The Shotgun/Throwdown: Thursday (11/10/11) Edition

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's nationally recognized best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.  We're being brought to you today by Bohemian Bearcat Brew, in preparation of this week's opponent.

As expected, WVU received it's first LOI for the basketball early signing period and football continues to prep for a dangerous Cincinnati team.  Sorry for the lack of commentary, but your daily links await...

What You May Have Missed:

Gold And Blue Now: Thursday - WVMETRONEWS.COM
In Thursday's episode, the Penn State scandal shocks the college football world, WVU prepares to face one of the best players in the Big East and the Mountaineer basketball teams add some new faces

Musings Of A Mountain Man: November 10, 2011 - WVillustrated
Let's talk about championship football teams. More specifically, let's talk about what championship football teams don't do

News of Note:

HERTZEL COLUMN: Defense under fire for opponents’ piles of points - Times West Virginian
It’s mentioned quite strongly on the talk shows and in the social media, and when you consider that Syracuse put 49 points on the board three weeks back and that Louisville stuck 38 up last week, neither known as an offensive juggernaut, it is fair criticism.

WVU defense slip hard to explain - Charleston Gazette
How then, to explain this: A season after finishing third in the country in total defense and losing seven starters to graduation, West Virginia has slipped only to No. 23 in total defense this season. That's still better than 97 other FBS schools across the country.

With Backs Against the Wall, WVU Must Have Sense of Urgency - WVillustrated
"We put ourselves in this situation," Quarterback Geno Smith said. "We obviously don't want to be in this situation.

Mountaineers Lack Excitement, Support on Game Day - WVillustrated
One of the biggest messages in team meetings and on the practice field this week has been for the offense to outwardly show excitement toward the defense and for the defense to do the same toward the offense.

WVU coach looks for more energy from team - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Very few teams can line up and have just that much more talent and, regardless of what kind of effort they play with, can win the game," Holgorsen said. "We're obviously not one of them. In order to win, we have to play with effort all the time."

Petteway ready to face old friend - Inter-Mountain
WVU defensive back, Cincinnati quarterback both played at Steubenville, Ohio

The Great Zach Collaros - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Zach Collaros is a player Mountaineer safety Shaq Petteway (pictured right) is very familiar with.

Bearcats rank fifth nationally in turnover margin - Charleston Daily Mail
For the third time in four weeks and the sixth time this season, the Mountaineers are playing one of the top 15 teams in turnover margin.

Mountaineers expect a fight out of Cincinnati - Charleston Daily Mail
"There's not a whole lot of quit to them," Mountaineers Coach Dana Holgorsen said of the Bearcats.

Big East awards tracker - Big East Blog - ESPN

Linebacker Doug Rigg - Mountaineer TV
LB Doug Rigg talks about the team's defensive struggles, and about trying to get back to full strength.

Recruiting:

Eron Harris Signs - MSNsportsNET.Com
Harris, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound shooting guard, is currently in his senior year at Lawrence North High in Indianapolis, where he plays for coach Jack Keefer.

Guard first to sign with WVU basketball - Charleston Gazette
Bob Huggins received the first of what he expects to be three national letters of intent Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA's November signing period for college basketball.

Carey Signs Five to 2012-13 Roster - MSNsportsNET.Com
Bria Holmes (Hamden, Conn./James Hillhouse), Lanay Montgomery (Germantown, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross), Darius Faulk (New York, N.Y./Nazareth Regional), Jennie Simms (Accokeek, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and Makenzie White (Danville, W.Va./Scott) make up West Virginia’s 2012 signing class.

Around the League (and Beyond):

UC's Tony Miliano kicks into gear - Cincinnati Enquirer

Syracuse University football fullbacks bring their hardhats to work every day - Post Standard

Rutgers vs. Army: Patrick Kivlehan gets key assignment against triple-option - Star Ledger

Louisville coach Charlie Strong and his Cards have each other's backs - Courier-Journal

USF And Under Armour Unveil Wounded Warrior Jerseys - Voodoo Five

With league title gone, Pitt's goal now is bowl bid - PPG

The Penn State Riot is an Embarrassment to College Students Everywhere - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
What the Penn State students are demonstrating with their riots is a disgusting lack of perspective.

What's On Tap:

Men's Basketball: Mini Packages on Sale Monday - MSNsportsNET.Com
There will be two sets of ticket packages for purchase. The Gold package will include the Villanova, Rutgers, Pitt, Louisville and DePaul games for a price of $150 per package. The Blue package will include the Georgetown, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Marquette games for a price of $118 per package.

Video of Interest:

This week's feature is Joe Madsen:

Video of (Dis)Interest:

This takes a minute to get going, but it's extremely cool (thanks once again to @JimmyTraina of SI's Hot Clicks):

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is British bombshell Elle Liberachi.  Click on her picture below for today's 100 image gallery.

Bohemian Bearcat Brew image via fc06.deviantart.net