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WVU vs. Rutgers Grades: A Unit-By-Unit Look At The Mountaineers Victory Over The Scarlet Knights

The regular season is over and the playoffs are set to begin.  We have two great teams, but any given Saturday there can be an upset.

Wait, what?  College football doesn’t have a playoff?  Why?  Students will miss too much class and the bowl games will lose any significance.

Really, those are your best arguments against a playoff?  That is like saying you are not going to have sex because the girl may not get as much pleasure as you.  Just do it.

Schools play games from Tuesday - Saturday and now we are worried about kids missing class.  What about the NCAA Tournament in basketball?  Oh, it's worth over 1 BILLION dollars to the NCAA.  I see, it IS all about the money.  That makes sense because there is NO money in a college football playoff.  Oh, by-the-way, the only people that normally make money off bowl games are the games, not the schools.  Bowl games mean nothing and can still exist if there was a playoff.

Enough of that rant, we have a great game to discuss.  Are we seeing some consistency out of this offense?  Maybe, but I do know the grades and soon you will too...

Offense:  B
This unit has taken a figurative and literal beating all season.  Win or lose, its performance was never good enough. Saturday, the offense put together an all around great performance.  We were able to run and throw with the greatest of ease.  Of course, the grade is only a B because we turned the ball over and left 17 points on the field.

Geno Smith:  A
He is one of only 4 players in WVU history to throw for more than 350 yards in one game.

Tavon Austin:  AAAAA
Giving him a grade actually downgrades the greatness of his performance.  He touched the ball 7 times, gained 167 yards and scored twice.  He was amazing and should get the ball every time until the defense shows they can stop him.

Offensive Line:  B-
The unit may derserve a better grade, but I think our success running has more to do with the potential of Geno keeping the ball, than it does our improvement in run blocking.  

Defense:  A+
Is this the best defense in WVU history?  Maybe.  Is J.T. Thomas one of the best linebackers in WVU history?  Yes. Jeff Casteel needs a pay raise because he did one hell of a job with this unit.

Special Teams:  F
Tyler Bitancurt just had another field goal blocked.  Also, our kick coverage has gotten progressively worse this season.  Not a good end of the season for special teams.

Fans:  D
I know many are getting tired of my constant criticism of our fans, but I'm going to continue yelling until it changes.  All of us want our team to be the best in the nation, but we don’t have the fanbase to get there.  After three years of success our fanbase has become a bunch of spoiled babies that only support a team that wins every game.  I think that is called fair-weather fans.  Don’t give me any bullshit about the economy or the weather or any other excuses.  You don’t accept excuses from the coaches, so don’t make them yourselves.  We are one of only three teams that has won at least 9 games over the last 6 years.  Stop accepting mediocrity from your fellow fans.