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

Texts From USF Game Day

October 15, 2010 by Mike Casazza

Not pretty, but not bad. That was the general theme on a Thursday nightn when the offense did a little more than just enough and a defense did just a lot more than even what’s rapidly becoming expected of it.

I know it’s repetitive and redundant, but that defense is very good and able. The offense seems to be taking some odd sort of calmness and inspiration from that and knows it can be above average and still be very good. And if you look around the Big East and what’s happening here and there, that’s not necessarily a bad formula.

Last night’s texts followed the script — excited early, frustrated a while later, impressed with a trick play and then again frustrated while a little bemused by USF’s struggles. And that’s not necessarily a bad formula, either.

The blind stares of a million pairs of eyes looking hard but don’t realize they’ll never text me. My edits are in [brackets].

(12:52 PM):
It’s a Ferdinand Foch kind of a day!

(4:48 PM):
Stew wasn’t Foch-ing around with that quote Tuesday.

(5:55 PM):
Huggs just tried to pull in the blue lot in a black escalade. Charlie Daniels (the lot attendant) turned him away! Wtf?!

(7:25 PM):
In the stadium. Drunk. Packin’ airplane bottles of rum. Let’s [happily] GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

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‘It’s going to be a war out there’

October 14, 2010 by Mike Casazza

Tonight’s open post, brought to you by that quote from Bill Stewart in Tuesday’s press conference.

A war, you say?

/locker room doors fly open

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Extra, extra, read all about tomorrow today

by Mike Casazza

The newspaper hits your front porch tomorrow morning — or your mouse hits a favorite Web site at some point late tonight — and you find the headline for the WVU-USF game.

What’s the headline?

Oh, and if you’re from the NYC area, or just have a fondness for the tabloid style, what would be the back page headline?

Today’s chat transcript

by Mike Casazza

Available now. Thanks for those who participated.

No holds barred for the 10 a.m. chat

by Mike Casazza

You think about that. Big times on campus. Men’s basketball has a preseason news conference this afternoon (the women have been practicing for more than a week now). There’s the football game this evening in the Big East opener for WVU. Midnight Madness is tomorrow night and Bob Huggins commences his fourth season Saturday. Plenty to talk about in the live chat. That doesn’t even include the men’s soccer 2-0 win against Pitt — I was there and the team actually won — and a sudden dip in digs per set. Should we be concerned? Add that to the list! See you in a bit.

Decoding Bill Stewart

October 13, 2010 by Mike Casazza

Bill Stewart gets a lot of grief for the sometimes meandering manner of his press conferences. Sometimes we get confused trying to follow along and sort sense from nonsense. Quite often, there’s a good point lost in translation. 

Fortunately, there’s value in Decoding Bill Stewart. This week, WVU’s head coach is asked about life as a first-year head coach in a conference that has three such individuals this season. What would Bill Stewart tell one of those three about navigating the peaks and valleys? Stewart refreshes his fondness for military strategy and then reveals a very intimate detail of his first year as WVU’s head coach.

From Tuesday’s press conference

Question: “Bill, for a separate story I’m working on1, Skip lost to Syracuse last week. He just took over this job and there’s ups and downs when you transition into a new job. And there’s Charlie Strong and there’s Butch at Cincinnati, there’s new coaches in the league2.

“What do you tell coaches — because you’ve been through it transitioning into a new job in this league — what would you tell them about the ups and downs? You have to go through them, right? I mean, it’s invariable.”

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Jeremy Johnson is no more

by Mike Casazza

Statement from Oll Stewart says: “Jeremy Johnson has decided to leave the team for personal reasons. We wish him the best in his future education and athletic endeavors.”

It’s one of many things we can discuss in tomorrow’s live chat at 10 a.m. Rather than mess with the questions-in-queue concept, drop your early questions here and I’ll put them in myself and answer then during our one-hour window.

Tell your friends.

Tevita Finau is a living, breathing college football player

October 12, 2010 by Mike Casazza

(I really did intend to get this out much earlier, but there were considrable Internet and blog issues the kept me down until just now.)

(11 am update: Per Utah, Finau is not available for interviews until he has a “chance to acclimate” to his new life.)

It’s true. Page 11 of the game notes lists the depth chart for the Utah Utes entering Saturday’s game against Wyoming.

Left End

96 Junior Tui’one (6-4, 265, Sr., 2VL)
90 Derrick Shelby (6-3, 255, Jr., 2VL)
97 Tevita Finau (6-5, 298, Jr., JC)

He’s even got a spot on the pronunciation chart.

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You make the call: Schedule change

by Mike Casazza

There’s a 1:30 p.m. men’s basketball preseason press conference Thursday so our normal time will not work for the live chat. As an act of contrition, I’ll not only do that chat on what will be an extremely busy Thursday — I have to write out of the basketball press conference as well as cover the game — but I’ll leave the start time up to you … as long as it’s one of these three times:

A) 10 a.m.
B) Noon
C) 6 p.m.

Brief explanations are welcome. I’m trying to make this concept stick.

WVU gets shut out, enjoys it

by Mike Casazza

For a week, the Mountaineers handled that turnover bug that’s bitten them so many times the past two-plus season. Saturday’s win against UNLV was the first time this season and just the eighth time overall the offense hasn’t committed a turnover. Record: 7-1.

So you’d think it matter, right? Statistically, not really. The numbers in games without a turnover aren’t significantly different from the games WVU has one or more — and maybe that’s why Jeff Mullen and others say stats often lie.

Truthful stats or deceiving stats, turnovers are obviously important and you can’t statistically gauge things like momentum, morale or even field position. Irregardless, it’s looking more and more like WVU’s offense can move the ball and score points, as long as it gets out of its own way.

“It’s been that way since we’ve been here,” Mullen said. “We talk about our opponent, but it’s not our opponent. We are our opponent. I really believe that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing the Chicago Bears or Mountaineer Middle, we control not the game, but the outcome.

“We didn’t move the ball very well last game (at LSU), but I still feel like we win if we don’t turn it over. Forget the punt return (touchdown). If we don’t fumble that one on our 6-yard line, we maybe win that game 20-14, 14-10.”

Even with last week’s clean game, the Mountaineers are No. 62 nationally in turnovers (seven fumbles, three interceptions) and No. 80 in turnover margin.