So, year #5 and we are 0-3 in the Big 12...

[MountaineerWV]

...and some of you want to duck your heads in the sand and say "nothing wrong...nothing to see..."???????

Are we now relegated to saying "oh, but we played ranked teams"??????

We didn't join the Big 12 to play ranked teams for a half. I didn't expect a win, but getting beat 62-38?

 

[oceantide83]

Go put your blue/gold blinders back on right now Mister!

 

[BeatPitt]

He's just gotta get HIS GUYS in there....
We've turned into thundering herd fans...

 

[oceantide83]

Not sure why he's so obsessed with getting his guys in there when he did better with other people's guys.

 

[dolemitebmf]

He's just gotta get HIS GUYS in there....
We've turned into thundering herd fans...

Yep. The worst part is, Stewart's guys were a lot better than Dana's guys...

 

[BeatPitt]

I feel like we need, and HAVE needed to get rid of every person involved with the whole BS debacle...the writing was on the wall two years ago...

 

[TheWVUMountaineer]

Did anyone really expect to win yesterday? Baylor is probably the best team in the nation and they average more than 60 points per game. They have one of the best defensive lines in the country. We played two Top 20 teams, and will have played two Top 5 teams..3 of 4 of those games on the road. The only game that really upset me is the OSU game at home. We should have won that game by 10-13 points easy.

I would rather play highly ranked teams with capacity crowds in a power conference then win most of our games against pitiful competition in front of ridiculously small crowds....ala MARSHALL.

 

[GetYaNumbersUp]

Yep. The worst part is, Stewart's guys were a lot better than Dana's guys...

Bill's teams would have done no better yesterday. In fact probably worse.

 

[I-70 Roadkill]

...and some of you want to duck your heads in the sand and say "nothing wrong...nothing to see..."???????

Are we now relegated to saying "oh, but we played ranked teams"??????

We didn't join the Big 12 to play ranked teams for a half. I didn't expect a win, but getting beat 62-38?

So if we would have played Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech first and been 3-0 (6-0) instead of the 3 Top 20 teams would you have started this thread?

 

[ThunderCat98]

I would rather play highly ranked teams with capacity crowds in a power conference then win most of our games against pitiful competition in front of ridiculously small crowds....ala MARSHALL.

Awwww, thanks for thinking of us in the midst of your meltdown.

 

[dolemitebmf]

Bill's teams would have done no better yesterday. In fact probably worse.

Don't get those knee pads too scuffed up! Stewart wasn't good, but he had significantly better players on offense, where we are sorely lacking.

 

[GetYaNumbersUp]

Don't get those knee pads too scuffed up! Stewart wasn't good, but he had significantly better players on offense, where we are sorely lacking.

And he didn't do jack shit with those players. Our offenses under Stewart were god awful. Dana isn't much better, but I'd prefer him any day over Bill.

 

[dolemitebmf]

And he didn't do jack shit with those players. Our offenses under Stewart were god awful. Dana isn't much better, but I'd prefer him any day over Bill.

They are both awful.

 

[TruWVblu]

And he didn't do jack shit with those players. Our offenses under Stewart were god awful. Dana isn't much better, but I'd prefer him any day over Bill.

I'm really glad to hear you would prefer Holgorsen over Stewart. Since Stewart is dead and gone, I'm not really sure what that means. Truth is, you have been a supporter of Holgorsen since the beginning and the guy is a bust. I'm not sure why you insist on dragging Bill Stewart into the continued decline of our program. At least Stewart recruited top talent and kept our program viable. Holgorsen is not the right guy to lead our program, and surely even you can now see that. Now you say, "Dana is not much better." That sure isn't what you were saying just a year ago. This program needs a new direction now, not after Holgorsen's contract is up. Top tier programs make these decisions.

 

[GetYaNumbersUp]

I'm really glad to hear you would prefer Holgorsen over Stewart. Since Stewart is dead and gone, I'm not really sure what that means. Truth is, you have been a supporter of Holgorsen since the beginning and the guy is a bust. I'm not sure why you insist on dragging Bill Stewart into the continued decline of our program. At least Stewart recruited top talent and kept our program viable. Holgorsen is not the right guy to lead our program, and surely even you can now see that. Now you say, "Dana is not much better." That sure isn't what you were saying just a year ago. This program needs a new direction now, not after Holgorsen's contract is up. Top tier programs make these decisions.

The decline in our program started when Bill Stewart was hired. He actually bears more responsibility because he's the one that turned WVU from a top 15 program into....this. All Holgorsen has done is maintain the same mediocrity that good ole Bill created. Also, Dana had to endure an unexpected conference change, not the easiest to deal with. And since Dana is no Gary Patterson, this is what we get.

 

[MountaineerWV]

So if we would have played Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech first and been 3-0 (6-0) instead of the 3 Top 20 teams would you have started this thread?

No. Why would I have? We would have been undefeated and building momentum towards the difficult games. Besides, I wasn't asking to be 3-0. To be honest, I was expected 1-2 at this point. I knew Baylor would be difficult. I thought we had a chance against Oklahoma, and we did if not for the stupid turnovers at QB. I felt 99% sure we could take out OSU because this is the same OSU team we devoured last year at their place.

 

[WVUDisciples]

Bill's teams would have done no better yesterday. In fact probably worse.

That's why our AD fired him. Quote, "I did not feel like we were making progress toward winning a national championship." Comparing this year, with nearly everyone back on defense and half our starters back on offense, we are NOT better than last year. Of course BU is better than we are, but we look like the 4-8 team from two years ago. We are clearly not moving in the right direction

 

[Cuyahoga Falls Eers]

To be fair, if that's allowed on this board:
WVU held Baylor to its season average.
WVU scored more points against Baylor than any Bears opponent this season.


M ighty defense throttled Georgia Southern, 44-0

O utstanding defense obliterated Liberty, 41-17

U nilaterally decimated Maryland, 45-6, on defense and offense

N oxious offense & special teams against Oklahoma, 44-24

T urnovers lose to Oklahoma State, 33-26 in OT despite impressive comeback from 15-point deficit.

A wesome Baylor too much, 62-38.

I nch by TCU

N ip Texas Tech

E scape Texas

E rectile dysfunction Kansas

R oll past Iowa State

S lip past Kansas State

 

[wbgvwbgv]

Too early to make any call about our program this year. The schedule was front loaded with Top 20 conference opponents (3 of 4 games on the road). We have to play every conference opponent and I think it will be easier beating TT in Morgantown than BU in Waco. Next year the conference schedule will likely be much better than the one this year.

 

[VaultHunter]

People on here are funny.

What would WVU's record be playing Marshall's schedule?

Think this team could win the AAC?

Now do you understand the difference between that and the Big12?

 

[dolemitebmf]

People on here are funny.

What would WVU's record be playing Marshall's schedule?

Think this team could win the AAC?

Now do you understand the difference between that and the Big12?

We would be undefeated against Marshall's schedule, but no way we win the AAC, with Dana at the helm...

 

[spreadoption]

I thought DH meants players when he said he needed to get "his guys" in here. Now I realize "his guys" meant the opposing teams. He wants "his guys" in here to be the opponent. You know, guys from UConn, South Florida, Cincinnati. Pitt, Liberty, William & Mary, Towson, James Madison ... not Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma etc.

 

[TruWVblu]

The decline in our program started when Bill Stewart was hired. He actually bears more responsibility because he's the one that turned WVU from a top 15 program into....this. All Holgorsen has done is maintain the same mediocrity that good ole Bill created. Also, Dana had to endure an unexpected conference change, not the easiest to deal with. And since Dana is no Gary Patterson, this is what we get.

The last time I checked, our last big time bowl victory was accomplished by players that Bill Stewart recruited. I will note debate whether or not Stewart was a good head coach. I will say he took the program over in a very tenuous time, and there were not a bunch of great coaching prospects knocking down our door. He kept the program viable enough to hire what everyone thought was one of the up and coming coaching prospects. What has Holgorsen done with that opportunity? As for the conference change, I will say that Bill Stewart's recruits are likely the closest we have had to real Big 12 talent.

 

[ColoradoMountaineer]

The last time I checked, our last big time bowl victory was accomplished by players that Bill Stewart recruited. I will note debate whether or not Stewart was a good head coach. I will say he took the program over in a very tenuous time, and there were not a bunch of great coaching prospects knocking down our door. He kept the program viable enough to hire what everyone thought was one of the up and coming coaching prospects. What has Holgorsen done with that opportunity? As for the conference change, I will say that Bill Stewart's recruits are likely the closest we have had to real Big 12 talent.

outside of the QB's the talent on this team isn't all that different then when Stewart was coach. in allot of areas it is better today then it was back then. The problem is Holgorson like Stewart hasn't managed the art of play calling and clock management which are the essentials of a good head coach. Im sure there where allot of people that would have been interested in the wvu job after RR left had the AD taken the time to perform a proper search. I don't know many competent administrators that hire coaches at 2AM in the morning

 

[dolemitebmf]

outside of the QB's the talent on this team isn't all that different then when Stewart was coach. in allot of areas it is better today then it was back then. The problem is Holgorson like Stewart hasn't managed the art of play calling and clock management which are the essentials of a good head coach. Im sure there where allot of people that would have been interested in the wvu job after RR left had the AD taken the time to perform a proper search. I don't know many competent administrators that hire coaches at 2AM in the morning

That is exactly right. The myth of much improved recruiting, since Holgorsen got here is just that -- a myth.

2007: 18th
2008: 37th
2009: 22nd
2010: 29th
2011: 54th
2012: 27th
2013: 28th
2014: 40th
2015: 30th

 

[wbgvwbgv]

That is exactly right. The myth of much improved recruiting, since Holgorsen got here is just that -- a myth.

2007: 18th
2008: 37th
2009: 22nd
2010: 29th
2011: 54th
2012: 27th
2013: 28th
2014: 40th
2015: 30th

Rankings are a very subjective measurement (especially Rivals rankings), but Holgorsen has put twice as many players in the NFL as compared to the 5 previously years before his arrival. And that is something that recruits take into consideration.

 

[dolemitebmf]

Rankings are a very subjective measurement (especially Rivals rankings), but Holgorsen has put twice as many players in the NFL as compared to the 5 previously years before his arrival. And that is something that recruits take into consideration.

Glad that Stewart handed him those guys on a silver platter...

 

[mwhals]

...and some of you want to duck your heads in the sand and say "nothing wrong...nothing to see..."???????

Are we now relegated to saying "oh, but we played ranked teams"??????

We didn't join the Big 12 to play ranked teams for a half. I didn't expect a win, but getting beat 62-38?

Do you not remember very good WVU teams getting beaten worse than that by Miami and Penn State in the 80's? You know, the same decade that had an 11-0 1988 team.

 

[dolemitebmf]

Do you not remember very good WVU teams getting beaten worse than that by Miami and Penn State in the 80's? You know, the same decade that had an 11-0 1988 team.

So, Dana should be paid a little less than what Nehlen was making, back then?

 

[GoWVU]

Do you not remember very good WVU teams getting beaten worse than that by Miami and Penn State in the 80's? You know, the same decade that had an 11-0 1988 team.

In the entire decade of the 1980s, Nehlen lost by 21+ points only as many times (10) as Holgorsen has already in just 4.5 seasons.

 

[Low Mountains Drifter]

Ask yourself this. If you were a new coach being brought in, regardless of schedule,would you rather inherit the 2011 Mountaineers or the 2016 Mountaineers?

Me, I think I'd take the team with Geno entering his second year as starter throwing to Austin and Bailey, an offensive line anchored by Madsen and Barclay and a defense with 8 returning starters that included Irvin, Miller and Wright up front than a team with either Howard or an untested QB and a defense that needs to replace 7 starters.

http://www.wvillustrated.com/story/15361547/wvu-releases

 

[wisemaniac]

People on here are funny.

What would WVU's record be playing Marshall's schedule?

Think this team could win the AAC?

Now do you understand the difference between that and the Big12?

Would Marshall's record be any different than wvu's at this point?

 

[GoWVU]

Think this team could win the AAC?

Boy, did you pick the wrong year to make that remark.

I know this much: It's possible we could win on the road at Louisville like Houston did, but I have zero confidence that we would have manhandled Penn St as Temple did or come roaring back on Ole Miss like Memphis did.

 

[Low Mountains Drifter]

I don't know whether we could win the AAC this year. Maybe. We'd at least be in the hunt, but was Holgorsen brought in to field teams as good as good group of five teams or to build a program that could compete for the national championship?

In three years we decided Stewart was not making progress toward that goal. If that's the standard, it was a fair assessment. He didn't come close to destroying the program despite the revisionist anti-historians here. In fact he did a good job at maintaining the program in the wake of the Rodriguez fiasco especially when you look at the players we lost after 2007 (Schmitt, Slaton, Reynaud and most of the starting defense). Still, we lost just 2 more games than we did in the "banner year" of 2007. Then we lost White following 2008 but still maintained in 2009 and 2010. Three years of 9-4 was not below par for WVU historically. how many teams in our history that did not have Pat White put together a better three year run? Granted the schedules were easier than before or BE got poached or after we left, at least compared to schedules from the 1980s forward., but they are basically the same schedule difficulty Rodriguez faced 2004-07 and Stewart lost the same number of BE games each year that Rodriguez lost in 2007.

Objectively, if we put aside personal attacks on his looks, accent and rambling speaking style, he did pretty well. But, we decided that wasn't good enough. Not declining was not the standard he was held too. Fair enough. I can agree with the assertion he was not a guy who would take us to the next level.

Holgorsen was not brought in on the pretext that we were where we should be and all he needed to do to be considered a success was not let us get worse. Inarguably, he has failed to improve us. It's quite arguable that he has in fact let us get worse. He's had 2 more years than Stewart was afforded to show his stuff. What is the rationale, if we meander to another mediocre record, for claiming it won't be time to see if we can bring someone in who can accomplish what we decided when we hired him was the goal?

 

[GoWVU]

In the interests of accuracy, it should be noted we actually went from 2 losses to 4 losses in Stewart's first season rather than an increase of 1 loss. Otherwise, Drifter, agreed on all counts and another great post looking at the situation fairly.

 

[Low Mountains Drifter]

In the interests of accuracy, it should be noted we actually went from 2 losses to 4 losses in Stewart's first season rather than an increase of 1 loss. Otherwise, Drifter, agreed on all counts and another great post looking at the situation fairly.

IThanks for the correction. I fixed it.

 

[countryroads89]

In the entire decade of the 1980s, Nehlen lost by 21+ points only as many times (10) as Holgorsen has already in just 4.5 seasons.

They didn't run 100 plays a game in the 80s either. It was all about defense and 3 yards and a cloud of dust.

 

[Low Mountains Drifter]

24-3 is just as much a 21 point loss as is 63-42.

 

[BornAgainEer]

24-3 is just as much a 21 point loss as is 63-42.

Nehlen didn't play a Big XII schedule either. I bet you Nehlen would also say lay off Dana.

 

[GoWVU]

Nehlen never faced a Big 12 schedule, but he was the last WVU coach to face 4 straight ranked opponents before Holgorsen...so clearly his schedules were difficult enough on occasion.

We also faced a much greater talent deficit compared to top opponents then as opposed to now.

Scholarship limitations and redshirting had only just begun when Don started here, so national programs like Penn St and Oklahoma were way farther ahead of the pack in those days. If anything, the disparity should've resulted in more blowouts. We sure had our fair share, but most were concentrated in the down years.