So WVU loses a string of games and ...

[The Bell Tolls for Thee]

some people go chicken little, but others express concerns about the development of the program. Then WVU wins three games and some people thump their chests and gloat at the doom and gloom types. Its hard for me to figure out if those people are just trying to get a rise out of other posters or if they actually think that the last three wins mean WVU is any closer to competing for a Big XII title compared to 2012. I can understand just trying to get a rise, but being proud of the fact that WVU can prove to be 5th best out of 10 in the conference is beyond me. Now I am certainly glad that WVU has won these games, especially the convincing manner of the last two, but that does not erase being soundly whipped by OU, Baylor, and TCU (20, 24, and 30 point losses). Things may not be as desolate as some want to make it appear, but things are certainly far from good if the goal is to compete for a Big XII title. I know the 4 losses were to "top 15 teams", but to be competitive in only 1 game against top 25 competition in the 4th Big XII season still stand out despite the positives of the last 3 games.

The sky is not falling, but in my opinion WVU has not improved by all that much since the 2012 season. I'm not saying the coaching staff needs to be fired, but after 3 seasons the body of work needs to be evaluated and each season there after in terms of reaching the program's goal (which is to make money, so the goal of the program will ultimately be set by those who provide the money).

 

[pressvirginia]

would Dana be back if the schedule were flipped around?

November
at OU
Ok State
at Bay

December
at TCU

 

[ColoradoMountaineer]

would Dana be back if the schedule were flipped around?

November
at OU
Ok State
at Bay

December
at TCU

How do you know he's gonna be back anyway? If he where to win the last 2 games and finish 8-4 you would think he would be back for sure. The last 2 games look winnable on paper but the trip to Manhattan on 12-5 may be there coaches last game and Holgorson has never beaten K state. The K state game is no gimme and a loss there would mean another 7-5 season which is no improvement

 

[Atreides]

I've Not understood the need for some fans to slam others for disagreeing. I'm not convinced fifth place is progress. I do think beating teams we Should is . I remember the loss to Kansas two seasons ago. Hope we win out including a bowl win. Anything less is just more of what we have been used to....Middle of the pack.

 

[torontoeers]

some people go chicken little, but others express concerns about the development of the program. Then WVU wins three games and some people thump their chests and gloat at the doom and gloom types. Its hard for me to figure out if those people are just trying to get a rise out of other posters or if they actually think that the last three wins mean WVU is any closer to competing for a Big XII title compared to 2012. I can understand just trying to get a rise, but being proud of the fact that WVU can prove to be 5th best out of 10 in the conference is beyond me. Now I am certainly glad that WVU has won these games, especially the convincing manner of the last two, but that does not erase being soundly whipped by OU, Baylor, and TCU (20, 24, and 30 point losses). Things may not be as desolate as some want to make it appear, but things are certainly far from good if the goal is to compete for a Big XII title. I know the 4 losses were to "top 15 teams", but to be competitive in only 1 game against top 25 competition in the 4th Big XII season still stand out despite the positives of the last 3 games.

The sky is not falling, but in my opinion WVU has not improved by all that much since the 2012 season. I'm not saying the coaching staff needs to be fired, but after 3 seasons the body of work needs to be evaluated and each season there after in terms of reaching the program's goal (which is to make money, so the goal of the program will ultimately be set by those who provide the money).

The one I figure hurts the most is Ok St...and they proved tonight vs a third string QB at home , the Mountaineers should have beaten them...gave them that game....beating just one of the other 3 mentioned as well would have me VERY confident in the progams direction. Still...3 solid wins in row yet still unsure on the program's direction. ...3 more W's would certainly sway me to more hope for next year...

 

[pressvirginia]

agreed, Toronto. for sure. the Ok State game should have been the signature win for 2015. that's the missing component and would've changed the perception on October. it was done each season prior: 2011 Clemson, 2012 at Texas, 2013 Ok State, 2014 Bay.

Colorado, I don't know what the future holds. didn't claim to. they've still got to keep winning.

that's a hypothetical situation to consider above. it would be interesting to me how the season would be viewed if it ended with the exact same results but in a different order.

 

[Buster68]

Since we're playing woulda, coulda, shoulda...the hypothetical schedule changes may have ended better for wvu with skylar and the running attack developing and key injuries for those top tier teams. Those teams were at full strength when we played them. An 8-4 and bowl win would definitely show progress. Let's enjoy the wins and see how it plays out.

 

[TexasforevEER]

Dana will be at WV for at least the next three years and beyond if he wins at least 7 games a year in total and takes the Mountaineers to a nice bowl on occasion. If he is bought out (ran out) and a new coach is brought in.....................expect about 5-8 wins a year out of the new coach. I am just the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger. I know you want me to be wrong, but.......

 

[ColoradoMountaineer]

Dana will be at WV for at least the next three years and beyond if he wins at least 7 games a year in total and takes the Mountaineers to a nice bowl on occasion. If he is bought out (ran out) and a new coach is brought in.....................expect about 5-8 wins a year out of the new coach. I am just the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger. I know you want me to be wrong, but.......

Well if that's the case then maybe we could pay the new guy half of the 3 million he's getting and justify 5-8 wins a year. Plus maybe we might just be able to recruit a division 1 QB for a change

 

[TexasforevEER]

Ever team in the country has their eye on the same prize. Truth is.............for every team that goes 9-4.................there MUST be a team that goes 4-8. Money can't buy love. The Beatles warned us about this many years ago. I am well pleased with this years team.

 

[ColoradoMountaineer]

Your not gonna win championships without a division 1 QB either

 

[Airport]

Your not gonna win championships without a division 1 QB either

have to admit, the QB is the key. We need one to beat the best. Skyler is a competitor but that's not enough against the best in our league. We will be very stout next year.

 

[GetYaNumbersUp]

Some of you guys can't even enjoy a win for 24 hours without strolling over to the board and reminding everyone that the team sucks and the program is not improving. WVU just shut out a conference opponent on the road and you clowns are still bitching about the coach and Skyler Howard.

If WVU football makes you that mad that you can't even enjoy a win like yesterday, why do you even bother?

 

[BornAgainEer]

Well if that's the case then maybe we could pay the new guy half of the 3 million he's getting and justify 5-8 wins a year. Plus maybe we might just be able to recruit a division 1 QB for a change

Not sure I understand your reasoning. DH gets $2.8 for what looks like a 5th place finish. OU pays Stoops $5.4 million and if they win next week they win the Big XII. Seems the numbers are right where they should be in 10 team division.

WVU could afford to spend a lot more on a HC now with better revenues. However, are we really going to be able to attract a coach of that caliber, meaning, a proven commodity to come to WVU? How is that coach going to be able to overcome the competitive disadvantages inherent to WVU year in and year out on the recruiting trail? DH has done a great job keeping the team together, there is no doubt to me the players are behind him. Unlike that nonsense I see with Oscar Meyer at Ohio State. No, I think I am sticking behind DH and the team for a good if not great 2015-16 campaign.

 

[Shipyard Dog]

Your "concerns" and opinion are just hot air. If you can't understand why Mountaineer fans are happy with wins you don't even need to be here. It's called being a fan. You're not an athletic director. Stop playing your fantasy here while pretending the rest of us are delusional.

 

[ColoradoMountaineer]

Not sure I understand your reasoning. DH gets $2.8 for what looks like a 5th place finish. OU pays Stoops $5.4 million and if they win next week they win the Big XII. Seems the numbers are right where they should be in 10 team division.

WVU could afford to spend a lot more on a HC now with better revenues. However, are we really going to be able to attract a coach of that caliber, meaning, a proven commodity to come to WVU? How is that coach going to be able to overcome the competitive disadvantages inherent to WVU year in and year out on the recruiting trail? DH has done a great job keeping the team together, there is no doubt to me the players are behind him. Unlike that nonsense I see with Oscar Meyer at Ohio State. No, I think I am sticking behind DH and the team for a good if not great 2015-16 campaign.

There are quite a few coaches that can produce 5-8 wins a year that you could hire. WVU's recruiting classes are very similar to the rest of the Big 12.Only Texas and Oklahoma consistently get better classes according to rivals. When WVU was beating the likes of Georgia and Oklahoma in bcs games Baylor was losing to teams like Uconn. Look what the Briles hire has done for them. If your satisfied with only beating the weak teams in your conference then don't bother paying someone 3 million a year hire some average coach or someone way past his prime you will get the same results.

 

[VaultHunter]

People act like expectations were sky high for WVU going into this season and WVU has failed to meet those expectations somehow. Some "fans" also act like a potential 9-4 season in the Big12 is somehow a failure or mediocre. College football IQ is seriously lacking for some posters on this board. If you thought WVU was going to go from AAC type of competition and just dominate Big12 competition you were wrong. That's just the reality of WVU's situation.

 

[TexasforevEER]

Speaking just for me and some folks from Tennessee................I am well pleased with this years Mountaineer football team and it's win loss record. Further more, I understand that Warez is on board with it all...........and so on and so forth and this that and other. Hail, we could go 9-4 with a win in our bowl. We will beat Iowa State and Kansas State according to ole Warez.

 

[older gold]

The biggest area of improvement has been in overall roster depth, excepting the quarterback position.

We are reaping the benefit of it now.

In past years, the last four games of the Big 12 season showed our vulnerability with poor depth. This year, we are pummeling people late in the season with a ground and pound, physical brand of football.

 

[The Bell Tolls for Thee]

Your "concerns" and opinion are just hot air. If you can't understand why Mountaineer fans are happy with wins you don't even need to be here. It's called being a fan. You're not an athletic director. Stop playing your fantasy here while pretending the rest of us are delusional.

No where did I say I can't understand why folks are happy with the wins. Hell, I even said I am happy with the wins. There were a lot of critiques and criticisms being thrown around by some posters during the 4 game losing streak. Some were legit and some were overly dramatic. Now that the team is winning, some posters are gloating toward those that were throwing out those criticisms. So the question was, is it just to get a rise out of the guys who were overly pessimistic during the losing streak or are these gung-ho posts reflective of the opinion that this winning streak against TTU, Texas, and Kansas completely mitigates getting handily beat by OU, Baylor, and TCU.

My point is that winning these games are great, but these are games that the Mountaineers SHOULD win. I have criticized the recent iterations of the Mountaineer football teams for collapsing late in games and looking pretty gassed before the end of the 3rd quarter. WVU has improved in that regard this season. But getting blown out more often than winning or even being competitive against the good teams in this league stands out more to me than beating a so-so team, below average team, and terrible football team (the term football team is used loosely).

 

[wbgvwbgv]

Fans clamoring for 6 or 7 conference wins every year are asking for a lot. Believe it or not, but there were only 18 teams in the power conferences that had 6 or more conference wins last year. That is 18 out of 64 schools. And I guarantee you that most of those 18 schools have better facilities, better recruiting areas, higher coaching salaries, better fan support, etc., etc. than WVU. Head coaches are not miracle workers.

Any power conference win is a good win because it was against a quality program with resources. WVU will hopefully get 5 conference wins this year and were one play away from getting another one (OSU). Fan who can't see how competitive WVU has been this year are either stupid (low IQ drifter) or ignoring reality.

 

[WVex-pat in GA]

Fans clamoring for 6 or 7 conference wins every year are asking for a lot. Believe it or not, but there were only 18 teams in the power conferences that had 6 or more conference wins last year. That is 18 out of 64 schools. And I guarantee you that most of those 18 schools have better facilities, better recruiting areas, higher coaching salaries, better fan support, etc., etc. than WVU.

The 18 teams from 2014 are:
ACC: FSU-Clemson-Georgia Tech / B12: Baylor-TCU-KSU / B10: tOSU-MSU-Wisc / P12: Ore-AZ-AZ St.-UCLA-USC / SEC: Mizzou-UGA-Bama-MS St.

I think the claims of better facilities, better recruiting areas, better fan support are pretty subjective. I don't really know much about what kinds of facilities these teams have, but I doubt that WVU by comparison is in the lower half of this group in that regard.

Salaries: Only the HC at GT, Wisc, USC, Mizzou are paid less than DH. (from USA Today-see link)http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

Recruiting: Obviously Bama, UGA, FSU, Baylor, TCU, tOSU and UCLA all have great in-state recruiting areas. The others may have some of the same challenges as WVU having to get many recruits from out-of-state or poach other areas like Texas, Florida, etc., which is what almost all schools do to some extent. I'm not personally in-tune to what the recruiting atmosphere is like in Wisc or Miss.

Fan Support: Really? Unless you mean financial support.

So the final point is that we will end up with 5 wins in conference if we win out. Leaving that one signature win against a B12 team that we should have beat (OK St.) but didn't.

That is the difference between a 5 conference win season and a 6 conference win season for 2015 and no one can deny that is a fact!

 

[wbgvwbgv]

The 18 teams from 2014 are:
ACC: FSU-Clemson-Georgia Tech / B12: Baylor-TCU-KSU / B10: tOSU-MSU-Wisc / P12: Ore-AZ-AZ St.-UCLA-USC / SEC: Mizzou-UGA-Bama-MS St.

I think the claims of better facilities, better recruiting areas, better fan support are pretty subjective. I don't really know much about what kinds of facilities these teams have, but I doubt that WVU by comparison is in the lower half of this group in that regard.

Salaries: Only the HC at GT, Wisc, USC, Mizzou are paid less than DH. (from USA Today-see link)http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

Recruiting: Obviously Bama, UGA, FSU, Baylor, TCU, tOSU and UCLA all have great in-state recruiting areas. The others may have some of the same challenges as WVU having to get many recruits from out-of-state or poach other areas like Texas, Florida, etc., which is what almost all schools do to some extent. I'm not personally in-tune to what the recruiting atmosphere is like in Wisc or Miss.

Fan Support: Really? Unless you mean financial support.

So the final point is that we will end up with 5 wins in conference if we win out. Leaving that one signature win against a B12 team that we should have beat (OK St.) but didn't.

That is the difference between a 5 conference win season and a 6 conference win season for 2015 and no one can deny that is a fact!

WVU finally got a

The 18 teams from 2014 are:
ACC: FSU-Clemson-Georgia Tech / B12: Baylor-TCU-KSU / B10: tOSU-MSU-Wisc / P12: Ore-AZ-AZ St.-UCLA-USC / SEC: Mizzou-UGA-Bama-MS St.

I think the claims of better facilities, better recruiting areas, better fan support are pretty subjective. I don't really know much about what kinds of facilities these teams have, but I doubt that WVU by comparison is in the lower half of this group in that regard.

Salaries: Only the HC at GT, Wisc, USC, Mizzou are paid less than DH. (from USA Today-see link)http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

Recruiting: Obviously Bama, UGA, FSU, Baylor, TCU, tOSU and UCLA all have great in-state recruiting areas. The others may have some of the same challenges as WVU having to get many recruits from out-of-state or poach other areas like Texas, Florida, etc., which is what almost all schools do to some extent. I'm not personally in-tune to what the recruiting atmosphere is like in Wisc or Miss.

Fan Support: Really? Unless you mean financial support.

So the final point is that we will end up with 5 wins in conference if we win out. Leaving that one signature win against a B12 team that we should have beat (OK St.) but didn't.

That is the difference between a 5 conference win season and a 6 conference win season for 2015 and no one can deny that is a fact!

And as far as facilities, WVU just got a decent practice field and team meeting room this year. Our indoor practice facility still isn't that functional and outdated ( "it doesn’t have the length, width or height to be able to practice football" ). And there aren't many stadiums from schools on that list that I would rank behind Puskar Stadium.

WVU's attendance and fan support certainly can't be compared to schools like Alabama, tOSU, Wisconsin, Clemson, FSU, UCLA, USC, UGA, etc. Plus there are a lot of power conference schools not on the list that have far more fan support than WVU. West Virginia is a small state and we definitely are in the bottom half.

The people that think we pay our coaches too much, have the best facilities possible, best fans, and should be establishing a roster full of 4 and 5 star recruits and winning at least 6 or 7 conference game every year simply haven't adjusted to life in a power conference. IMO WVU is still playing catchup having only joined the Big 12 in 2012. Being disappointed that we didn't get that 6th conference win this year and wanting to fire the coaching staff seems utterly ridiculous to me.

http://www.thedaonline.com/sports/football/article_f00c76c4-51c3-11e3-bd32-0019bb30f31a.html

 

[Mountaineer Steve]

some people go chicken little, but others express concerns about the development of the program. Then WVU wins three games and some people thump their chests and gloat at the doom and gloom types. Its hard for me to figure out if those people are just trying to get a rise out of other posters or if they actually think that the last three wins mean WVU is any closer to competing for a Big XII title compared to 2012. I can understand just trying to get a rise, but being proud of the fact that WVU can prove to be 5th best out of 10 in the conference is beyond me. Now I am certainly glad that WVU has won these games, especially the convincing manner of the last two, but that does not erase being soundly whipped by OU, Baylor, and TCU (20, 24, and 30 point losses). Things may not be as desolate as some want to make it appear, but things are certainly far from good if the goal is to compete for a Big XII title. I know the 4 losses were to "top 15 teams", but to be competitive in only 1 game against top 25 competition in the 4th Big XII season still stand out despite the positives of the last 3 games.

The sky is not falling, but in my opinion WVU has not improved by all that much since the 2012 season. I'm not saying the coaching staff needs to be fired, but after 3 seasons the body of work needs to be evaluated and each season there after in terms of reaching the program's goal (which is to make money, so the goal of the program will ultimately be set by those who provide the money).

I don't know how you can look at this team and say we have not improved much.

1. The D is 1000 times better than 1st year in BIG12. In fact we went form worst D in the Conference and Country to 2nd best in the Conference.
2. Special teams is light years ahead of where we were
3. We can now run the ball with authority and can win a game even in bad weather.

We are light years behind in the passing game, which is a direct reflection of young WR and not finding a QB that can make consistent passes.

In my honest opinion this team would be in 1st place in SEC East, BIG West, PAC South And either ACC division except for Clemson.

 

[Mountaineer Steve]

Since we're playing woulda, coulda, shoulda...the hypothetical schedule changes may have ended better for wvu with skylar and the running attack developing and key injuries for those top tier teams. Those teams were at full strength when we played them. An 8-4 and bowl win would definitely show progress. Let's enjoy the wins and see how it plays out.

^^^^ This times 1000 ^^^^

 

[GoWVU]

In my honest opinion this team would be in 1st place in SEC East, BIG West, PAC South And either ACC division except for Clemson.

Send me some of what you're smoking!

 

[mountiefan88]

Personally I think this team would go 10-2 in the old BE if it played Miami, VT, and Pitt. It would be favored in almost every game but find a way to lose one or two.

 

[Low Mountains Drifter]

7-5 will not be progress when you consider this season we switched out Bama for GSU. The same record against an easier schedule is debatably not regression, but it is most definitely not progress.

We also went 7-5 in 2012, so the longer term view would not support a claim of progress either.

8-4 would maybe be very slight progress. But, there is a caveat. We've lost our 4 games thus far by a combined 179-98 (44.7- 24.5, -22.2 pts. a game). Last year, we lost our 4 conference games by 135-99 (avg. 33.7- 24.7, -9 pts. a game ) In 2012, our conference losses were by a total of 149-248.(29.8-49.6, -19.8, pts a game). We'll just ignore 2013, a year for which there is no excuse.

It's very hard to see how any claim can be made that we getting closer to competing for the Big 12. The biggest difference so far between this year and 2012 is we beat fellow also ran Texas Tech this year.

Beating KSU would be a first, so there is that, but KSU is clearly not the team it was in 2012.

 

[Low Mountains Drifter]

Since 2012, the following teams have won or finished within 1 game of first place in the Big 12:

KSU, OU, Baylor, OSU, Texas, TCU.

WVU, TTU, ISU and Kansas have not finished closer than 3 games in any season.

We are the best of the bottom 4. If that is all it takes to be considered successful anymore, everything is peachy.