenches in front of Howard, who’s, what? 5-10? Maybe that’s why he scrambled outside. I don’t think Howard’s height has been an issue visibly so far this season, but maybe on that one.

Maybe, but White’s starting from the right, so Howard can see him coming into view. Now, was the window dirty? Possibly so. I’m being too picky, to be honest. I thought it was smart to throw away, though.

Mack said:

The problem I have with Casazza’s statement that “the offense was clearly better in the first half of the BYU game” (I’m paraphrasing) is – like Mike said – it scored 21 points when it scored 13 and 14 in the other games. I can’t stand watching this team pile up yards and yards and yards and only come away with 14 points or so because we have drives end with interceptions or stall in the red zone. Punch the ball into the end zone and lets get some points to show for how good the offense is. (Yes, I’m trying motivate the team from the comments section of an internet blog).

Make plays! Don’t sit there and pucker! Make plays! You don’t sit there and turn to your quarterback and, with a puppy-dog look, say, “Help us! We don’t know what we’re doing out here! Help us!” Make plays! Stand together as a team and make plays!

Sid Brockman said:

Generally, Mack, I agree with you. Not to speak for Casazza, but in my mind the reason WVU didn’t have more points was the flow of the game. Their first drive covered 88 yards in 5:38 and the other TD drive covered 86 yards in 4:27. Not to mention BYU’s TD drive that lasted 6:33. The Pick Six and Skyler’s INT also played a big role in no more points scored.
I think the reason the offense looked so good was that long, time-consuming drives have not been the specialty with Skyler at the helm. And they were great in the red zone (especially scoring 3 TDs in one trip).

Well, Kansas State’s not going to provide a wealth of possessions, either, so getting into the end zone will be indubitably important tomorrow.

Vaughn said:

There were so many encouraging things on offense in this game. BYU is no slouch defensively and Skyler really carved them up, particularly the quick short passes. The interception bugged me more than it should have just because Shell was SO wide open, and he had been checking down to his backs so consistently that I can’t believe he forced that one.

Its hard to see everything in the stadium, but when I rewatched the game, the Rasul tackle was one of the big things that stood out to me too. Crawford was handfighting with him and wasn’t going to bring him down. Rasul’s tackle reminded me of some of the Chesnutt hustle plays the past couple of years. He’s really blossoming.

Crawford’s pretty good in coverage. I’m not sure he’s a great tackler, but then again, many cornerbacks are not. 

smeer said:

who won D player of week against BYU? Rasul get’s my vote accounting for six on the pick and stopping four on the hustle play – a ten point swing on two plays

Maurice Fleming, who goes by Maurice, Mo and Reese. He’s also been thrown at 17 times in three games and has allowed six catches. He’s been exactly what WVU thought he’d be.

CC Team said:

Was Dixson the hold up before? Glad it’s back.

Pretty clear now that Jamie Dixon was the road block on the way to restoring the Brawl. But Huggins kept saying, “It’s not on us” in the past. If you chose to dismiss that as posturing or negotiating, you can’t dismiss this.

BobbyHeenan said:

This renewed series makes me want to beat Jamie Dixon worse than I want a Pitt win. I think we found out where the hang up was to scheduling this thing. Kudos to all involved that aren’t scared of playing someone a bit better than Robert Morris out of conference for making this happen.

I heard once before that they were close to finalizing things, but I don’t think it was a four-game series. I think WVU always wanted this back for a longer term than one year or tow years. Four years is a start. 

Rugger said:

It ain’t Marshall but I’ll take it.

Side-effect: Even less room for Marshall now. That might be on a lengthy hiatus.

Rugger said:

Huggs will set Lamie straight.

Enjoy the weekend!