Bad news, folks. My DVR won’t play the Georgia State game, which means I can’t do The Good and the Bad (short of going to someone’s house, which has generously been offered to me, but which also isn’t feasible). If I get a digital copy quickly, which is possible, I might be able to pull it off in time. Or I can rearrange the week. I make no promises, so I’m here to make an apology, just in case.
I’m trying hard to find something interesting, let alone nice, to say about Georgia State today, but I’m warning you already it’s probably going to further deteriorate here into a series of Brian Fantana lines. And Friday Night Lights quips because of Ford Childress. I spent a lot of time on this, so don’t laugh.
I have two notes for you that are worth … something? I don’t know. Anyhow, to prepare for its first Bowl Championship Series season, Georgia State played one BCS opponent. It was Tennessee with embattled Derek Dooley. The Volunteers won 51-13, but the Panthers beat the 48-point spread! Anyhow, the total yardage was 558-263 and GSU got 60 yards on its first drive and 80 on its last drive. Everything in between was apparently just awful.
I remind you, this team that plays here today plays at Alabama Oct. 5.
Secondly, the Panthers are not completely unarmed. Receiver Albert Wilson is a weapon. He turned 48 receptions into 947 yards last season, which means he averaged 19.7 yards per reception. That’s not unimpressive. He also had seven touchdown catches. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound Wilson is a dangerous return man, too, and he was first-team all-CAA in 2012 when he averaged 25.9 yards on 29 kickoff returns. He’s good for 10 yards per punt return, too.
So I hear you saying, “Yes, yes, but what does it all mean? Who is Albert Wilson in the big picture?” Well, his 19.4 yards per reception across his career leads active FBS players and he’s No. 4 in career all purpose yards and career receiving yards per game. And he’s explosive: 12 career touchdowns of between 40 and 100 yards. He has 18 career scores and they average 45.2 yards.
He can ask questions of the WVU defense and special teams. Circle it!
For questions you have, I may have answers. Safety K.J. Dillon is out and linebacker Doug Rigg won’t play. We can’t be surprised about the Rigg news, given what happened last week.
It was with observers in mind that a paramedic leaned over Rigg, his facemask unscrewed and removed from his helmet, his head, torso and legs secured to a backboard that was loaded on a cart that would take him off the field, and freed his right hand from a strap that was folding his arms securely across his chest.
“Give the crowd a wave,” the man told Rigg.
Rigg raised his right arm as much as the restraints would allow. A white glove motioned side to side, slowly, but reassuringly to cut the tension in the stadium.
“Once I gave the wave, I heard a sigh of relief from the people, like they were saying, ‘Hey, he can move. He’s not paralyzed,'” Rigg said. “A lot of people back home told me if I didn’t wave, it would have been a lot worse for them.”
I’m also told linebacker Isaiah Bruce is good to go, but that there’s a plan to limit him and maybe not even use him. With Rigg out and Shaq Petteway and Dozie Ezemma out for the season, WVU is really thin at linebacker.
I’m counting out loud here, and without the services of a dress list, but I can only see WVU dressing Brandon Golson, Sean Walters, Marvin Gross, Jared Barber, Nick Kwiatkoski, Wes Tonkery, Hodari Christian, Tyler Anderson and Bruce. That’s nine, which isn’t many, but it’s better than eight. Bruce might be in uniform just in case things get tricky today.
Apart from that, I’m not hearing about any other absences or contingencies today. We’ll know more when we get closer to kickoff.
Can we kick it? Yes, we can.
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Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which never changes its starter. The news of the week, no, the season is that Dana Holgorsen announced on his radio show last night he’ll start redshirt freshman Ford Childress at quarterback this week. Splendid, because …
Whuh?
Dude hasn’t repped since the middle of August? I can’t wait to see this Georgia State team.
From what I read about the radio show last night, Dana shelved the idea of playing two quarterbacks, let alone three, and will give Childress the opportunity to go from start to finish. He talked up Ford and the way he’s blossomed this week and how — and I’m paraphrasing now — it’s his time.
This is kind of stunning. I had pegged Childress as the third guy because he trailed by so much. Granted, I can only go by what I hear and what I am told, because we see no practice. Normally, I don’t care about that. I don’t want to cover practice … but right now, I’m really curious what happened within those gray walls this week.
Still, I’m not sure that this is a case of the bottom moving closer to the top as much as it’s about the top moving closer to the bottom. Or is it something else? Because it might be something else.
Hey, Dana’s a good coach. He made the announcement it in a controlled environment where there would be celebration as opposed to inquisition and the news would stand as the news without comment. He set things up for everyone to be excited about Childress when maybe everyone isn’t too excited about the team. He pulled the trigger in the week when WVU is, quite likely, going to ease through things. He did it a week before the season’s swing game.
I suspect this may be part of a plan that they were hoping, willing and eventually ready to execute.
I can’t get past the fact that Childress has really had one day of a starter’s reps in practice. I have to think Childress was part of a three-player share Tuesday, and, yeah, maybe he got a little more than the others because, yeah, maybe the coaches were ready to do this this week. Then he got a little more Wednesday before getting about 80 percent of the snaps yesterday.
I don’t doubt the plan. Dana’s obviously had an eye for quarterbacks for a long time. He and Shannon Dawson put a lot of time into recruiting Childress. You’d have to open your mind now to the possibility both coaches knew Childress wasn’t quite ready and/or they didn’t want to rush him out in the opener and then put him and the team at risk against Oklahoma.
So, along those lines, this makes sense.
That said, all the talk this week has been about the potential of the team, that this offense could be better than last year’s offense, that the same offense really needed playmakers to fall into place. What’s curious to me, what’s worth tracking tomorrow, is how Childress affects that part of the plan.
Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, keep your guard up.
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Tantalizing Thursday to you. Sorry for the delay this morning, but there’s some ugly breaking news on the beat regarding the now-former WVU linebacker d’Vante Henry.
We’ll chat, per usual, at 11 a.m. Going back to the basics with the links to help everyone watch or participate. Here’s your mobile link for cell phones and tablets and here’s your traditional link for all other devices.
See you soon.
On Joe DeForest, WVU’s personnel changes and the embattled Georgia State.
Clearly, Dana Holgorsen reads and agrees with The Good and the Bad. Paul Millard was just OK, Pat Eger was good, Kyle Rose played well, Tyler Orlosky was overmatched, Dreamius Smith must block, let alone block better. All that and so much more covered in 19 minutes of back and forth with the press.
I’ll give you one guess when this happened — hopefully you don’t need a timeout to gather yourself. There were many frustrations for West Virginia during its 16-7 loss to Oklahoma and Dana Holgorsen (pictured) promised changes Monday on the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference.
Hours later, we received a depth chart in our email and there were five changes to the starting lineup:
1) Ronald Carswell has overtaken Ivan McCartney at one outside receiver.
2) Kevin White has supplanted K.J. Myers at the other outside receiver position.
3) Mario Alford leapfrogged Daikiel Shorts at inside receiver.
4) Pat Eger, who played center and both guard spots against the Sooners, is starting at center over Tyler Orlosky.
5) Kyle Rose is the new No. 1 at defensive end, ahead of both Dontrill Hyman and Eric Kinsey, who started the past two games. Kinsey is now a backup at Buck linebacker behind Brandon Golson.
Oh, and all three quarterbacks are bound to the starting spot by the omnipotent “or.”
This is … well, this is something, isn’t it? The QB1 thing is what it is, which is to say it’s entirely unsettled. I think it’s fair to say Carswell, White and Alford have won their spots, more than I think it’s fair to say McCartney, Myers and Shorts lost theirs. But Shorts was a non-factor against the Sooners, which, true, was his second career game and an estimable step up from William & Mary. McCartney had a bad moment in the end zone that didn’t turn out well and had other iffy plays that surely did not impress. Myers just hasn’t jumped off the page much, though he let a pass go through his hands Saturday, while White is healthy and looking dangerous.
Orlosky had a rough night and Eger was pretty good no matter where he went, but that move saps the depth at guard. So far in two games, offensive line coach Ron Crook has freely substituted players along the line. You’d prefer not to do that at center, because it’s so vital.
As for Kinsey, well, I thought Rose was great and that Hyman was active and effective in his first extended action. Kinsey was, I don’t know, all right, but putting him at Buck is interesting. He’d replace Dozie Ezemma and you have to think the coaches believe he has a chance to be good against the run or pass without putting his hand in the dirt.
Or it’s another frivolous depth chart. But it gives us something to discuss after Saturday’s 16-7 loss to the Sooners, who, by the way, hadn’t won a game with fewer points since 1967, and before what I assume will be a terrible game Saturday against what will rank among the worst FBS teams to visit Mountaineer Field .
How did we get here? Let’s find out by looking at the Good and the Bad of WVU v. Oklahoma.
Good: Smart safety
Gabe Lynn intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble and aggressively avoided Quinton Spain on both returns. I loved this live. I love it later.
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Marlon LeBlanc took his men’s soccer team on the necessary evil that was his excellent adventure over the weekend, playing road games Friday and Sunday against the teams from last year’s national title game.
Beginning with all the momentum that comes from a strange Labor Day draw against Radford — I was there … it was odd. WVU wasn’t sharr, but controlled the game, earned leads twice and gave the Highlanders two chances, which they converted — the Mountaineers were outclassed by No. 6 Georgetown Friday, 3-0.
They promptly headed to No. 8 Indiana and managed a rather thrilling 5-4 win on BTN.com with a golden goal from Ryan Cain in the second overtime. The Mountaineers were without one of their men in the middle in the back because Francio Henry’s red card against the Hoyas, but they outscored the defending national champion.
WVU is 2-1-1, young and now tested thanks to a stretch that won’t be duplicated before the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers also have a gifted offensive force in Andy Bevin and some facilitators in the middle of the action. The best? LeBlanc doesn’t think you’ve seen it.
I’ve NEVER been more proud of my team. This young group grew up big time. The scary part is…we are only going to get better. @WVUSports
— WVU Soccer (WVU) (@WVUMensSoccer) September 9, 2013
Related: Kicking Nikkis, not too shabby.
Do me a favor, please? Alert me the first time you see in print “embattled” used alongside Joe DeForest. I can feel it coming and I will launch LOLs at it.
That said, a shoddy tenure got really loose Saturday with news he’d be implicated in a pending Sports Illustrated series.
And then the game started.
DeForest’s day went from bad to worse and I don’t have to tell you DeForest is in a bind. I don’t have to tell you because you told me throughout the game. His special teams weren’t awful, but they contributed to 10 points and Oklahoma’s only touchdown in a 16-7 loss.
The blame can be passed around, by any quarterback on the roster, and a lot of people should feel as though they should have done more. Darwin Cook drops an interception he says he could have returned for a touchdown. Ivan McCartney drops a touchdown. Timeouts were used not wisely. The coaches calls 19 passes and five runs in the third quarter, which limited seemingly required touches for Charles Sims and Dreamius Smith.
Still, a lot of questions about the concerning state of quarterback play and a lot of questions about DeForest, though as it relates to the latter, a lot of questions cannot be answered quite yet.
But everybody’s like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece. Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash. We don’t care. We’re caught up in T.F.G.D.
My edits are in [brackets].
(P.S. We’re still near the beginning of a new season and that means new members of our audience. A reminder: These are not texts I send during a game. These are texts readers send me. Cool?)
4:28:
Can Deforest use the shield against the NCAA?
4:45:
What’re the chances this is the real reason for the Cleaner?
6:28:
So Joe _eForrest & Gregg Williams walk into a bar…. (Too soon??)
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You are looking live at the scene of the last time West Virginia visited the Oklahoma Sooners. If you have some time to fill this afternoon, there are six parts there for your perusal.
War damn Irv Brown.
Before we get started, please do me and, more specifically, my friend Brett Nuckles a favor. Either text 51234 “OU1” or tweet @soonersportsfan #OU1. He loves that song and it will make him feel better since he can’t be here to enjoy it.
And we’re off…
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