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

Talking points

…from the weekend that was. For your use in elevator rides, trips to the water cooler and other awkward moments on a Monday. 

– I said Friday it would be inexcuseable if WVU didn’t bury Syracuse. I stand by that. The Mountaineers blew their chance to prove themselves as anything but what they are.

– And what they are is not terribly good.

– Fortunately, Greg Robinson was there to save the day. I’m frankly surprised he not only cost his team the game, but was allowed on the plane back to campus.

– Pat White did not play — Amazing! — and Bill Stewart explained the process rather thoroughly.

– Finally, this must be mentioned. WVU was going nowhere Saturday and as I walked down to the field from the press box with a few minutes remaining, I was wondering how Robinson had let the game get away from him and how his team still had a chance.

At that moment, I saw no reason to believe WVU was going to run clock and I figured Syracuse would get the ball down 10-6 — and not 10-9 — with a few minutes to go. Suddenly, I heard an enormous roar in the middle of a timeout. I hit the field and wondered what was going on and was stunned to see RYAN J. BOYD on the big screen, thrusting his hips as Y.M.C.A. blared through the sound system. This hadn’t happened all season.

Devine scored on the next play.

I kid you not, I got three immediate text messages pointing out the obvious and two reporters on the field with me noticed what had happened. Listen, if you’re in the athletic department, you simply must have this kid around t all times. I will not argue this.

There’s one …

Hey, sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re wrong and sometimes you’re flat-out lied to. That said, WVU coaches feel a whole hell of a lot worse than me this morning now that Tajh Boyd has officially decommitted.

“I have a great deal of respect for West Virginia, the coaches and the fans but I think I’m looking for an offense that fits my style a bit better,” Boyd told Rivals.com. “I’m not considering West Virginia anymore. I think it was best to make a clean break. I feel bad because I like Coach (Bill) Stewart and coach Beatty, but I have to do what’s best for me in the end.”

All in all, a miserable, miserable weekend for the staff, which really needs to do something — something big, something soon — to reassure people that they have things under control. Could be on or off the field, but it needs to happen before 10 months of good work completely unravels. Remember, Boyd is tight with receiver Logan Heastie and high school teammates with two other WVU commits. This is an extremely delicate situation. The once-firm grasp of the Tidewater Region is suddenly slipping.  

Two things that we need to address right away:

1) This is not about the crowd booing it’s team. The crowd was booing the offense and this was about Boyd’s future in that offense.
2) Can you blame him?

Friday Feedback

Welcome to what I am told is West Virginia’s favorite running sports blog feature. That title was presented to me last week and I was honored by the notoriety, but a little curious about what it’s worth.

“I think it’s the only one,” I said.
“Certainly,” the person countered. “It’s in a class of it own.”
“Works for me …”

Two housekeeping issues. First, a quick word about Tajh Boyd. I’m told there’s nothing to worry about and this’ll be long forgotten by signing day in February. To that, the report kind of bothered the Boyd’s and Tajh. Phoebus is preparing for its biggest game of the season and Boyd was trying to get back into the game after missing the past two with a knee. This report was an unwelcome distraction and it would seem once the parties actually involved got together, they agreed there wasn’t much to really discuss. Notice how no one around here is writing about this? You might say no news is good news.

Secondly, tomorrow’s game can’t be close. It might be inexcuseable not to bury a bad Syracuse team. People keep bringing up the Pitt game … at Syracuse. Pitt dominated the entire second half in spite of a slow first half. Syracuse returned its first kickoff for a touchdown and then drove 55 yards for a touchdown for a 14-3 lead. The Panthers had the ball almost 40 minutes. It wasn’t that close. As for WVU, keep an eye on short-yardage plays (again). WVU has been working on these things a lot lately and the latest alterations apparently involve personnel on the line of scrimmage and a fullback not named Will Johnson.

What’s that? I’m forgetting someone? Oh, the quarterback. Hey, he’ll be “ready” to play. 

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, sometimes you need to slow down and realize what you’re doing.

Mack said:

“Maybe this is the silver lining for Rutgers. The dominant program in the Big East for the past decade has this guy running the team for the next four years.”

Does anyone find it strange that every single opponent we face comes away with similar comments? That our fans are making similar comments. Does anyone in the world think that Bill Stewart is the right man for the job? Is “being nice” worth $1 million per year? Is that enough money to make Mr. Casazza put a smile on his face every morning?

The mere thought of it put a smile on my face. There’s an interesting point, though. Being a nice person is working against Stewart as a coach? It’s almost assumed now that he’s too kind — extrenally — to win in the long run and I just don’t see how that works. The man can breath fire, by the way. I’ve seen it. Honest.

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Bring new taunts for Mr. Shadle

Patrick Shadle knows the town and the stadium well and the Morgantown High graduate makes his second homecoming in WVU’s annual homecoming Saturday. He knows he’ll be hearing it from the stands, which tends to happen when you’re a kicker and is amplified when you’re a visitor in your home. That said, he’s provided an obstacle for the insults this time.

Going home also means being targeted for some hometown needling. Shadle said Connecticut fans have been nastier than those in Morgantown, though he said everyone likes to get on him about his weight issues. Shadle lost 35 pounds in the offseason and said they’ll have to find something new.

“All the comments are about being big and being heavy,” Shadle said. “I don’t fit into that category this year. I’m pretty excited to go down there and avoid some of that trash talking.”

Good for him. Covered him in high school and have spoken to him a few times in college and I always enjoyed the chats. I think he could have been the Pat McAfee here — if he isn’t already that in Syracuse. Not only that, but it’s pretty hard to find a reason to heckle someone whose mom is graciously hosting a crowd for the weekend.

“There will be no road kill served, I know that,” said Shadle, poking fun at his hometown’s famous hick image.

Woops.

Looking up a few numbers for a story tomorrow and I discover that under Greg Robinson’s leadership, Syracuse is:

– 8-32
– 0-12 against ranked teams
– 1-9 in Division I-A nonconference games
– in possession of a better winning percentage than only Duke, Temple, Florida International, Utah State and North Texas
– 2-23 in its past 25 Big East games

Yikes. Robinson could use a victory and, gee, wouldn’t that make a nice birthday gift? He turns 57 today, an occasion marked by my favorite Syracuse blog.

So…um…did you guys buy a gift yet? I kinda forgot, so…um…you wanna go in together on something? Cool, okay, let’s think about what we want to get him. Something practical, something he’s going to need. I’ll just throw out some ideas, you let me know what you like…

U-Haul Gift Certificates. If you’re gonna have to pack up and move in this economy, you’re gonna need some help.

Tony Franklin gets lost

Should have seen this coming. First Auburn ditches the spread offense it hired Tony Franklin to run, then Auburn loses to Vanderbilt … whilst starting with traditional two-tight end football, then going to the spread. Tuesday, Coach Tommy Tuberville said only a “major disaster” would cause a mid-season change of philosophy on offense. Wednesday, the Tigers’ offensive coordinator was fired.

Tuberville said he and Franklin did not have “personal conflicts.”

Not sure about that, but this is just a bizarre story and one that really makes you think about Auburn football.

Yet we’re here to think about WVU football and how this firing affects the once ballyhooed Oct. 23 home game against the Tigers. First, I won’t be able to run the story about Franklin’s relationship with Noel Devine.

“Noel, this is Coach Tony Franklin, offensive coordinator at Troy University. Give me a call when you get a chance. Give me a call because I got a plan for you. You’re gonna be the first person ever to win a Heisman Trophy as a sophomore. You’re gonna shock the world. You’re going to gain about 2,000 yards your freshman year. You might have everybody in the world on your case, but you’re gonna help us beat Florida and Oklahoma State, Georgia and L.S.U. your freshman year. Give us a call if that excites you. If not, then good luck to you, man, at U.S.C. or Miami or wherever you go. Just don’t forget, when you’re sitting on the bench your freshman year, you could be here getting about 2,000 yards. Take care.”

Bummer. 

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Permission to freak is granted

The only surprise here is that it started so soon and with such a high profile prospect.

Meanwhile, Hampton (Va.) Phoebus quarterback Tajh Boydisn’t saying it publicly, but he’s looking at other schools. Boyd is a West Virginia commitment and has a great relationship with Mountaineers assistant Chris Beatty. However, Boyd is considering official visits to Tennessee, Boston College and possibly Oregon. Boyd took his official visit to West Virginia a weekend ago along with fellow four-star commitment Logan Heastie, but he has concerns about the offense.

My opinion: The inevitable beginning of your next WVU football soap opera. Buckle up and enjoy/endure the ride.

White might

Officially, Pat White will be ready to play against Syracuse, though I suppose if I was a suspicious, literal fella, I’d wonder if that meant he would really play or just be ready to play.

I’ve been concussed before — believe me, it explains a lot — and it’s not a fun existence, especially the first time. That said, don’t get me wrong. I’m not making a direct comparison here. I never played college quarterback and I’m not sure what the exact impact is, but I know it takes time to regain clarity. My observation was Pat was a little foggy Tuesday night, when he did not practice and merely watched as a precaution. Perhaps it comes back in plenty of time.

What I also know is it become increasingly easier to get concussions after the first one. A hit Saturday could do more damage than the one last week. To be clear, Stewart said it’s not a concussion and he couldn’t be more emphatic about that, but Pat admitted he’d never had his bell rung quite as, uh, loud before. If he doesn’t have a concussion, he at least has many of the symptoms and side effects.

Prior to White’s weekly interview Tuesday night, the media was encouraged to ask questions only about Syracuse because White didn’t recall much of the Rutgers game, including the hit that sidelined him in the third quarter. 

It’s fair to say that even without a concussion, he’s still feeling it and could be at risk for re-injury or additional injury. The hunch is this is going to be decided close to gametime and WVU will take no chances with its marquee player. What do you think?

Surely you’ve heard or maybe even made the Bill Stewart-Larry Coker comparison. Hell, the very day Stewart was hired, there was some lively debate on that very topic right here. Check the comments. Enlightening and in light of the chatter these days, fairly familiar, though I tend to think if Stewart was 5-0 and on his way to a national title his first year and a 24-0 start to his career, the comparison wouldn’t be made that way.

As it is, though, the whole longtime assistant-turned-players’-choice-head coach has some merit and, truthfully, only one man can speak on that. Fortunately, Coker is now an ESPNU commentator who will call Saturday’s WVU-Syracuse game very aware of the similarities between him and Stewart.

“The one difference between Bill and myself is that maybe he had a little more time,” Coker said. “He was hired right after their bowl. I was hired about five days before National Signing Day.”

Now, Stewart — as did Coker then — sometimes talks about the long voyage to get there, and you can grasp their appreciation for the opportunity to lead a top program.

They know football, but also understand coping is as much a part of the job as deciding whether to go for it on fourth-and-one. Their toughness and grit are common traits, too.

“I don’t know that the expectations and the fact that some people (didn’t think he should have the job) made it any tougher,” said Coker, 60. “You can’t look at it like that.

“I just made up my mind to do the job the best way I could and kind of go from there, and whatever happened, happened. You can’t worry about it. You’ve got to be little bit lucky, too.”