The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Getting’ out while the gettin’ out is good

November 21, 2012 by Mike Casazza

Headline: Mountaineers made the right move at right time.

I suppose in future days we might evolve into larger discussions, particularly about the future footing of the suddenly smallish Big 12 Conference. For today, though, you can be delighted you’re not in the Big East Conference and essentially watching the final blows levied against that league while you’re under the cracking room.

That’s a peculiar tonic, I supposed, for the 5-5 record in the Big 12 an the realization this thing is going to necessitate and take some time. I mean, hey, it’s not the Big East.

The other side of this is that had WVU stayed in the Big East, WVU would have, quite possibly, won the Big East and made a run at a 12-0 season. The Mountaineers would have been a marquee free agent in expansion and the Atlantic Coast Conference, certain it will not die, may have finally come calling and welcome in a school that, geographically speaking, fits better there than in the Big 12.

Or maybe not, and maybe that’s not a bad thing for WVU.

Sources I spoke with Tuesday morning said WVU was never, ever considered an option for the league during those periods of expansion.

WVU’s new league, however, could be enticed by longstanding ACC members. Rumors have long been that Florida State and Clemson are particularly delectable pigskin powers.

Plus, that would restore order to conference naming gone wrong and give the Big 12 a dozen teams.

Florida State and Clemson being the desired options of the league also show why Brey and those on Tobacco Road are fretting the future. The realization is sinking in that football drives the bus.

Fun for the finish

by Mike Casazza

Stedman Bailey has 20 touchdown catches this season. That’s more than 64 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. It’s also seven shy of matching the record Troy Edwards set in the FBS at Louisiana Tech and Jerry Rice set in the Football Championship Subdivision at Mississippi Valley State.

Can the Biletnikoff Award candidate get there — or might he be there already if not for that darned ankle?

“I feel like I probably could have done a lot more damage,” said Bailey, who didn’t start against TCU. “Obviously, an ankle injury is something very serious. It’s not something you recover from in two days.

“It’s an ongoing injury that lingers and was still bothering me at the time, but I’m a lot better. I feel like I could have done more, but everything happens for a reason and I’m still here and I’m still doing pretty well, so it’s cool.”

Your 2013 football schedule is available

November 20, 2012 by Mike Casazza

Sat.     Aug. 31        William & Mary
Sat.      Sept. 7          at Oklahoma
Sat.     Sept. 14       Georgia State
Sat.      Sept. 21        vs. Maryland (M&T Bank Stadium)
Sat.     Sept. 28       Oklahoma State
Sat.      Oct. 5           at Baylor
Sat.      Oct. 12         Open
Sat.     Oct. 19         Texas Tech (Homecoming)
Sat.      Oct. 26         at Kansas State
Sat.      Nov. 2          at TCU
Sat.     Nov. 9          Texas^
Sat.      Nov. 16        at Kansas
Sat.      Nov. 23        Open
F/S      Nov. 29/30   Iowa State

Dana says WVU still motivated, no thanks to speakers

by Mike Casazza

The losing streak is so long that Bo Orlando, just inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame, was a sophomore the last time the Mountaineers lost five straight.

The losses have varied from close ones to blowouts. They’ve been both brutal and boring.

Even when a team is doing things well — and the Mountaineers have been better the past two games, maybe three — there is a danger that the same team will look past it and won’t focus on the good as things go bad.

Especially late in the season.

Dana Holgorsen was asked about that and said we need not worry. He admitted the Mountaineers have plenty of problems, but effort and want to are not among them.

“I don’t see that,” Holgorsen said. “Yeah, there’s a worry to that, but we’re still playing for a lot. We’ve got 22 guys who’ve got 12 days left in their college career unless we win one or two and extend this to a bowl game. A bowl game is a reward. You get to a level where a bowl game is much more than a reward, but we’re not at that stage right now. We’re at the stage where we’re playing for the betterment of our program.”.

Dana Holgorsen likes the short week

by Mike Casazza

Measured and encouraging at the start before a frank and riveting finish. Keith Tandy isn’t walking through that door! And if he is, he’s not changing the outlook of the team!

The sudden failures of WVU’s defense

November 19, 2012 by Mike Casazza

The Mountaineers are No. 119 nationally in scoring defense at a ridiculous 42.2 points allowed per game. In conference play, WVU has allowed 50.9 points per game, which comes out to 356 points total points. That alone, in seven games, would be the second worst season in school history.

WVU is also No. 115 in touchdowns allowed, with 56. That’s remarkable, when you think about it.

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The Good and the Bad of Tavon at running back

by Mike Casazza

Good: This ought to be obvious, because he was wonderful when his team asked him to be just that. Tavon Austin highlighted a record-setting night at Mountaineer Field that’s just as impressive and mesmerizing and worth rambling on about whether you look at it through gold and blue lenses or through crimson and cream ones.

Austin is the 10th player to crack 200 yards rushing against OU. It’s an impressive list. Sproles (235), Ricky Williams (223), Wisconsin’s Alan Thompson (220), Barry Sanders (215), Missouri’s Brad Smith (213), Marcus Allen (208), Mike Rozier (205), Arkansas’ Roland Sales (205) and Texas’ Hodges Mitchell (204).

Four Heisman winners on that list. Nice club you’re leading, Tavon.

Bad: This quote from Dana Holgorsen.

“Obviously, we should have done that prior to this.”

About that …

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Texts From Oklahoma Game Day

by Mike Casazza

Well, here we are again, and stop me if you’ve heard this, but West Virginia enters another game week with a loss in the back pocket and bowl eligibility just out of grasp. We’ve toured many of the levels of losing here, first with blowouts, then with overtime and later by embarrassment before Saturday’s heartbreaker.

It’s a long game — I mean, four hours, on the button — but at the end it’s really just a one-play game. Had we had a conversation in August about Nov. 17, we’d probably be predicting a high scoring game and one that might have been decided by a sequence, series or play. Saturday night was a one-play game.

Oklahoma happened to make it when Ickey Banks, for some reason, gave Kenny Stills the inside near the goal line. Not to pin it on Mr. Banks, for that is unfair when the defense again made so many plays that contributed to the defeat, and the offense had its moments too, and, oh, special teams popped up at inopportune times, but it’s at least worth highlighting how narrow the margin was Saturday night.

That Banks is the name we use is merely happenstance.

Had it been Terrell Chestnut (!) or Karl Joseph or Pat Miller, it wouldn’t have made any difference. After all that preceded that one moment, if Stills is cut off or forced to the outside, or if anything happens except what did happen, the conversation is very different this morning.

Alas, it is not, and Dana Holgorsen again made it to a postgame press conference and was pressed on some late-game decisions that, in truth, did indeed matter. I’m getting increasingly strong indications WVU is preferred for the Pinstripe Bowl, whether or not Pitt becomes eligible, and the Holiday Bowl in San Diego is at least on a burner somewhere. It’s still, even after this past month-plus now, difficult at times to understand that the season is at this juncture.

It’s about a quarter to four. Rolling to the store. What you ’bout to text? Hah, you already know. My edits are in [brackets].

5:17
It dawned on me, when I saw my 1st Mountaineer game it was against Kent St…my 5 year old gets his 1st Mountaineer experience against Okla-friggin-homa.

5:47
Just sang “Hello Dolly” with Betty Bra. Put this in TFGD.

6:15
The last time I was this optimistic Kansas State beat the [Purina] out of us

6:21
Rutgers and maryland heading to the big 10 – acc just voted in favor of a f’n 50 mil exit fee a couple mths ago

6:36
Jennelle puked in her mouth and kept going

6:40
All you need to know about the crowd is That texts go thru tonight

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WVU v. Oklahoma: Pat Miller is here

November 17, 2012 by Mike Casazza

You are looking live at Mountaineer Field and the gold-on-gold clad WVU football team. The Mountaineers will wear those once again tonight and for the sixth time ever. They’re 3-2 all-time in the gold rush get up.

A quick note before we start: Pat Miller, who totally quit in the middle of the week, guys, is on tonight’s dress list.

Let’s proceed …

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On the run

November 15, 2012 by Mike Casazza

Topic of the week: Well, WVU has issues, but this running game has become what Dana Holgorsen now calls a “huge issue” after a string of poor performances. I looked it up: Thirty third-and-shorts  this season, 14 first downs. Twelve fourth-and-shorts, seven first downs.

The Mountaineers, once as high as No. 4 nationally in rushing offense and No. 64 when they were 5-0, are now No. 93 out of 120 teams. They average 132.67 yards per game and Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma State was the fourth straight time WVU was under its average.

“We did a poor job of establishing the line of scrimmage,” Holgorsen said. “Look at all our third-and-shorts. We have no push. We had none. We were garbage on third-and-short, fourth-and-short when we handed the ball off.”

This has become something to discuss because it’s really handcuffing WVU’s offense, but also because Oklahoma, which comes to town this weekend, just allowed 250 yards on 51 carries to Baylor.

So coaches and players were asked and many gave god opinions and insight. Many, but not all.

Andrew Buie dodged the question as if it were one of those red-clad Oklahoma linebackers who will be chasing him on Saturday night.

And while it was clearly a totally proper question and one that has been on the mind of nearly every West Virginia University football fan, it was asked rather straight-forward and bluntly by a gentleman who has reached such an age that he has neither time nor patience to beat around the bush.

“Why do you think the running game has not been more productive?” he asked, standing in a group behind the WVU running back’s right shoulder.

Buie looked straight ahead, a number of thoughts clearly racing through his mind, none of which he properly wanted to verbalize.

After a pregnant pause, Buie simply said, “No comment.”

Now, as for the picture, let me take you inside my inbox today …

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