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This Saturday

cheaters vs pedophiles......here are some hoped for outcomes......1 leprosy and locusts, the combination that always produces results 2. a giant sinkhole that swallows up all of happy valley 3..and the most appropriate......food poisoning from bad cheeseburgers......I hate to say this and will immediately go shower but......go lions....just this once

A few thoughts on the game

What a difference an effective running QB makes. WV uses lots of motion. Defenses get confused. They have to account for every possibility and that creates space. That is why GG is so effective. He is not the most accurate passer in the Big 12, far from it. But he moves the chains and is effective in the red zone and he is a gamer. And he is doing it with a WR corps that may be the weakest we have had in many, many years.

Yesterday was a very well called game with a very good game plan. I think we punted just twice. White brings something special to the backfield and deserves more carries. I thought that Donaldson finally ran hard in the 4th quarter. At 240 pounds he often goes down too easily. That changed in the 4th. Very nice to see and he and White make a good tandem of very different running styles. I think Gallagher can become a bit of a weapon. He is very slippery and although not a burner, has good enough speed. I hope we can work more of him into the passing game.

We should be 6 - 2. If we were, NB would likely be secure with just one or two more wins. But we are 5 - 3 and NB likely needs two and maybe three more wins to secure his job. Injuries have plagued this team. We are very, very thin. And given this, you have to give NB and staff credit for the winning record. However, I think we can upgrade the program if we move on from NB. But he may be doing just enough to keep his job and you never root for a loss. What a predicament.

Shades on ‘81 and ‘87

If we can finish up the year as we should at 8-4 or getting the upset this weekend 9-3. This program will be similarly position to our 1981 and 1987 teams where we lost some games but as a team and program we’re putting together the peaces for a special teams the following year.

As you all know 1981 was Nehlen’s 2nd year and we. went 9-3. We totally dominated a much favored University of Florida team in the Peach bowl that season and opened the next year by upsetting the Sooners in Norman in the season opener.

‘87 was Majors first season and we only went 6-6 but everyone could see the trajectory of the team and the next year…….well if you don’t know what happened look it up.

I think Neal and the program have made huge strides this year.

Big opportunity coming up this week.

WVU Release Mountaineers Advance to Sun Belt Semifinals with Win Over Georgia State

ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 5, 2023) A trio of second half goals propelled the No. 7 West Virginia University men’s soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Georgia State in the Sun Belt Championship quarterfinals on Sunday. The Mountaineers advance to the semifinals against the winner of the UCF-South Carolina match on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.



Senior Yutaro Tsukada scored a brace with senior Luke McCormick adding the third for the Mountaineers while sophomore Marcus Caldeira collected an assist.



West Virginia outshot the Panthers, 16-9, including a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. WVU also had a slight 3-2 edge in corner kicks. Senior Jackson Lee also made two saves, none bigger than a diving stop in the first half.



Both teams had a couple of chances in the first 45 minutes, but the score remained scoreless heading into the break. Tsukada had the best chance in the 40th minute as the Mountaineers earned a penalty on a Panther handball in the box, but his attempt was saved by the GSU keeper.



In the second half, the Panthers took the lead in the 51st minute, but WVU answered just five minutes later on McCormick’s fifth goal of the season, corralling a rebound before firing a shot into the back of the net.



Tsukada put the Mountaineers on top in the 69th minute, taking a pass from Caldeira before slotting a shot past the keeper and into the back of the net. In the 76th minute, the Tokyo native did it all himself, ripping a shot with his left foot from just outside the box and getting it past the diving GSU keeper. Tsukada nearly had a third a few minutes later but settled for the brace.



West Virginia is now 13-1-4 overall this season, reaching the 13-win plateau for just the seventh time in program history.



For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

WVU Release Mountaineers Advance to Sun Belt Semifinals with Win Over Georgia State

ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 5, 2023) A trio of second half goals propelled the No. 7 West Virginia University men’s soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Georgia State in the Sun Belt Championship quarterfinals on Sunday. The Mountaineers advance to the semifinals against the winner of the UCF-South Carolina match on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.



Senior Yutaro Tsukada scored a brace with senior Luke McCormick adding the third for the Mountaineers while sophomore Marcus Caldeira collected an assist.



West Virginia outshot the Panthers, 16-9, including a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. WVU also had a slight 3-2 edge in corner kicks. Senior Jackson Lee also made two saves, none bigger than a diving stop in the first half.



Both teams had a couple of chances in the first 45 minutes, but the score remained scoreless heading into the break. Tsukada had the best chance in the 40th minute as the Mountaineers earned a penalty on a Panther handball in the box, but his attempt was saved by the GSU keeper.



In the second half, the Panthers took the lead in the 51st minute, but WVU answered just five minutes later on McCormick’s fifth goal of the season, corralling a rebound before firing a shot into the back of the net.



Tsukada put the Mountaineers on top in the 69th minute, taking a pass from Caldeira before slotting a shot past the keeper and into the back of the net. In the 76th minute, the Tokyo native did it all himself, ripping a shot with his left foot from just outside the box and getting it past the diving GSU keeper. Tsukada nearly had a third a few minutes later but settled for the brace.



West Virginia is now 13-1-4 overall this season, reaching the 13-win plateau for just the seventh time in program history.



For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

BYU Impressed me tremendously tonight

Although the play on the field wasn’t up to what I’m sure we’ll see from them in the future, I left the stadium very impressed with BYU for many reasons. First they had a very large crowd, especially for a school 2,000 miles from home. Almost all of their fans stayed deep into the game well after the outcome was in doubt. The team also did something I’ve never seen before—one of their players carried a WV state flag as the team entered the field. Finally the entire team stood together quietly on the field after the game until the end of “Country Roads” before acknowledging their remaining fans and heading into the locker room. It was a very classy display. I think we’ll be glad as a league we added them to the conference.
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