Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which is going to get pneumonia. It’s been a lovely week here. My parents were in town, and we went on a long hike yesterday and ended up shedding fleeces and sweatshirts along the way. It’s gorgeous outside today, just a perfect spring day in autumn. The temperature is going to reach into the 70s, and I’m oddly accepting of the fact I need to mow the lawn this afternoon.

Surely, tomorrow night’s occasion is going to be equally splendid.

 

Nope. Nope.

We’ve been over this before, but this is the first time since WVU joined the Big 12 that the schedule has done it some favors. It’s the total opposite of the fan blades the Big 12 arranged last October. The Mountaineers were fortunate to get Kansas State early and Baylor late and both of them, plus TCU and Oklahoma, at home. WVU has only ever played late-season home games against the Wildcats, Kansas and Iowa State.

Not one occasion to apply an indigenous advantage to counter the size, speed, skill, talent or quality advantages Big 12 teams oftentimes possess. (Kansas State was No. 12 in 2014, but you get the point.) Part of the appeal, I guess, of WVU and/or the variable it offers that many other Big 12 school do not is the weather. Tomorrow shapes up to be a quintessential Morgantown experience the Mountaineers haven’t been able to enjoy when it matters. I don’t know that it translates into points or stops or bounces, but WVU will be at home in the stadium and in its environment, meaning you can find No. 10 in its comfort zone one more time.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, make a cleaner getaway.

Sammy said:

Kyzir is going to be a serious stud next year. He’s only a sophomore but I don’t know if we keep him until he’s a senior. Been flashing here and there early but he’s gotten better and better, and if he can add a little coverage to his repertoire next year he’s going to be lethal. Defense has to reload next year but having him and Dravon as building blocks — plus David Long, Reese Donahue, etc. — helps a lot.

But in the here and now pretty excited how this season has gone. I think we battle Oklahoma but I don’t know how we can outscore them. They have the best quarterback, wide receiver and best runningback (and maybe the two best runningbacks) in the Big 12. Gibby’s defense thrives on making teams one dimension and then rattling the QB. Oklahoma State’s QB stood in the pocket and made throws but they were still somewhat one dimensional. Oklahoma is going to cause us to put guys in the box to stop Mixon and Perine and then Mayfield won’t be fooled by the blitzes like Texas’s freshman. But OU’s defense is leaky — and Skyler tends to play better at home — so let’s hope Dana has some of that magic against OU he had when Tavon went crazy. I have a feeling we won’t win with less than 30 this week, but anything over 30 and we’ve got a real chance.

I nod my head in agreement with all of this, except that Kyzir, unfortunately, is a junior. Either way, you’re only getting him for one more season. He, Dravon and Toyous Avery give the secondary a good place to start in the spring, though.

Wayward Eer said:

I think that Kyzir may be the best of the bunch before it is done. The NFL has to be drooling over this kid. Will he be draft eligible after this year? It would be a shame to lose him. The safties next year could be the best combination we have had.

He is draft eligible, but he has no business going pro. Safeties don’t get picked high, but he has a chance. And if he ends up being a better college player than Kevin … gracious.

Foul Shot said:

This morning the commentary was that the OSU vs Michigan game, if Ohio St wins, will likely result in a PSU vs Wis B-10 Championship game.
So, how does OSU or Michigan get in the Final 4 then? Two years ago, the justification for keeping Baylor and TCU out was the lack of the B-12 Championship game. If neither of the blue bloods play in the B-10 Championship game…
Glad Mike has shown the naysayers from yesterday that WVU has a shot at the Final 4.

The College Football Playoff chooses to ignore many things, nothing more significant than itself. Barring utter chaos, I don’t see WVU in the Final Four. The scary part is if you follow the logic being presented to us, you could have a legitimate concern that a 12-0 WVU wouldn’t be in the Final Four. Now, is that true? Probably not, but the fact I wonder is troubling.

Diddybops said:

I just want to state this clearly and decisively so everyone understands. I’m one if the biggest Mountaineer fans and supporters on this planet, but we are not a playoff team. We should stop talking about that and enjoy this great season, the Sugar Bowl would be an awesome accomplishment, and is where this team belongs if we can win the conference.

But what if they 48-28 Oklahoma and have good days against Iowa State and Baylor? That might change some minds. Play all 12 and see what happens, but, as you say, enjoy all 12, too.

Sammy said:

Serious but maybe stupid question: If all the other runningbacks are hurt, why can’t William Crest take a few handoffs, especially rather than burning a kid’s redshirt? He’s listed in the program as “QB/RB” (I know he’s since changed positions), played some runningback the last couple of years and has 30 or so career carries at WVU. Look I’m not saying he’s going to go in and bust off an 80 yard run, but seems odd that he’s not even an option. If there is an answer maybe it’s pass protection?

I also wonder why we couldn’t use some of the WRs in the backfield as spot duty. I know everyone wants to points to Tavon, but if I recall Baylor used to do this a lot with Corey Coleman and some of their other good receivers.

I also mention this because I worry about Eli Wellman breaking down a little. He’s playing like 60-70 snaps and if you watch him it’s just constant collisions with linebackers and defensive ends. He’s really an unsung hero of this offense, because clearly Ferns and others aren’t quite there yet.

I think we know the answer to this question, but if we want a more technical answer, I’m pretty sure Crest is a safety now. I think you’re more likely to see Durante motion into the backfield and slash through the Sooners. Baylor did it with pretty good success last week.

Bill Dubya said:

I think we’re in trouble vs OU without 2 healthy running backs. Surprised they even tried to play Shell. It was immediately apparent that he could not plant his injured foot. An injury like his could keep him out for the remainder of the season. What appeared to be depth at the running back slot is now a shortage. Seems to me, in hindsight, that they should have prepared 4 running backs, perhaps even burning Pettaway’s redshirt, because it is so hard for a running back to make it through a season without significant injury, and you can’t expect a single running back to carry the whole load.

They consider Eli Wellman to be RB4. It’s unusual, even for WVU, to have three injured running backs at once. I don’t really think Crawford is that badly hurt. I’d be shocked if he isn’t where he was against Kansas two weeks ago when he ran for 129 yards.

Sammy said:

Agree with smeer that 10-2 would be fantastic and honestly 9-3 with a shot at 10-3 would be remarkable, though given how the season has shaken out will feel like a bit of a letdown.

If we smoke Oklahoma then I like our odds for the playoff, though we could still not win the B12 of Oklahoma State wins out. Anything less and we’re still looking st a top bowl game.

Unrelated question: Why is Shane Lyons always in these press conferences? Is that normal? I didn’t feel like Oliver Luck was but maybe I’m wrong.

Lyons is deciding what to do with his football coach. This is part of his evaluation. We spoke Tuesday. He’s not commenting on Dana’s situation.

Grumpy said:

OU will be a tough one. I just have to think we have played them well that we are due to win one of these close games. I think a lot will depend on health of Crawford and Shell.

Side note. I have a feeling we will see more and more of this. http://thespun.com/pac-12/oregon/dana-holgorsen-a-potential-candidate-at-oregon

Bet on it, and that’s not Lyons’ fault. If Oregon wants a coach, Oregon’s going to get that coach’s attention no matter his contract situation. And look at the Pac-12. Everyone’s running this offense, and Dana has the DC who knows how to combat it. He’s also pulled kids from sunny places to different and faraway climates. It’s not insane.

smeer said:

Good Skyler has yet to show up against good Ds in his career

I’d be happy with “Manage the Offense Skyler” but alas – we have no RBs but one, which puts the game on some level on skyler’s arm

odds on Pettway getting his redshirt burned?

so JJ talks about this being the hardest game he’s ever coached – only one frosh RB to work with. thoughts on his argument with HCDH after the Crawford fumble? possibility that HCDH says Crawford’s not playing another down this game and JJ arguing he needs two backs?

… are we sure Oklahoma has a good defense?

netbros said:

I don’t expect Konate to be here four years. The NBA will be drooling for him before his eligibility at WVU expires. Wait til he has a full year in the weight room.

Having said that, so far this team does not look as good as last year’s team. The potential is there, but there are thousands of guys with endless potential who are never heard from again.

Esa really needs to step up and take some of the burden off Adrian. Macon seems shy as a starter. He may lose that role to Sags if he doesn’t get more aggressive. Tarik seems to have lost the edge he had late last year. Huggins has always been great at lighting a fire when needed, so things can get better. It’s still early.

Sags! I saw one game. Huggins has seen two and a scrimmage and all the practices, so he knows more than me. It feels premature and more strategic than sincere. Like, he’s not going to play Ahmad or Phillip or Macon as much or at all? Certainly not. But Huggins also usually waits until a bad stretch or a bad loss to let loose like that. Perhaps he’s worried. Perhaps he’s trying to prevent that bad stretch or bad loss. The part about the schedule getting really tough really soon is … it’s not accurate … but he’s sounding a loud alarm, no?

Bobby Heenan said:

We need to slow our roll here on Konate. He’s unlike anyone we’ve had in a while in that he can finish well inside and with authority and he has some lift. But he’s going to hit some road blocks. Wait till real teams have seen his film (for example, he turns to his left shoulder every time in the post) and have the talent to defend him. He’s going to be really good and a big contributor – but leaving early for the NBA – not sure about that one yet. His positioning and motor for rebounds still needs some work.

Agree with the Esa assessment though. He’s been slow on defense and I think Huggs is alluding to him when showing some frustration with the lack of 1st to 2nd year development. Seems a bit soft finishing from 6-8 feet in and surprisingly to me has taken some defensive trips off.

I think Tarik looks fine. He’s giving up minutes to just give the other guys some more reps in blowouts…but I think when it matters we want Tarik on the floor. Beetle looks OK to me, but he’s dribbled into some traps (always a no no from a PG) on the bad side but on the good side he seems to be shooting well.
===

It’s really hard to tell what we have this early on, but that bench at some point has got to trim though, right? Dax is going to take a bunch of minutes, and I think Tarik stays out there longer as well. Where that leaves Beetle, Myers, and Harler is hard to say, but their minutes very likely will take a hit.

If there’s one player I’d not worry about, it’s Phillip. The other guards? Carter and Miles just have to shoot and score better, and their leaps from the first year to the second year weren’t great. It pretty much has to be emphatic this season. Yet Huggins sounded content with Carter, and we haven’t seen Miles.  

jaybirdeer said:

Mike, can you do some investigative reporting? It seems they are counting tickets sold vs. butts in the seats, no? There is no way the numbers have been as reported the first 2 games. Probably same for football too?

They say it’s people passing through the point of entry. I don’t believe it, but that’s what they say.

DanInNJ said:

There are a few head-scratchers in the CFP rankings, but I don’t get all of the outrage over where we are ranked. Sure, we are 8-1 but we haven’t beaten a team that would grab everyone’s attention yet. If TCU continues to play well our win against them will look good at the end of the season, but the fact remains that we have only played one game against another team in the CFP rankings and we lost.
The upcoming game will provide a prime time stage to show the committee members just how deserving we are of a better ranking. Whether or not we will be able to do that is anyone’s guess.

One thing about the CFB rankings that I’ve noticed so far since they started is that being a brand-name program (Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma) still matters and will give those programs an edge if a close race for the top 4.

The head-scratching is the way the explanations and justifications change. There’s nothing wrong with saying WVU hasn’t beaten anyone. But Oklahoma hasn’t, either. The Sooners have won seven in a row. WVU has five wins against those seven and has yet to play Nos. 6 and 7, which is Iowa State and Baylor. But Oklahoma has a “tremendous offense,” which means you have to score points and win by a bunch. It means WVU having a good defense isn’t worth the CFP’s time. It also means ratings matter, because people will want to see shootouts and not shutouts.

Mack said:

The committee has shown since its inception that the only factor is “the eye test.” The eye test is another way of saying the games don’t matter, and they can pick whoever they want. There was no legitimate basis for picking Ohio State over TCU two years ago. I don’t think WVU is a playoff team at all, but I also don’t think you can consider college football to be a legitimate sport and have USC ahead of West Virginia currently.

This is the kind of stuff that made me stop caring about any aspect of college football (i.e., the polls, the conferences, who beat who, etc.) other than simply watching and enjoying the WVU games and leaving it at that.

Based on the projections I’ve seen… it looks like WVU either wins the Big 12 and plays in the Sugar Bowl against LSU or it likely plays in the Alamo Bowl against USC. Since I’m not going to the game, that takes the New Orleans vs. San Antonio debate out of the equation. . . I’d rather play USC.

The Pac-12 is also trash this season. USC is 7-3 and has six straight wins, but that means USC was 1-3. Four of the six wins are against teams at or below .500. WVU is 4-1 against teams at and above .500. I’m also suspicious of putting a team near the top four when the team at the top beat the team getting close by 46 points. Forty-six.

Down South said:

We have three more games left. We could lose each of those games. I’m saving my indignation for the moment that we win all three of those games and don’t get in the playoff. Until then, none of it really means anything except good fodder for conversation. No, Oklahoma doesn’t deserve to be in the top ten. Not under any meaningful measure except they are a blue blood and they have blown out the bad teams. Houston is not a good team, but they beat Oklahoma. Ohio State handled Oklahoma at Oklahoma. Having said all that, I’m glad they are where they are in case we beat them. If we do, I would expect WVU to hop ahead of some of these multi-loss teams.

If we do win out, it is going to hurt us not having the conference championship. One more chance to play Oklahoma or Oklahoma State would only help us (unless, of course, we lose).

If we hadn’t gotten Missouri at the absolute bottom of their rebuild and if BYU had found a way to win a couple more of those close games, this all looks a lot different. WVU has tried to schedule good teams (now and in the future). Just got a little unlucky this year in terms of how teams have fared. For instance, this all looks a little different if CMU doesn’t get a bad call to beat Oklahoma State and TCU would have hung on against Arkansas. There’s also the fact that we didn’t do what we needed to do against Oklahoma State. I was hoping for a good enough season to keep Dana around. What I’ve gotten has exceeded that.

I think Houston is quite all right, but that loss to SMU is one maybe the most inexplicable of the season.

Big Al said:

Mike – Great stuff as always! I’m not so sure that Charlie Strong is going to survive this year, but he sure has done some good recruiting (in addition to all the good players who were already on the roster when he got there).

It’s a weird situation. Part of me says, “Give it one more year, and if it doesn’t work, Texas can always get a coach.” But Texas sort of settled on Strong, so maybe not? I think Texas football needs a win, and that might mean winning the Tom Herman Sweepstakes over LSU or whoever else is out there.

pknocker40 said:

Oh man Dana came soooo close to pulling that intentional grounding call out of his [visor]. He had the officials so focused on the inside/outside of the pocket issue that they almost completely forgot that there was both a receiver in the area and the ball crossed the line of scrimmage (but were either of those things true?). Seems smart, when dealing with an apparently incompetent crew, to try to skew that incompetence to your advantage.

I don’t think one official is capable of making that call. It takes a village. It also makes me wonder if they know that rule.

Michael Lucas said:

Just so we’re clear on the blown intentional grounding call – it doesn’t matter if the throw goes beyond the LOS. That’s only if the qb is outside the pocket. If he’s in the pocket, there must be a receiver in the area. The ball landed 18 yards out of bounds. Meanwhile, Skyler lobbed one up and interference was called, then picked up for uncatchable ball. It landed 1 yard out of bounds. Big 12 refs must be disciplined, retooled and given new leadership.

Bingo.

Sammy said:

Sometimes in football you win by not losing, and I thought this season both Charlie Strong and Bill Snyder (!) did as much to lose their games as Dana did to win. But that in of itself shows growth from Dana.

On the punt return, wasn’t there an earlier punt return where Jennings caught the punt with a Texas player already wrapping him up? I thought that was why Dana said something about WVU players’, uh, gonads, versus the ones possessed by Texas.

On the playoff committee ranking, it must be admitted that the computers don’t really like West Virginia much either. Bill Connelly’s ranking has WVU at around 29, while I saw some other Football Outsiders ones that has them at around 15 or so. I do think the Big 12’s early season out of conference results (both losses and the wins being against teams that haven’t turned out so good) hurts the league all around.

Last thought is it will be perversely funny if one or both of Ohio State or Michigan makes the playoff without even going to the conference title game (something Alabama did in the BCS era), considering the Big 12 created this extra title game just for that reason.

You are correct on the Jennings punt return. There was contact before the catch, which suggest the window was breached. I didn’t get into it because it wasn’t a focal part of the game or the broadcast, but it did happen.

DanInNJ said:

One of the mysteries from this crazy game for me is how Holgorsen didn’t get flagged the second after he jabbed his finger in the official’s face.

Remorse?

hershy112 said:

DanInNJ,

As Huggs says, they won’t T you up it if you’re right.

…or that.

Mack said:

TCU is favored by 3 1/2 against Oklahoma State. And Texas Tech is only favored by 3 1/2 at Iowa State. Both surprised me.

Las Vegas has no idea what to think of Oklahoma State.

OhioMike said:

Whatever happens from here out, this team has accomplished a LOT. Yeah, teams on our schedule that looked good on paper have had down years, but still . . .
This is a team that lost it’s defensive leader (again) before the season, lost its starting left tackle early on, and went into the TX game with only one (freshman) healthy running back and two freshmen filling in for the leading sack/TFL defensive lineman. Really a helluva job by the players and coaches.

It’s not bad.

philip said:

as much grief as i’ve given young mr howard for the yips and the short passes that alternately flew wildly or bounced, i’m going to have to give him his due for willing himself from an unregarded prospect into an honest-to-goodness, division i, power 5, starting quarterback.

like the team he leads, he’s playing over his head, which, as i texted at the start of the season, is just good enough. unencumbered by high expectations, undeterred by low, he’s just the right guy for a program that just might be on the cusp of something really special.

i keep thinking these guys are like the 1993 team: a bunch of no-names who maxed out their talents into an undefeated season. so we’ve got a blemish — and we risk a couple more. but i don’t think i imagined a week before thanksgiving we’d be sitting at 8-1. i’ll take every win we get from here on out as gravy.

Red-eye gravy, though.

Wayward Eer said:

Gotta love Orlosky for reminding us that these are college kids that have a life outside of football.

It was so matter-of-fact, too. He put “obviously” in front of it, as if there was any doubt.

smeer said:

for coaches quotes, JJ Seider may have won (from Mitch V’s article) . . .

“Well, I mean, Dana was on one Saturday,” Seider said. “We all got a little piece of it, including myself. That’s just being competitive and wanting to win. Sometimes the eyes from the outside can see it as bad, but sometimes we do stuff like that to motivate the whole team, to make guys focus in.
“Some things aren’t acceptable,” Seider continued, “like turning the ball over when you have a chance to score.
“Look, you can yell and fuss at anybody — as long as you’re not crossing a line. It’s never been over that line. Yes, at the end of the day, you are a man. As long as you put things in perspective, there aren’t hard feelings. Hell, me and Dana are as close as anyone on this staff. I mean, hell, I’ll yell back at him.”
In sum?

“We drank Diet Cokes after the game and laughed it off,” Seider said.

I still wouldn’t mess with JaJuan.

Down South said:

I figure about 10 things had to happen going into this week of college football for us to make the playoff:

1. Louisville lose to Houston
2. West Virginia beat Oklahoma
3. Alabama win out
4. Michigan win out
5. Washington State beat Washington
6. Washington State or USC win Pac-12 (Committee isn’t taking a 3-loss team or one that lost to an FBS team)
7. WVU beat Iowa State and Baylor
8. Oklahoma or TCU beat Oklahoma State
9. Florida beat LSU

I don’t think the outcome of the ACC is all that important because I think we could still get in with Clemson winning the ACC, but it would certainly help WVU if Clemson dropped one more down the stretch. The biggest impediment, I think, is (1) WVU beating Oklahoma and (2) Michigan beating Ohio State. I just don’t see Michigan doing it without their starting QB although that Ohio State offense had been absolutely putrid until the last two weeks. If Ohio State wins out, the Big Ten is getting two teams, which would really squeeze WVU. I don’t think all these things happen, but the first one has already come to pass and I think we are due for one more weekend of wacky in this college football season.

Final thought: those weren’t Diet Cokes.

I can’t see WVU as No. 4 and Clemson as No. 5. The rest is feasible, but I think you need to worry about all the ways two Big Ten teams get in, too.

pknocker40 said:

Tony Gibson had a Coke Zero

Enjoy the weekend!