423 replies to this topic

[Howdyphillip]

S John, on 04 February 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

Yes, if the court case w/ the Big East works out (which it seems like it will reach a settlement) we'll have Oklahoma coming to town and will go to Texas in 2012 - not to mention dates with OSU and K-State so WVU will have ample opportunity to prove itself, but.. grrrr.  

Texas just released it's schedule... We will be whipping WVU on Oct. 6th down in Austin.

Welcome to the Big XXII... I will be rooting for you guys almost every game this year except on Oct. 6th.

[S John]

Howdyphillip, on 14 February 2012 - 12:37 PM, said:

Texas just released it's schedule... We will be whipping WVU on Oct. 6th down in Austin.

I guess we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?  

If I'm state-side I may actually try to go to the Texas game.  We'll see.

I'm pretty surprised at how easy it was to get out after all the talk of holding WVU to the 27 month waiting period.  Heard a WVU radio guy do a breakdown earlier - of the $20 million settlement, WVU has already paid 2.5 and the Big XII will pitch in 10.  WVU agreed to re-pay 5 of the 10 million given to it by the Big XII with the other 5 being a 'gift'.  That 5 million will come in the form of one million dollars each year for 5 years from the time that WVU becomes a full Big XII member.  So, for now that leaves 7.5 million that WVU owes the Big East.  Supposedly, WVU has not yet received its payout from the Orange Bowl, nor the money owed from the Big East as its annual cut.  Essentially, WVU won't actually have to cut the Big East any more checks - money owed will simply be withheld.  Not too shabby.  

Have to say I'm excited about finally having several big games on the schedule again.  One only has to look at the Big East line-up in 2001 compared to today to see how much it has changed.  

2001:  Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Boston College, Miami, Virginia Tech, West Virginia.  Before the Big East came along WVU used to play all of those schools as an Independent anyway.  And 'member that Syracuse and Miami were both great programs at one point.  And to top it off, WVU used to play Penn State every year as well, who also used to be a bit bigger than they are today.  So yea, once upon a time, I remember WVU having big games each year with Syracuse, Penn State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and Miami.  The geography is a little different this round, but its good to see some exciting teams coming in to Morgantown again.

2014: Boise State, San Diego State, SMU, Navy, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, Cincinnati, South Florida, Central Florida, ???

I actually feel bad for Rutgers - the only original remaining football member once Pitt and Syracuse are officially gone.

Edited by S John, 15 February 2012 - 11:26 AM.

[S John]

I should add that I don't mean any disrespect to the Big East teams we've left behind - Rutgers, Louisville, USF, Cincy, and UConn have all given WVU all they can handle a few times and I thin kare better programs than they are made out to be.  Perception is a bitch.  Coach Holgorsen, a Big XII guy himself, stated as much.  My hope is that WVU holds its own in the Big XII and vindicates those programs a little bit.  As a homer, it is my firm belief that WVU was the cream of the remaining crop of Big East teams - but I think that the rest of the bunch is a little tougher than they are given credit for.

In fact - I think Boise State drops some games against those guys.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

TCU is taking A&M's place for the Thanksgiving game, though it seems to be Saturday instead of Thursday.

In other TCU news, 17 students including 4 players were arrested for drug-dealing. All 4 players dealt pot. 3 of them were starting defensive players, including the team's nose tackle, a safety, and the number 1 damn linebacker, Tanner Brock.

Supposedly there are also some very grim results of an in-house drug test administered earlier this month.

I don't get why it's become this big national scandal - college kids use and sell drugs, even football players - but given the talent of those involved, this could have a significant impact on the team.

TCU was looking to come into the Big 12 with a team capable of winning the conference. This puts that in jeopardy, though again the fallout remains to be seen.

(null)

[kalbear]

It wasn't just pot. Party drugs, oxy and meth were all mentioned. Multiple charges per person too.

And while you might say everyone does it, the C in TCU is not going to be happy with felony counts of selling drugs.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

The players only sold pot according to their arrest warrants. Brock had mentioned being able to get RX drugs for the undercover cop but was arrested before anything came of it. The harder drugs seem to have been from some of the other students.

It doesn't look good, certainly. I do think Patterson and the university have handled it well thus far, though. At least we won't have a cover-up scandal on top of this.

(null)

[Arakasi]

In not shocking news, Darren Thomas is struggling pretty badly at the combine. He ran way slower than Luck even (4.8 to Luck's 4.67) and his throwing mechanics & accuracy look to be pretty mediocre. (also not a surprise to anyone who has seen him play.) I can't argue with the results he's gotten but then again he's also had some great talent around him and an exceptional coach. I still think the QB play for Oregon next year will improve. In Kelly's system for it to fully work I think you need a player who can make plays with his legs. DT could occasionally do it, but you could tell the coaches had him reined in pretty well for running in fear that he'd be killed by some LB/DB.

Losing James is going to hurt more, but I think we'll be okay with that. James is awesome, but the only issue with him is against bigger defenses he could get wrapped up very easily. I'll feel more comfortable having a bigger lead RB and a bigger/sturdier QB who can more fully exploit the option against top defenses.

[kalbear]

Eh. James was downright perfect for Oregon's offense; he struggled against great deffefnses the same way every good RB does. The only thing I wish he was better at was in passing, both as a blocker and as a receiver. Otherwise he was perfect - a back that could hit the interior holes fast, could get to the edge well, was strong enough to beat arm tackles and fast enough to dust everyone. He was great.

I also think that DT is going to be missed a lot more than folks realize. While he might not be a great traditional QB his decision making was amazing as far as the spread option went. He made great reads, great fakes, could read defenses very well and could run if needed but it wasn't his first option. While I suspect that every QB on the roster currently is a better athlete and a better runner than DT, I don't know that any have his combination of vision and decision making.

[Arakasi]

Yes missing James will be big, but I think Barner has shown when he has stepped in that the Oregon offense doesn't really miss all that much. Huff and D'aT should be fine for exploiting the receiving game now that James is gone, but yes Barner or whomever else becomes Oregon's next RB needs to work on becoming a good receiver. I doubt it will be hard to be a better blocker than James, given how much bigger any of the RBs who step in will be. D'aT should also do pretty well in filling James' role as the fast back.

I don't think he played as well on option reads as Masoli did. It got to the point there that teams knew he was going to pitch it. He just was not a consistent threat to run. The only thing I'll miss about DT was his skills as a pocket passer, which was important in games where the running game got shut down. But I feel in college football you either need to play more of a pro style or if you do the option then your QB needs to be able to run through people. Tebow and Newton are both good examples of this. Heck Masoli was too. DT despite all his strengths just wasn't the best match for Kelly's spread option.

[Arakasi]

I think it would be different if Oregon could get more elite OL talent, but its clear at this point that recruiting top OL players is something Oregon struggles with. The best OL they recruited this year is likely going to be playing on their DL. (Armstead) So when Oregon runs into top defenses their main issue is that their OL just gets pushed around and the backs get wrapped up before they can get going. I feel if we have a sturdier back it might mitigate that a bit. Also having a QB who is an actual running threat would help that too, because for all the problems Oregon has in the trenches, they have shown that in open space our RBs and receivers can beat their secondary. Although WR looks quite thin right now other than Huff. Hopefully some of those top recruit WRs can step in.

[kalbear]

Quote

I don't think he played as well on option reads as Masoli did. It got to the point there that teams knew he was going to pitch it. He just was not a consistent threat to run. The only thing I'll miss about DT was his skills as a pocket passer, which was important in games where the running game got shut down. But I feel in college football you either need to play more of a pro style or if you do the option then your QB needs to be able to run through people. Tebow and Newton are both good examples of this. Heck Masoli was too. DT despite all his strengths just wasn't the best match for Kelly's spread option.

Yeah, I could not disagree more with this.

DT was so far superior to masoli it wasn't funny. DT's worst game ever was a 50% pass completion rating; do you know what Masoli's was? 6-19, 2 ints. He was horrible in the Rose Bowl. He could very easily be shut down if you took away his ability to run. With DT, you're right - he was never a huge threat to run. But who cares when you have LMJ and Barner and DAT? The important thing was that he could throw. And he could throw very well. He was never lower than 12th in the nation in passer efficiency. He had a career of 62% completion rate - not amazing, but very good. He had an absurd TD-int ratio. Unlike Masoli, when he got in trouble or had pressure hhe didn't take a sack or try and run out of it; he stood in the pocket and made good pass after good pass.

With Masoli the Ducks were one-dimensional; take away that running game and the Ducks were basically fucked. With DT the passing game was always a threat and could beat you by itself. This made everything work better; fewer men in the box, bigger pass plays, better downfield blocking, significant gains.

Go  back and look at how close some of the games were in 2009 with Masoli. How many drives just died a horrible, ugly death with him in 2008 and 2009. Then look at the massive production Oregon's offense had in 2010 and 2010 - how Oregon had exactly 5 games in that span where they lost or won by a TD or less (Masoli et al barely beat Purdue and Utah...at home). Look at the running and the passing numbers - it wasn't even a contest. Yes, Masoli could run better, but that doesn't matter; the important thing to have is a QB who can threaten the run adequately but is first and foremost a QB. A running back who can occasionally throw - like Masoli - is much worse.

On OL: when we have running problems a lot of it is penetration, but honestly that's not because our OL is bad. We consistently get good rated players on OL and we consistently get some to the NFL. Not  the 5 stars, but good ones. The way to beat the Ducks is by outspeeding our OL, and it so happens that if you're an elite team with elite defensive talent, well, that happens.

[Arakasi]

I didn't say that Masoli was better than DT. Not at all. I said he was a better runner and he handled the running parts of the option better. And he was. There were option plays last year where DT was just looking at the RB all the time and it was clear as day that he had no intention of keeping the ball and running himself. But thanks for the spiel about how DT was better, we already knew that. I also think the talent DT had around him was quite a bit better than what Masoli had, but yes DT was definitely a better QB.

I think for Oregon to step up and really beat the good teams we'll need to beat to win a national title (aka SEC teams) we need to get a QB who can both run and pass. Do we have such a player on our team now? I don't know. But DT wasn't that player.

As for our OL recruiting it is pretty bad. Our best OT recruit this year is a 2 star guy. We've had one 4 star OL recruit in the last 5+ years. Stanford just this year has four 4 stars and a 5 star. It seems pretty clear that OL just don't want to come here. Maybe it is our system and they'd prefer to play in a more pro style system? I'm not sure. But I'm tired of our OLine being useless on interior runs and leaving us to attempt nothing but edge rushes against tougher teams, and yes you're right that in that case if they outspeed our line then we're in trouble, because its been shown repeatedly that our line isn't going to outphysical anyone inside.

[kalbear]

Quote

I didn't say that Masoli was better than DT. Not at all. I said he was a better runner and he handled the running parts of the option better. And he was. There were option plays last year where DT was just looking at the RB all the time and it was clear as day that he had no intention of keeping the ball and running himself

You are aware that Oregon runs power plays where there is no option for the QB to run, right?

According to Kelly DT handled the option read correctly better than anyone else he's had - DIxon, Masoli, anyone. He got it right about 95% of the time. Go watch fishduck.com to see more evidence of this.

Quote

I also think the talent DT had around him was quite a bit better than what Masoli had, but yes DT was definitely a better QB.

At RB maybe. At WR, definitely not. Masoli had Maehl, but he also had a couple other really solid WRs and Dickson, who is certainly better than Paulson. DT's OLines were better, that's for sure.

Quote

As for our OL recruiting it is pretty bad. Our best OT recruit this year is a 2 star guy. We've had one 4 star OL recruit in the last 5+ years. Stanford just this year has four 4 stars and a 5 star. It seems pretty clear that OL just don't want to come here.

We've also had 3 OL players get drafted, including a 1st rounder. We don't go for the standard OL players most of the time. We don't want a guy that is huge but can't move; our OLinemen need to be mobile and fit. So yes, they do tend to be smaller. That being said, I'd love it if we could get high skill players on the OLine. I just don't think it's a huge weakness for us. We simply don't target the big rated ones.

[S John]

I was goofing around today looking at the odds of various teams to win the national championship this upcoming season.  http://sports.bodog....all-futures.jsp

I don't think West Virginia will be in the title hunt next season, but at 30:1 odds I admit I'm somewhat tempted to just put in 50 or 100 bucks.  Wouldn't be a bad payout for a pretty small bet should the remarkable happen.  

Anyway, I was looking at some of the other teams on there and thought that some have pretty generous odds, actually.  For example, Notre Dame tied for 8th best odds at 21:1.  Florida State in the top 5 at 13:1.  I realize the lines are more of a reflection on the way people are betting, but still.  I would shit my pants if Notre Dame won the NC next year.  The rest of the top 25 or so with the best odds made sense to me.

[kairparavel]

How about that Bobby Petrino?

http://www.washingto...0ueAT_blog.html

[Trebla]

Yeah that Bobby Petrino scandal is awesome. Couldn't happen to a bigger douchebag. I'm sure former and current Falcons players are laughing their asses off.

[S John]

Wow, I did't know that they had actually fired him.  I really didn't expect him to get fired.  Wonder who the Hogs will replace him with.

[Rhom]

The guy is definitely sleezy and I would never trust my daughter with him...  I also figure he'll be toxic as a coach for at least the next year...

That being said, if Kentucky fired Joker Phililps this season (with another down year I'm on board with giving him the old heave ho) I'd really want my AD to consider it.  Honestly, what does a school like UK have to lose?  The guy is white trash, yes... but he's never gotten a sniff of NCAA trouble that I've seen; and he wins.  Not saying it'd be a good idea and certainly not a popular one, but I would want to consider it.

[S John]

Rhom, on 11 April 2012 - 02:49 PM, said:

The guy is definitely sleezy and I would never trust my daughter with him...  I also figure he'll be toxic as a coach for at least the next year...

That being said, if Kentucky fired Joker Phililps this season (with another down year I'm on board with giving him the old heave ho) I'd really want my AD to consider it.  Honestly, what does a school like UK have to lose?  The guy is white trash, yes... but he's never gotten a sniff of NCAA trouble that I've seen; and he wins.  Not saying it'd be a good idea and certainly not a popular one, but I would want to consider it.

I pretty much agree with you.  In my opinion the only downside for Arkansas if they had kept Petrino is maybe, maybe in recruiting where they might lose one or two kids whose parents don't want their kid being coached by an adulterer.  So from that perspective, the firing makes sense - if you wanna be able to bill your program as a wholesome environment for young men, then by all means Petrino isn't the right man for the job.

BUT!  Outside of recruiting - As much as I disapprove of his behavior, cheating on your wife and lying about it doesn't have a damn thing to do with being a good football coach. Ultimately that is why I am surprised that Arkansas did fire him.  Frankly, the guy is good at what they hired him to do and ideally his personal life should have absolutely no bearing on his career.  So yea, if I were a program that wanted a boost I'd definitely be looking at Petrino after giving this a season or so to cool down.  I could easily see Petrino landing somewhere decent in the next 2 years.  

Hell, when WVU hired Stewart I was in the camp of wanting to hire Terry Bowden to replace Rodriguez and TB was guilty of NCAA infractions.  But you gotta figure a guy like that who can coach - maybe under a more watchful eye we get the winning without the violations.  Petrino is an even less risky hire than that.  Someone will snatch him up.

[kalbear]

They fired him for lying to the university several times when asked, as well as getting her a job on staff. Infidelity and bring caught would have probably been fine if he hadn't told the uni there was nothing going on AND they backed him on that.