In what might be an upset, the Nittany Lions are behind WVU and before … Army? I think I have some issues with this. Do you?
1. West Virginia
2. Penn State
3. Army
4. Syracuse
5. Navy
6. Temple
7. Rutgers
8. Pittsburgh
9. Louisville
10. Cincinnati
10. ConnecticutARV: Connecticut, South Florida, Boston College.
Maybe the coach’s best one-liner yet came in today’s conference call. The topic? Possible Big East expansion/realignment. The reply? Classic!
(And no, that was not a shameless plug for something I haven’t plugged once.)
So I vote for the Lambert Trophy, which, once upon a time, was a pretty big deal. It still is I suppose, though in a smaller scope. I actually know Bill Stewart desires that piece of hardware.
The voting began this week and you have to rank the top 10 of the 14 eligible Football Bowl Subdivision teams. I don’t want to reveal my vote, but I will say that, as is the case with all things, I probably take it way too seriously.
No. 1 was a pretty easy call. No. 2 … well, you tell me.
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1. Carlton Mitchell is in the NFL.
2. Keith Tandy is playing pretty well for the Mountaineers.
Nevertheless, Tandy won’t be able to separate himself from Mitchell this week as WVU prepares for Thursday night’s game against USF and Tandy readies for redemption.
Tandy comes into the game in much different circumstances. After two interceptions in Saturday’s 49-10 rout of UNLV, the junior from Hopkinsville, Ky., shares the Big East season lead in picks with three – all on tipped balls – and is one off the national lead.
Hey, that’s how it goes at cornerback. It was only a few weeks ago that Marshall’s Aaron Dobson was running past Tandy en route to a Coal Bowl-record 96-yard scoring reception at Edwards Stadium.
“I’ve been waiting for this (USF) game, like, for a year,” Tandy said Saturday. “We lost. It was a tight game. Maybe if I make a play or knock the ball down, we would have won. But I felt like I gained confidence from that, because I came back and made a couple of plays after.”
Actually, Mitchell catches aside, Tandy said he felt like the USF loss was one of his better overall games last season. WVU cornerbacks coach David Lockwood didn’t disagree, obviously. When USF plays at West Virginia (4-1) Thursday, Tandy will be making his 20th consecutive start.
Noon on ESPN2.
The year was 2005 and the Big East sued the ACC for various reasons and incentives. The sides agreed on a settlement in which the Big East would receive $5 million and nine games against ACC opponents that, under normal and non-litigous corcumstances, would never schedule the Big East.
So WVU got its series with Florida State and home-and-homes were set up between North Carolina and Rutgers, Virginia and UConn and North Carolina State and Pitt. Pitt also got a home game against Miami.
Well, how’s this worked out for everyone?
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Game five is in the books and Bradley Starks has again introduced himself to the population as a guy who, if/when healthy, can make a difference. He’s the biggest of the pass-catchers and, according to Oll Stewart, the fastest man on a roster of very fast players. On Saturday you saw what he can do, even if the opponent was one of the softest Division I teams to come to Mountaineer Field in many years.
If nothing else, getting Starks on the field and having him produce was maybe the toughest part of the process and, regardless of the opponent, that is now complete. Who knows what it means the rest of the way, but you had fun watching.
That’s what I deduct from Texts from Game Day, which, like the team, soared early, adored Starks, yawned late and felt pretty good about rumbling by the Rebels.
I fly like paper, get high like planes. If you catch me at the border I got texts in my name. My edits are in [brackets].
(2:36 PM):
Just got to Morgantown in less than 2 hrs. Stew would have wanted me to slow down at Flatwoods, go speed limit, aka run the belly
(3:04 PM):
If Omar Clayton walked out the tunnel, wearing a trench coach and whistling I’d almost change my rooting interest
(3:04 PM):
OMAR’S COMING!
(3:09 PM):
Who dressed stew today? blue shirt white sweater vest seriously?
(3:21 PM):
Can we swap out the drumline for the OLine? At least they bring it every game.
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1:19 pm: I’ve been in the press box for a while and getting situated, but I walked down about a half an hour ago from my house and had the highlight of the season, perhaps of my career.
Walking down the winding road behind the indoor facility and next to the outdoor facility, a group of people were pregaming out the back of a hatchback. One fellow — holding a frosty Nestea — goes, “Hey. Hey, Mike. Omar comin’!”
That’s relatively unprecedented. As far as I’m concerned, we can skip the rest of the season.
1:22 pm: No Josh Jenkins today. Everyone else of note is on the dress list and available to play. Noel Devine, by the way, is a game-time decision. Take that for what it’s worth. Game captains are Ed Davis, Sid Glover, Trippe Hale and Pat Lazear.
1:29 pm: This is how Bob Hertzel rolls. Undeterred. Lap top keyboard on the blink? No problem. Don’t ask what happens when the adapter goes bad.
1:32 pm: Someone asked in the live chat the other day about working conditions in the press box and I whined about the crowd. Here’s today’s “Who’s Who in The Press Box.”
2:09 pm: It’s a big recruiting weekend on campus — the weather couldn’t have complied any better — and the visitation spans all sports. The prospective student-athletes for gymnastics invaded the press box and had us outnumbered about 2-to-1. I took a picture and was promptly told I could not publish it because of NCAA rules prohibiting publicity for recruiting purposes. (I know that rule, but I didn’t know those were recruits … that was when I was told they were.) I was then told compliance was with the group as it went about campus. Promising!
3:05 pm: Final reminder: Texts from Game Day. It’s on.
3:32 pm: UNLV has roughly 50 players on the sideline. Never seen a travel team that small. Then again, I wouldn’t leave Vegas on a college football Saturday, either.
3:35 pm: Check out the attendance today.
3:38 pm: Noel Devine doesn’t start and WVU exchews running backs the entire first drive: Three plays, 80 yards, 1:01. All 5-wide sets and 41- and 38-yard passes, the second from Eu to Brad Starks for a 38-yard touchdown. It should be mentioned UNLV has one of the very worst run defenses in the country.
3:47 pm: WVU gets Noel a six-snap rest (to start the game) and then brings the toe-slowed running back in for a first-down carry at the UNLV 28-yard line. Devine promptly runs left, cuts back right, gets blocks from Eu and Jock and scores while he’s tackled awkwardly from behind as he sneaks into the corner of the end zone. I’d give the lad the rest of the day off now.
4:13 pm: Press box banter:
Person A: “Starks must think this is a scrimmage.”
Person B: “He’s right.”
4:27 pm: Cole Bowers is out. Noel Devine is still in.
4:29 pm: …maybe they just want to get him to 100 yards. That 48-yard touchdown puts him at 84 for the day — on three carries. It’s also the second-longest run of the season. UNLV will get you right every time.
4:30 pm: As criticized as the WVU offense is this season, this is the second 28-0 second-quarter lead (Maryland) adn the third lead of at least 28 points (Coastal Carolina).
5:16 pm: UNLV dominating time of possession: 19:58-10:02. Nevertheless, WVU has its most prolific half of football under Stewart.
5:19 pm: Damn. New quarterback. Where’s Kenard?
5:23 pm: Well, UNLV’s No. 88 is not better than WVU’s No. 8. Tandy, just a few days away from USF, gets another tip-drill interception. He has three of those this season, all in the past two games. The rest of the team ahs two interceptions.
5:27 pm: I can’t begin to tell you what the Brad Starks performance is doing in the press box. The three TD receptions ties a school record.
5:39 pm: Brandon Hogan is in street clothes on the sideline with a presumed left upper-arm injury.
Welcome to an open edition of the Friday Feedback. No fences, no security clad in yellow jackets. Just an 18-month-old puppy that doesn’t much like the dropping temperatures, but is oddly OK with wearing Halloween-themed clothing that keeps her warm.
(I have nothing to do with that.)
Interesting weekened at WVU. I heard a Drake concert last night — I didn’t attend, but it was near my house and I could hear everything — and the streets were overflowing with surprisingly scantily clad co-eds. Autumn took some time off this week. The weather will crest one last time for this football season Saturday. With a night game coming next week, figure tomorrow afternoon’s game will be the last fair-weather one the rest of the season.
I’m curious about the audience for this one. Students really don’t have an excuse and this is the sort of start time that attracts people from a distance. I’m just not sure the distance extends to Las Vegas and I wonder how many UNLV fans will be there. Some, for sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a UNLV fan. And I’m a people person!
WVU is still selling tickets and you know the students are going to bail at halftime. Could make for a weird and disinterested atmosphere. Rene Nadeau will be sure to monitor this.
When the audience is in there, that’s when things could begin to be fun. The point spread is well-known and the last image people have of the Mountaineers is of them losing at LSU, which should have lost last week. In between, you’ve had an antsy Bill Stewart, who just wants to play, and a lot of “Where are things now?” analysis by fans and media alike. I sense everyone really wants this game to come, if for no other reason than to have something new to talk, brag and complain about for a while. Someone’s walking away saying, “I told you so.”
Call me crazy, but this seems like some sort of a landmark. Satisfy the expectations, win with ease and with style, and everything’s cool. Bonus points if Noel gets in and gets out early and others carry the ball into the end zone.
Win, but not with the ease or style, and there will be some negativity and criticism of all aspects, I’m sure, as the team moves forward into a short week against recent nemesis times two in Skip Holtz-coached USF. Odd stakes for Stewart & Co., but there’s something to the notion WVU must handle teams it’s expected to handle … much the same as there’s something to preserving a team with a game in five days.
Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, C.Y.A.
Josh24601 said:
The person is also an idiot simply for going to a football practice in which he — there can be no doubt* the person is a he — is not an active participant. Football practices are extraordinarily boring.
*NO DOUBT!
That’s my favorite part of this: People think Colin or other media are jealous because we’re not allowed in practice. Full disclosure: No one wants to cover practice.
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The Rebels’ top receiver didn’t travel with the team Thursday. He’ll serve a one-game suspension Saturday for disciplinary reasons.
Also, today’s chat transcript is now available.
