So?

[TheRedSon]

What did you think of your first Big 12 season?

Is the conference what you expected?

How do you think your team did, both vs expectations and in hind site?

Are you pleased with the decision still?



I thought the new Big 12 held up pretty well. Not quite as well as I thought it might, but it was certainly an interesting season. I think both West Virginia and TCU fit into the conference culture. I was hoping the two of them would be a bit better this season as we had lost a lot before adding them and needed a shot in the arm, but I think both teams held their own. Long term it still remains to be seen how well they replaced what's been lost, but I think it will work out well.

I thought both schools would be in contention for the conference title this season. They both had some pretty big wins, but TCU had depth issues and the step up took it's toll, and I don't think anyone paid much attention to how well the Big 12 defenses were prepared to defend an offense at West Virginia that is very similar to four that were already here. The predictors seemed to think the West Virginia offense would dominate in the Big 12, and it certainly was impressive most of the year, but impressive like most other Big 12 offenses instead of an earth shaking entrance.

I'm pleased with both new additions still. They were fun to watch every week, and they proved they can play in this conference even though neither was as good here as I thought they'd be. I think if this ship stays afloat both of them will have more Big 12 titles than A&M in the conference's next 15 years (they already have as many as Missouri).

 

[amath13]

I love it! So happy to be in a conference where the culture is about football. We didn't deserve to be in a conference like the Big East where there were so many different agendas. I love college basketball, but you can do both successfully & all of those basketball schools in the Big East caused a ton of issues for programs like WVU that is a football first school. I also really enjoyed interacting with fans from other parts of the country and it seemed like every group of fans we interacted with were just like us. They love football.

As for how we ended up, it was a huge disappointment but the Big 12 isn't an easy league. As you stated, most of the teams in the conference have seen our offense already so there isn't really a chance to sneak up on anyone. And because we lost our former DC (a guy that had been herefor 10+ years) who ran the seldom used 3-3-5, our defense obviously didn't sneak up on anyone either. lol Honestly, I think if we had just an average defense we finish with at least 9 regular season wins (TCU & Oklahoma games came down to 1 play & we lost by 1 point in each game), but you are what your record says you are so no excuses.

Next season is going to be rough for us. We lose a guy that threw for 11,461 yards & accounted for 100 TD's at QB with the bowl game left to go. We lose a receiver that accounted for 4405 yards & 35 TD's & another receiver that had 3079 receiving yard & 39 TD's with the bowl game left to play (in 3 seasons as he is most likely going to enter the draft). We will start a brand new QB next season & basically all new receivers. We will likely go from averaging around 42 points per game to somewhere in the upper 20's lower 30's. And with our defense still being young, that isn't going to cut it in this league. I think it will be 2-3 more years before we're ready to compete again.

But that's okay. I just love being in a league where every program but Kansas plays quality football (and exciting football). Can't wait until next season!
This post was edited on 12/4 9:33 AM by amath13

 

[GoWVU]

My answers to those questions...

Like anybody else at WVU with a brain, I loved our first season in the Big 12 and have never had a moment's regret. Why would we? We narrowly escaped going down with the Titanic.

We are a better fit geographically in the ACC, that is hard to deny. However, I've come to realize we are not a good cultural fit there because that is a basketball-first league as the Big East was. Although I enjoyed our time in the BE, we are quite clearly a football-first school as most of the Big 12 is. In that respect, we have much more in common with our new conference than we did with our old one.

My preseason expectations are typically much lower than everyone else's on our board, so I was not at all expecting to compete for a conference title in our first Big 12 season. I personally thought that kind of talk was rather insulting to Oklahoma and Texas and Oklahoma St. I thought an 8-4 record would be pretty good considering the major step up in competition. We fell a game short of that, which doesn't seem too bad in a vacuum...but I would argue it actually was disappointing because of the specifics of how it happened.

Fielding the worst pass defense in the history of the school is totally unforgivable, I don't care who the competition is. The fact that it showed virtually no progress at all over the course of the season was the irredeemable part. I fully anticipated it being rough early, but a normal team starts to show improvement in at least a few areas. Ours didn't seem to have that ability, which in my mind is a sign of a very bad hire. That answer is not fully known yet, but it doesn't exactly bode well for 2013.

In the long run, I still believe we will be a good addition and fit for the Big 12. The bright side is we need to win only one conference title or BCS game by 2027 to match or exceed what Texas A&M brought to the table. That much should be within reach. I just hope the conference doesn't start to have second thoughts about us before then considering next year is likely to be a losing season. We haven't had one since 2001, but 2013 appears to be a year when we are due to bottom out and start building again toward our next good team. We could very well be down in the basement scraping for leftovers next fall. Don't give up on us simply due to a bit of unfortunate timing in the success cycle.

 

[TNewman41]

Originally posted by amath13:

But that's okay. I just love being in a league where every program but Kansas plays quality football (and exciting football). Can't wait until next season!

This post was edited on 12/4 9:33 AM by amath13

This comment is money and makes me smile!

 

[AndrewVonLintel]

Well if we kick anyone out it would be KU!!!!!

They lost to Northern Illinois causing the Big 12 to only get one BCS game.....

They also lower everyones strength of schedule.

 

[TheRedSon]

They do bring one thing to the table...

 

[AndrewVonLintel]

I suppose..... but we could just kick KU out and have Bill Self take over Kansas State....

It would be a lot cooler!

This post was edited on 12/4 8:17 PM by AndrewVonLintel

 

[Woody in Helvetia]

Mostly in agreement.

The first go round in the BXII was great. However Expansion MUST happen before the 2014 season starts.

The last place defense was inexcusable - and I totally blame coaching.

The 5 game losing streak should not have happened - 2 injuries contributed to that streak. Shawne Alston was a huge loss in the middle of the season. His injury was critical. Holgorson better learn the importance of a big back or this offense will continue to struggle at times. The injury to S. Bailey in the T Tech game was also difficult to deal with. There were those that seem to think he was not put forth an genuine effort - but he was crippled with an bad ankle.

We are all very disappointed with the bowl assignment. I wanted to go back to the state of Texas for a game, and was beginning to warm up to spending the money to fly to San Diego. New York City in the middle of winter is not an attractive destination.
And i have seen over a dozen Syracuse games - including one in the Carrier Dome. And WVU has found more ways to blow games vs the Orange over the years. They lead the series 32-27. But that record should be reversed. I can count at least 5 games that we should not have lost.

As for next year - I do not have the gloom and doom mentality. The Holgorsen system has been successful everywhere and it always seems to be able to produce even when the players are inexperienced. I certainly see at least 5 victories - and about 3 close games to get that 6th one next year.

This post was edited on 12/4 8:31 PM by Woody in Helvetia

 

[schoonerwest]

Originally posted by AndrewVonLintel:
Well if we kick anyone out it would be KU!!!!!

Lol

I know it's a joke but my rebuttal is we are the only founding member left of the original conference and are probably behind only Texas and Oklahoma in prestige.

 

[MikeRafone]

I enjoyed it. Except for the travel I think it's a good fit. Most of the schools in the conference are public schools from rural states where the folks have similar values and views as the folks in WV. After playing the schools of the Northeastern Rude Belt for decades,it's a pleasure to deal with fan bases that are polite in winning and losing.

As for the football,WVU's first year reminded of WVU's first season playing Big East Basketball. In the A-10,WVU had superior athletes to most of it's rivals and could rest on certain possessions. When they moved to the Big East,it took about two seasons for WVU's players and coaches to get used to the level of play. There were and are no plays off in Big East Basketball.

I saw a lot of the lazy play that WVU could get away with on the football side of the Big East bite them in the ass this year. In the BE they had superior talent to the rest of the league on the football side. You isolate one of WVU's fast lil' guys on a slow BE linebacker/safety and you were going to bust big plays. The speed and quickness of the DB's and LB's in the Big 12 really made a difference

However from the Oklahoma game on you could see the lights coming on as the players figured out the type of effort it took to win in the Big-12.

Except for Oklahoma and Texas,I think WVU's talent level is even with the rest of the league. They just need to learn to play to that potential game in and game out.

 

[Goldmember]

Well I love the prospect of an all sports conference that really gets the football aspect. As for the footbal lseason, we really picked a bad season to lose key defenseive talent, change defense schemes, and rely on substandard defensive coaching. Other than that, AWESOME BABY!

 

[MightyDcat]

Originally posted by schoonerwest:

Originally posted by AndrewVonLintel:
Well if we kick anyone out it would be KU!!!!!

Lol

I know it's a joke but my rebuttal is we are the only founding member left of the original conference and are probably behind only Texas and Oklahoma in prestige.

"Prestige" eh? 1. How does one prove such a thing? 2. What do you win for it?