My fiver on WVU's victory over the Cyclones Saturday at Mountaineer field>>>
1. Jarrett Doege: 30/46, 370 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT. You could give the game ball to a lot of folks in this one. But, I'm giving it to Doege. First, this season, in and of itself, has been a test of character. He's not deaf and blind, and I'm sure he's heard his detractors. However, he's stayed the course. Last week in Ft. Worth, he was good. Saturday in Morgantown, he was damn good. Secondly, another test of character is how do you perform when behind? And, Saturday, each time Iowa State threw a punch, Doege led a sustained Mountaineer drive as a counter-punch. One thing I can tell you is that we were the better team. Iowa State can make all the excuses they want. But, they hit on 3 big plays to produce 21 points. Meanwhile, Doege was leading a 12 play, 75 yard TD drive, then another 9 play, 75 yard TD drive, then again, another 5 play, 75 yard TD drive, then for good measure another 12 play, 75-yard TD drive. The creme de la creme was Doege's final TD drive of 6 plays, 85 yards. We were simply better. Doege was better than Brock Purdy, on this day. Finally, his two TD passes to Bryce Ford Wheaton were absolute dimes. The first one, he threw #0 open. Go back and watch, and BFW is double-teamed, and Doege put the ball where only #0 could go get it. It was reminiscent of a Marc Bulger throw. Proud of Doege. He's hung in there. He's hitting his stride.
2. Josh Chandler-Semedo is just different since the bye week. 12 tackles, 9 solo, 1 sack. That's 23 tackles, 18 solo and a sack since the bye. During the bye week, I saw a quote from Chandler-Semedo online where he talked about "I don't want to go out like this", and there was talk of a player's only meeting. That stuff is kinda white noise to me - you hear it so often. But, it appears that he really has flipped a switch. He's flying around, making plays and delivering some serious boom. And, we desperately need that type of play from our LBs with all of the mobile QB, zone read, and RPO we face in this league. Lance Dixon is coming on as well. We just need to button things up on our first drive of the game for goodness sakes.
3. The officiating from this game will be quoted by Iowa State fans for years, similar to how I'll always cite the officiating of the '89 Pitt loss and '87 PSU loss. But, in balance, we had the worst of it. First, you absolutely cannot overturn that fumble. Watching the game on the Ocho, they showed that play over and over and over during the half-hour official review. We saw four different camera angles. And, in zero of those camera angles could you definitively make a call. So, the call on the field stands. If the call on the field was a touchdown, then the TD would've stood. But, it wasn't. May have been wrong. May have been right. Ultimately, Breece Hall needs to hold on to the ball. Secondly, the offensive PI call on Ford-Wheaton was a gut-punch of biblical proportions. Score tied, we just forced an ISU 3 & out, and Doege throws a strike to BFW for 46 yards to give us 1st and 10 at the ISU 11-yard line. And, for some God forsaken reason, the official took it all away. Instead, we go backwards to the ISU 23. Folks, that is a 66 yard penalty and now we're behind the sticks. We saw what happened next. I'm convinced that if that official doesn't throw the flag there, we would've won this game comfortably. It was just a horrendous call. Also, just for good measure, the same official flags Jackie Matthews for P.I. on ISU's final drive, and if that is P.I., then pass interference occurs on every down. You cannot make that call there. Anyhow, we survived all of it. But, between the missed holding calls on Dante Stills and Jared Bartlett, and these two P.I. calls, we put up with a lot Saturday. We overcame it, and won. ISU didn't.
4. OL play & TJ Banks. Our OL has clearly been better since the bye week. And, it may or may not be coincidence, but that is when Wyatt Milum was inserted into the starting lineup. It's going to be fun watchin Milum and Zach Frazier road grade over the next few years. Keep those WV linemen coming. Between more efficient play from our OL, and Leddie Brown running as hard as a charging bull, our run game is all of the sudden not only effective, but dangerous. This offense looks so much more effective when we can count on a 4-yard or 6-yard run here and there. Huge. And when O'Laughlin was ruled out, I was concerned, given our opponent. But, TJ Banks was up to it Saturday. He was not only blocking well in the run game, but boy, did he deliver in the pass game as well. His ability to punish defenders and extend plays from our tight end position was fantastic. Once again, recruiting matters. Having a four-star kid like TJ Banks as your backup tight end is a luxury.
5. Belief. I said it after the Baylor game -- this team needs someone to make a play, to give them a shot in the arm, and to instill belief in what they are doing. We have the players, we have the coaches, and for some reason this isn't working. But, instead of someone making a play, we've built momentum little by little over the past two weeks, with third down conversions, sacks by our "D", big 3rd and 4th down stops, and timely turnovers. You've seen the celebration inside the lockerroom after the game. That was a long time coming, and so well deserved. Saturday was cathartic in a lot of ways. Our fan base was fraying at the seams. Neal Brown has been visibly frustrated - "Why is this not working!?". Players were frustrated, mostly because they'd put so much in, they've come so close, but they were standing at 2-4 before the Bye. Then you have Iowa State with their arrogant coach, their dominance over WVU lately (which is ridiculous), Brocktober, all that. And, we overcame another early 7-0 deficit and all of what I just mentioned to win. And, it wasn't a flash-in-the-pan lucky win like Maryland's over WVU. We methodically beat them. We just kept coming. ISU tried to throw some knockout blows, but we just kept coming. No matter where the ball was spotted on the field, we just kept coming. And, that type of effort, that type of result, is rooted in a belief of what we're doing. These kids have bought in. And, that was a question after Waco. These kids now believe. And, Saturday drove that home. We're going to see them play this Saturday, for the first time, as a confident bunch.
This past Saturday was "I think I can.". This coming Saturday will be "I Know I Can". We're going to win this game Saturday. And, this season, which has already taken on a new complexion, will be shifted into a late 2003-esque overdrive.
1. Jarrett Doege: 30/46, 370 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT. You could give the game ball to a lot of folks in this one. But, I'm giving it to Doege. First, this season, in and of itself, has been a test of character. He's not deaf and blind, and I'm sure he's heard his detractors. However, he's stayed the course. Last week in Ft. Worth, he was good. Saturday in Morgantown, he was damn good. Secondly, another test of character is how do you perform when behind? And, Saturday, each time Iowa State threw a punch, Doege led a sustained Mountaineer drive as a counter-punch. One thing I can tell you is that we were the better team. Iowa State can make all the excuses they want. But, they hit on 3 big plays to produce 21 points. Meanwhile, Doege was leading a 12 play, 75 yard TD drive, then another 9 play, 75 yard TD drive, then again, another 5 play, 75 yard TD drive, then for good measure another 12 play, 75-yard TD drive. The creme de la creme was Doege's final TD drive of 6 plays, 85 yards. We were simply better. Doege was better than Brock Purdy, on this day. Finally, his two TD passes to Bryce Ford Wheaton were absolute dimes. The first one, he threw #0 open. Go back and watch, and BFW is double-teamed, and Doege put the ball where only #0 could go get it. It was reminiscent of a Marc Bulger throw. Proud of Doege. He's hung in there. He's hitting his stride.
2. Josh Chandler-Semedo is just different since the bye week. 12 tackles, 9 solo, 1 sack. That's 23 tackles, 18 solo and a sack since the bye. During the bye week, I saw a quote from Chandler-Semedo online where he talked about "I don't want to go out like this", and there was talk of a player's only meeting. That stuff is kinda white noise to me - you hear it so often. But, it appears that he really has flipped a switch. He's flying around, making plays and delivering some serious boom. And, we desperately need that type of play from our LBs with all of the mobile QB, zone read, and RPO we face in this league. Lance Dixon is coming on as well. We just need to button things up on our first drive of the game for goodness sakes.
3. The officiating from this game will be quoted by Iowa State fans for years, similar to how I'll always cite the officiating of the '89 Pitt loss and '87 PSU loss. But, in balance, we had the worst of it. First, you absolutely cannot overturn that fumble. Watching the game on the Ocho, they showed that play over and over and over during the half-hour official review. We saw four different camera angles. And, in zero of those camera angles could you definitively make a call. So, the call on the field stands. If the call on the field was a touchdown, then the TD would've stood. But, it wasn't. May have been wrong. May have been right. Ultimately, Breece Hall needs to hold on to the ball. Secondly, the offensive PI call on Ford-Wheaton was a gut-punch of biblical proportions. Score tied, we just forced an ISU 3 & out, and Doege throws a strike to BFW for 46 yards to give us 1st and 10 at the ISU 11-yard line. And, for some God forsaken reason, the official took it all away. Instead, we go backwards to the ISU 23. Folks, that is a 66 yard penalty and now we're behind the sticks. We saw what happened next. I'm convinced that if that official doesn't throw the flag there, we would've won this game comfortably. It was just a horrendous call. Also, just for good measure, the same official flags Jackie Matthews for P.I. on ISU's final drive, and if that is P.I., then pass interference occurs on every down. You cannot make that call there. Anyhow, we survived all of it. But, between the missed holding calls on Dante Stills and Jared Bartlett, and these two P.I. calls, we put up with a lot Saturday. We overcame it, and won. ISU didn't.
4. OL play & TJ Banks. Our OL has clearly been better since the bye week. And, it may or may not be coincidence, but that is when Wyatt Milum was inserted into the starting lineup. It's going to be fun watchin Milum and Zach Frazier road grade over the next few years. Keep those WV linemen coming. Between more efficient play from our OL, and Leddie Brown running as hard as a charging bull, our run game is all of the sudden not only effective, but dangerous. This offense looks so much more effective when we can count on a 4-yard or 6-yard run here and there. Huge. And when O'Laughlin was ruled out, I was concerned, given our opponent. But, TJ Banks was up to it Saturday. He was not only blocking well in the run game, but boy, did he deliver in the pass game as well. His ability to punish defenders and extend plays from our tight end position was fantastic. Once again, recruiting matters. Having a four-star kid like TJ Banks as your backup tight end is a luxury.
5. Belief. I said it after the Baylor game -- this team needs someone to make a play, to give them a shot in the arm, and to instill belief in what they are doing. We have the players, we have the coaches, and for some reason this isn't working. But, instead of someone making a play, we've built momentum little by little over the past two weeks, with third down conversions, sacks by our "D", big 3rd and 4th down stops, and timely turnovers. You've seen the celebration inside the lockerroom after the game. That was a long time coming, and so well deserved. Saturday was cathartic in a lot of ways. Our fan base was fraying at the seams. Neal Brown has been visibly frustrated - "Why is this not working!?". Players were frustrated, mostly because they'd put so much in, they've come so close, but they were standing at 2-4 before the Bye. Then you have Iowa State with their arrogant coach, their dominance over WVU lately (which is ridiculous), Brocktober, all that. And, we overcame another early 7-0 deficit and all of what I just mentioned to win. And, it wasn't a flash-in-the-pan lucky win like Maryland's over WVU. We methodically beat them. We just kept coming. ISU tried to throw some knockout blows, but we just kept coming. No matter where the ball was spotted on the field, we just kept coming. And, that type of effort, that type of result, is rooted in a belief of what we're doing. These kids have bought in. And, that was a question after Waco. These kids now believe. And, Saturday drove that home. We're going to see them play this Saturday, for the first time, as a confident bunch.
This past Saturday was "I think I can.". This coming Saturday will be "I Know I Can". We're going to win this game Saturday. And, this season, which has already taken on a new complexion, will be shifted into a late 2003-esque overdrive.
