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

From 10 to two to … ?

September 20, 2016 by Mike Casazza

 

That guy is in charge of one of the Big 12’s remaining unbeaten teams. There is but one other. Does that mean anything? Certainly, though not too much.

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Tuesday Haiku

by Mike Casazza

BYU has made a call on its starting quarterback, and though the Cougars aren’t interested in more of the same, they aren’t going to make a change for the sake of change.

 

Can’t stop, won’t stop

September 19, 2016 by Mike Casazza

A rite of passage as the Big 12 enters conference plan.

Baylor, if you’re interested, has outscored Northwestern State, SMU and Rice 133-30 and has the 97th-most difficult schedule in the country so far. Holgorsen’s team is 40 spots higher, and that will rise with Saturday’s game against BYU.

The Bears haven’t played a non-conference game against a team that was in the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 or SEC — or the Big East, which existed in 2011 — at that time since 2009. Baylor won at Wake Forest and lost at home to UConn that season. There was a series it split with TCU in 2010-11, but TCU was still in a Group of 5 conference. The Bears deserve some credit for that, but that was also a long time ago.

Whether you start countin in 2010 or 2012, the streak comes to an end with a game at Duke next season, and it gets a little better after that.

Someone fetched Tony Gibson a thumb tack

by Mike Casazza
gibbybulleiten

 

That’s from Sunday’s edition of the Salt Lake Tribune, and I don’t know this to be true, but I know Tony Gibson has read and seethed about this. Not because it was written, but because it’s not false. It’s not. Not on Sept. 19. On Dec. 19? That’s a different story. But today, West Virginia’s defense ranks No. 99 nationally and No. 9 in the Big 12 in yards per game and No. 94 nationally and No. 8 in the Big 12 in passing yards per game.

Gibson believes yards have too much weight and that scoring defense matters more. His defense is No. 21 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in that area. Still, the perception exists that the Mountaineers are an elixir for a team that’s No. 105 in yards per game, No. 113 in yards per play. No. 78 in passing yards per game and No. 118 in yards per pass attempt.

That perception will be presented to his DAWGS this week.

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Friday Feedback

September 16, 2016 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which opens with a question from the audience.

OK, we’re still not clear on how the Facebook Live thing works, but rather than dismiss this out of principle, let’s take it for a spin.

It’s too hard to answer the question today. The top 25 figures to be volatile this weekend. BYU plays Saturday against UCLA, and though UCLA isn’t a world-beater, it’s still a good squad that’s merely next in line for the Cougars to start this season.

But say enough things happen in and just outside the top 25 to make next week accommodating. Say BYU loses to UCLA. WVU’s then playing a 1-2 team at FedEx Field, and I’m not sure there’s a margin of victory emphatic enough to put the 3-0 Mountaineers in the top 25. If BYU wins and then WVU beats a 2-1 opponent, I’m still not sure.

And I’m not sure it matters, either. I think you could argue that, win or lose at FedEx, the season really begins at home the following week against Kansas State. We’ve been over this before, but I’m not aware of a plausible scenario in which the Mountaineers have a good season and don’t beat Kansas State. And beyond that, don’t you feel like the Big 12 is open to interpretation?

Now, a 4-0/1-0 WVU? That’s when you can begin to take stock, because the Mountaineers are off again the following weekend and then start the stretch of eight games on eight Saturdays in which they alternate home and away every week. But the road games are … well, Texas Tech has to play defense, Oklahoma State lost at home to Central Michigan, Texas is potentially problematic and Iowa State is 0-1 against the FCS and 0-1 against the FBS. WVU’s toughest opponents visit Mountaineer Field, beginning with K-State and then followed by TCU, exception to the rule Kansas, Oklahoma (which I think beats Ohio State, if you’re wondering) and Baylor.

I don’t know, but I feel like WVU doesn’t even know a lot about WVU right now, so I don’t think an outcome against BYU, be it positive or negative, really shapes one’s thinking. Obviously, a win throws dirt on whatever it was that happened in a win last week and a loss probably brings issues and ire to the surface, but the season was always going be defined by what happens in the Big 12, and fates begin to take form at home against Bill Snyder.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, practice carefully.

netbros said:

If ever there was a year to make some hay in the Big 12, this may be it with only three teams remaining unbeaten after two weeks, including West Virginia. What have always been tough games in the league for the Mountaineers may be out there for the taking this year. Hopefully the upperclassmen on this team will take notice and overachieve.

Hey, it worked last season, when a bunch of seniors saw, even at 3-4, they could still get to eight wins and win a bowl game. 

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The Good and the Bad of WVU v. Youngstown State

September 14, 2016 by Mike Casazza
HELMET_BROWN_TYLER_MMORAES

 

Do you see that? Take a closer look.

Helmet.

Lower right.

Muskets! Helmet stickers!

West Virginia, at long last, has them.

It’s new this season, and it’s received no attention. I’ll try to figure it out, but for now, we know what we know, which is not much.

Certainly, Christian Brown, who began his final season with arguably his best game in a West Virginia uniform, earned a few from his performance in the win against Missouri. Jeremy Tyler was good that day, too. But I don’t think it’s an individualized merit-based system. Not solely, at least.

Surely a sack or a tackle for a loss or a one-handed catch or an ankle-breaking juke wins something. Nothing against William Crest, but Crest has stickers, too, and I can’t think of a play against the Tigers that deserved one.

But perhaps Crest was rewarded for being on an offense that hit specific goals for that game or for any game. It’s possible he followed his performance against Missouri with a good week of practice — in fact, he did, and you knew that if you listened to Dana Holgorsen after Saturday’s win or if you read TFGD — and that’s worth something. Maybe Eli Wellman gets stickers for Justin Crawford and Rushel Shell reaching certain numbers. Maybe Khairi Sharif gets a sticker because the defense didn’t allow a pass over its head against Missouri.

Whatever the system, it’s a smart and simple addition for WVU, although I feel for the equipment person who has to make sure a player has the same number of stickers on the gold, blue and white helmets. That’s a job, right? Imagine keeping inventory for Skyler Howard every game for every helmet. Say he gets seven stickers for what he did Saturday. Is that 21 stickers? WVU’s using, like, 55 players on the regular, which means 165 helmets for 10 or 11 more games, and as best as we can tell, you can get a sticker by being part of a group or a side of the ball. I feel like the equipment guy needs stickers for the mere risk of carpal tunnel.

…where was I?

Got it. Smart and simple. Right.

Hey, it looks good — everything is about recruiting, in case you forgot — and, more importantly, it’s a universal language. There are a lot of games, teams and players. It’s not easy to keep up with everyone and everything. A fan will know about the key players involved in the games in which they are invested. A television broadcast is going to focus on a few players and know a few things about them. Helmet stickers give everyone an identity that viewers recognize and understand without any assistance. It’s easy to see a defensive back smoke a receiver coming across the middle or a running back dash through a crease and then spot the number of stickers on his helmet. This guy, this guy’s good.

Helmet stickers, helmet stickers are good, and now they’re yours. How did we get here? Let’s find out by taking a look at the Good and the Bad of WVU v. Youngstown State.

Bad: Rules
This is dumb. Shell is called for a false start, and I’m going to guess the explanation is that he was in his stance and made an abrupt movement in which he looked to the sideline. In an extraordinarily strict interpretation of the rules, sure, it’s a false start. I don’t know how that’s different than an offensive lineman getting in his stance and then rising up and checking with the sideline. Live and learn!

Nah, forget that. Let it rip.

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Dana Holgorsen: Open week!

September 13, 2016 by Mike Casazza

Yikes. I want to go to Mississippi now. I’ll be back later with a transcript.

On what he’s learned two weeks in
Nothing. It’s still early. It’s still early. We’re a work in progress. That’s one of the things that I like about this team is they understand that. They know that they don’t have anything figured out. They’re going to continue to work hard. This is a big week for us here. We’ll go out there this afternoon, tomorrow afternoon, Thursday and continue to progress and get a jumpstart on BYU obviously, but they need to keep playing. We’re playing a lot of bodies. We played 55 guys last week. Wish we would have played a little more, honestly, but just continue to play. Continue to get better. I think the one thing that I’ve learned is these guys understand that, and they like to play and like get out there and like to play the game.

Tuesday Haiku

by Mike Casazza

While I’ve got you here,
Ron Crook’s group has done all right,
all things considered.

But seriously, one of five teams that hasn’t allowed a sack, and on Saturday, 46 running plays and 45 that gained yardage and one that went for no gain.

 

Chase Behrndt has a fan club!

September 12, 2016 by Mike Casazza

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You saw what West Virginia did in Saturday’s win against Youngstown State. Now, thanks to @melmoraes, have a look at what the Mountaineers did afterward.

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Fine — I hate this kickoff time

by Mike Casazza

Remember, no game this week while BYU completes the Arizona-Utah-UCLA series to start the season. Those body blows can add up early in the season.