Game Thread: WVU Assessment after the first 7 games

[bbwvfan]

AD Luck: Big East title will go through TCU

Luck mentioned that one of the reasons for the change was that he thought the Big East was about to get a whole lot tougher, mostly because of the addition of TCU in 2012.

"We need to respond to that and prepare ourselves, because I believe that eventually the road to the Big East championship will go through Fort Worth," Luck said. "And we need to be prepared to beat a team like TCU on the road to win a Big East championship and get into national championship consideration."

Luck understood the impact TCU would make. The BE championship will go thru Ft. Worth.

Luck also knew the BE was the weakest AQ conference, and as he had seen with WVU and Cincy… the champion of the conference could get itself into NC consideration. The BE offered the easiest path to the BCS NCG.

 

[Anotherwvufan]

Since we laid 70 points on Clemson. The programs have gone in the opposite direction. This will be the first year in a while that we do not a top 25, or even 10 team. The past 4 years have shown flashes of greatness but a lack of consistency. The B12 has always been tough, but we should at least be competitive. Slow starts, defensive breakdowns and bad play calling have killed this team.

What gets to me is critical play calling. Why does Shell start OT against OSU in OT when Smallwood is running wild? Why do we throw the bomb consistently on 3rd down? Can we win close games? These are the reasons I am losing faith.

We are one QB away from being a really good team. Howard does not appear to be that guy. We have the talent to compete in the B12, I don't see us ever winning it with our current coaching staff. I just don't want to end up like Kansas.

This staff needs to learn how to win quickly or they will be replaced soon.

Anything less than 4-1 the rest of the year should earn this staff walking papers.

 

[GoldRusher]

Look at eastern football...it is dead man walking right now.

When WVU competed against top 25 ranked teams in the past... PSU, Miami, Pitt, VT and SU. How did they do? How many times did WVU beat Miami? How many times did WVU beat PSU? How many times did WVU beat Pitt in the 70's thru the mid-80's?

Where are all of those programs today?

Is there a reason BC sucks? RU sucks? MD sucks? PSU sucks? Pitt sucks? SU sucks? Miami sucks?

If eastern football was producing kids like it did in the 70's and 80's, I would be optimistic that a coach could build something at WVU. That ain't reality...

As I posted after watching the CFP NCG last year, I was bummed by what I witnessed. The talent I saw on the field is not attainable at this time in Morgantown.

PSU will be back, different animal there, they COULDNT recruit talent for a stint due to the sanctions, Pitt looks better this year than they have in years under the new coach, Miami and Maryland will be getting new coaches so.. who knows? You didn't mention Temple btw, the Owls look legit imo.

We need to follow Penn State's lead and hire a good recruiting coach, its time to fire Dana at the end of this season and call Doc home, keep Seider, Galloway and Mitchell then move on at the other assistant spots by spending some of the new hard earned full Big12 revenue sharing on some of the best recruiting assistant coaches we can find in the upcoming wild coaching carousel ride this offseason and that talent will start coming to Morgantown.

I've seen the whole "recruiting is much better now" argument but... not sure I buy that. Yea its better than when Stew was here, he sucked at it and should never have been a HC either.
IMHO RichRod had just as much if not more talent on his teams than Dana and this group has mustered up. Yes we have some fine players at certain positions, wont deny that, I love em but overall... better?... Better than when and at what position(s)? I don't think QB is even close, Oline? Dline? RB? WR... ok I buy WR but everywhere else? Meh, I dunno about that.

Lets never forget, Dana was also the first choice of that awful AD at Pitt just before Luck swooped in and stole him away. That guy thought Bill Calahan was a good fit at Nebraska too

 

[mad2mc]

I still don't see this affinity for Doc. Is it because of Marshall's record...in CUSA? How well do you have to recruit for that conference? Is it felt that What Doc is doing in CUSA will translate over into the Big 12? Why aren't there anybody knocking down Doc's door? While we may have more wins if RR was at the helm, I don't see it being huge turn around. RR didn't do well in the Big 10 and has small success in the Pac-12.

I'm not sure how realistic Mountaineer Nation is about winning a NC. It seems as if most want a revolving door policy at HC until someone takes us there. It would take a Meyers or Saban to do this. Not only through coaching but their names bring kids to the program. Our fans believed that we could walk in and compete in the Big 12 based off a Bowl game. We talk about beating Oklahoma in 2008 as a rite of passage and in reality, today, is a joke. RR had the best chance of taking us to a NC but it was not meant to be for whatever you want to blame it on, but remember, our path was through the BE, not the Big 12.

While I'm not sure that Dana is the right man for the job, I'm not ready to change HCs unless the guy coming in has a proven track record. Franklin is a good coach and is fortunate that Penn State came knocking when they did. He had some decent teams at Vandy (none of them were going to win the SEC at any time), but his seat was el fuego due to a sex scandal on the team. Both PSU and Pitt have talent that come from local kids deciding to stay in State and play for one or the other. As for Temple, some of the same. Terry Smith was on Temple's staff and is noted for being a good recruiter in Pennsylvania. He used to be the HC at Gateway High School and brought some Southwestern PA to Temple a few years ago. He jumped ship to PSU, where he played under JoPa and his stepson, Justin King, did as well. Franklin made him the lead recruiter in an attempt to keep the in-state kids.

In the short term, Dana needs to give OC title. I'm disappointed that he could not bring in a QB that could run his offense, but he needs to concentrate on the whole team. The team needs to scrap the 3-3-5. I gave Gibson credit but the defense needs to be able to stop not just facet of the game. Until you have the 3 horses up front to apply pressure and plug gaps, this defense is going to fail. I like that Dana is trying to balance the run versus the pass. I will give Howard credit, he threw some nice passes and the WRs dropped 21 easy points.

For now, I'm still in for the Mountaineers. I won't blame Dana for everything, except for maintaining the OC position and not landing those QBs that would be capable of running the team, but these other coaches need to be held accountable, I'm looking at you Tony Gibson. Remember, offense wins games, but defense win championship. For those still living on past accomplishments, wake up. This isn't your Father's Big East Conference anymore.

 

[bbwvfan]

PSU will be back? When was the last time they did anything? 1986?

Pitt is no better than they've been in quite some time. Do they look like they are ready to contend for the NC? They beat a bunch of cupcakes this year, and have lost to any team with a pulse. They get ranked, and WVU fans start looking for their Tampons.

Our fans whine like a bitch when we lose to top 5 ranked schools.

 

[mad2mc]

Dana is supposedly on The U's list of coaches. Assuming that this is their long list, to me, that is pretty impressive. I think he would do well there do to the in-state talent alone. He was recognized as a talented OC and had the potential of being a good HC. I guess Al Golden is available.

 

[bbwvfan]

WVU has a coach in the HOF. He played schedules that included a number of ranked opponents.

Look at this level of success…

Don Nehlen Coaching Record | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

1980 West Virginia 12 6 6 0 .500 4.65 3.82
1981 West Virginia 12 9 3 0 .750 14.54 5.87 17 17 Peach Bowl-W
1982 West Virginia 12 9 3 0 .750 13.25 5.67 10 19 Gator Bowl-L
1983 West Virginia 12 9 3 0 .750 12.24 4.66 4 16 Hall of Fame Classic-W
1984 West Virginia 12 8 4 0 .667 10.24 4.16 12 Bluebonnet Bowl-W
1985 West Virginia 11 7 3 1 .682 4.88 2.24
1986 West Virginia 11 4 7 0 .364 -1.35 3.56
1987 West Virginia 12 6 6 0 .500 7.73 1.98 Sun Bowl-L
1988 West Virginia 12 11 1 0 .917 19.06 1.31 16 3 5 Fiesta Bowl-L
1989 West Virginia 12 8 3 1 .708 7.81 1.23 17 9 21 Gator Bowl-L
1990 West Virginia 11 4 7 0 .364 -3.32 -0.42 25 25
1991 West Virginia 11 6 5 0 .545 4.20 5.11
1992 West Virginia 11 5 4 2 .545 4.72 1.72 24
1993 West Virginia 12 11 1 0 .917 13.83 1.17 3 7 Sugar Bowl-L
1994 West Virginia 13 7 6 0 .538 1.27 0.58 24 24 Carquest Bowl-L
1995 West Virginia 11 5 6 0 .455 1.49 0.49 23 23
1996 West Virginia 12 8 4 0 .667 8.88 1.46 12 Gator Bowl-L
1997 West Virginia 12 7 5 0 .583 1.62 -2.63 17 Carquest Bowl-L
1998 West Virginia 12 8 4 0 .667 11.04 1.54 11 11 Insight Bowl-L
1999 West Virginia 11 4 7 0 .364 -0.35 1.65
2000 West Virginia 12 7 5 0 .583 6.29 5.54 Music City Bowl-W

 

[bbwvfan]

I don't know how to evaluate a coach's success anymore.

Consistently playing the hardest SOS in the program's history… year after year after year…. brings mediocre results.

Rich had talent, but no depth of talent. Played in a league when he might face 1-2 ranked opponents in the regular season.

I think I have seen mediocre results in the past…

 

[GoldRusher]

PSU will be back? When was the last time they did anything? 1986?

Pitt is no better than they've been in quite some time. Do they look like they are ready to contend for the NC? They beat a bunch of cupcakes this year, and have lost to any team with a pulse. They get ranked, and WVU fans start looking for their Tampons.

Our fans whine like a bitch when we lose to top 5 ranked schools.

Penn State has done better under their pseudo death penalty and 2 coaching changes that we have under the current HCIW in Morgantown right now

 

[bbwvfan]

Remind me… PSU plays in the B1G… right?

I am supposed to be impressed?

 

[GoldRusher]

Remind me… PSU plays in the B1G… right?

I am supposed to be impressed?

Well, they DO have the NC and jumped the Big12 for the playoff spot last season right?

BTW Pitts only loses have been close to ranked opponents. UNC hit one of the lists today.... ACC beat this conference to the playoffs too...

 

[bbwvfan]

Umm… the B1G was not ranked as high as the Big 12 last year.

The champion of the B1G built a better resume than the co-champ of the Big 12.

The ACC champion was undefeated, and its champion finished ranked #3 in the last CFP Poll. It finished below two one-loss champions… both of whom had built better resumes than the co-champ of the Big 12.

Of course, all of that has absolutely nothing to do with PSU competing in a weak B1G.

The ACC champion from 2 years ago, won the NC… and the ACC is by far the weakest of the P5 conferences.

Remind me who Pitt has beaten again? I'm more impressed by the teams WVU has lost to… than the teams Pitt has lost to so far.

 

[Slaton10]

Oliver Luck: 'Our goal should be winning the national championship'

Those are things you have to respect. I said we should compete for the Big East championship every year, and our goal should be winning the national championship. I’m not going to be shy about setting that as a goal; things don’t happen by accident.”

Where did it say Hoglorsen was brought in specifically to win national championships...sure you hope that is the case when you make a change...but he clearly stated why he was making the move in the first place..


“The first thing you have to do is acknowledge that there is a deficiency or weakness. You can look at the data. When Rich (Rodriguez) was here, we were in the top 10 in offensive statistics and were a game away from playing for the national championship. The following year after he left, with Pat White, we dropped to the 60s or 70s and stayed there for three years. At the end of the day, it’s really not that complicated. Frank Broyles once said — and I hope I’m relaying this right -- every year you keep a staff that isn’t working is two years down the road in terms of rebuilding. You cannot be shy about making personnel moves.”

He saw the program in all facets was going in the wrong direction..a weak Asst Coaching staff..recruiting was falling off..attendance was down..and he made a run at a the hottest candidate on the market...

 

[Mike]

With all do respect, I'm so glad that you completely missed the mark on this post, you were not alone.

Hope we can beat KSU, maybe a 9 win season yet