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The Shotgun/Throwdown: Tuesday (11/8/11) 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 Otter Creek Copper Ale.

Huggs had his first Sportsline show of the year last night and we have video, as they prepare to open the season this Friday against Oral Roberts. The women's soccer team got snubbed in the NCAA seedings, but will be able to host a game this weekend. Back on the football side of things, Cinci prep is well underway as well as more looks back on what's been going wrong on the field for the Mountaineers.

What You May Have Missed:

Gold And Blue Now: Tuesday - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Bob Huggins goes deeper into what went wrong for the Mountaineers against Northern Kentucky, Dana Holgorsen continues to prepare the Mountaineers for their game against Cincinnati and Kyle Wiggs swings by for an update on the Big East Conference.

Coach Talk With Bob Huggins - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Huggins breaks down the Northern Kentucky exhibition game and goes over what the young Mountaineers did wrong in their first game in a WVU uniform

Boeheim: Huggins has best shot of catching K - CBSSports.com
High praise from our Cuse rival

Men's Basketball: Jones Named to Watch List - MSNsportsNET.Com
West Virginia men's basketball forward Kevin Jones has been named to the 2011-12 Naismith preseason watch list.

BIGXII History Tree - SB Nation
Here's a family tree version of our new conference, up to just before A&M left

2011 Bowl Projections, Week 11: Ducks, Tigers And A Potential Mess - SBNation.com
Still the Pinstripe here

2011 College Bowl Projections and Schedules - ESPN
Compass Bowl is the pick now

VSR: Women's Soccer Named Team of the Week - MSNsportsNET.Com
This week's Varsity Sports Report honors the whole Women's Soccer team

Unseeded West Virginia to take on Virginia Tech in first round of NCAA tournament - Daily Athenaeum
"I think my first emotion is disappointment in the NCAA committee," said West Virginia head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. "We were hoping that we would be rewarded for all of our hard work. It's frustrating, but we'll play anybody, anytime, any day, and that's what we're going to have to do."

Documents: WVU's Big East exit contentious - BGN
The framework of the legal complaint West Virginia University ultimately filed against the Big East Conference Oct. 31 in Monongalia County Court was spelled out briefly in WVU's formal letter of withdrawal from the league, according to documents obtained by BlueGoldNews.com.

News of Note:

Measuring Up - MSNsportsNET.Com
While watching West Virginia put up another 500-plus-yard day against a pretty good Louisville defense last Saturday afternoon, I began thinking to myself, what really makes up a good offensive football team?

Third and long tough situation for WVU - Charleston Daily Mail
"We're not a team that can convert third-and-long," Holgorsen said. "Our pass protection is not very good, which puts us in a bind when we try to throw the ball downfield. Third-and-long has been troublesome, but our third down percentage was better for us based on doing a better job on second down."

What has gone wrong for West Virginia - Big East Blog - ESPN
West Virginia was the preseason pick to win the Big East, the fashionable choice based on expectations for a high-flying offense that would be difficult to stop.

The Least You Should Know About the West Virginia Mountaineers - Down The Drive
Nice breakdown by the Cinci blog

WVU prepares for Cincy after loss to Cards - Inter-Mountain
"When they say you're supposed to be the Big East favorite, then we have to go out and match (the opponent's) enthusiasm," WVU defensive lineman Julian Miller said. "We haven't done that for all four quarters. That's what has haunted us."

WVU coming up short - Martinsburg Journal
It's been since 2003 that the Mountaineers have lost twice at home.

WVU lacks ‘X’ factor - Daily Athenaeum
What's hurting WVU is that it doesn't seem to have the grit and unconditional intelligence to go through a season without losing a game like LSU or the Cam Newton-led Auburn team from last year. It seems like it's been that way for quite some time – even under former coaches Bill Stewart and Rich Rodriguez.

Holgorsen working on special teams - Daily Athenaeum
"We did well with those units yesterday, and in football, after every game, there's going to be different problem. That's just the way it is in every football game that exists," he said. "You try to get better at them, and you wind up (for) the next week and do your best to win the game. It's aggravating that it's a combination of stuff."

Can the Mountaineers win another game this year? - Register-Herald
The Mountaineers simply have yet to attain consistency in all three play phases. And they have been making too many costly mistakes.

WVU Guard Josh Jenkins Fights Through Rehab - WVillustrated
The once-starting left guard is in the home stretch of his rehabilitation process to overcome a knee injury he suffered in the team's spring game back in April.

Bearcats get used to 'home' - Charleston Gazette
If Butch Jones had his druthers, he sounds like he would prefer that when his Cincinnati football team hosts West Virginia this weekend the Bearcats would really be hosting the game.

Cincinnati Rolling into Redemption Chance Against WVU - WVillustrated
What they're looking forward to is a team that is underperforming compared to its preseason expectations and is looking for something positive after a loss full of so many negatives.

So what does Mizzou's exit mean? - Charleston Gazette
Hickman's Notebook

Recruiting:

Recruiting Update - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Here's how a few WVU commits did this past weekend

Around the League (and Beyond):

Big East Expansion: BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall Says 'Conversations In Place' For Cougars - SBNation.com

What The Jerry Sandusky Scandal Tells Me About Village Voice Media - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Keeley nails this one

Paterno Losing Public Opinion Battle - Quad Blog/NY Times
As well he should

Butch Jones makes pitch to fans - Cincinnati Enquirer

Charlie Strong looking for leadership among Louisville football players - Courier-Journal

(USF) Football Postmortem: Don't Question This! Question That! - Voodoo Five

Syracuse vs. USF: The Battle Of Who Could Care Less - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician

UConn football: Huskies working on complementary game - Hartford Courant

Silver Lining In Pitt's Disappointing Season? - Cardiac Hill
It's almost over?

Fake numbers about Rutgers athletics - On the Banks
Fake financial numbers about Rutgers athletics

NCAA College Football Power Rankings Week 10 - ESPN
Not even receiving votes

What's On Tap:

Women's Soccer: Virginia Tech Is The Draw - MSNsportsNET.Com
The BIG EAST champion West Virginia women’s soccer team will start its quest for the 2011 NCAA College Cup against Virginia Tech in the opening round of tournament action Saturday, Nov. 12, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Video of Interest:

Host Tony Caridi and Analyst Dwight Wallace review last Saturday's football game against the Louisville Cardinals. We take a look at WVU women's soccer Big East Championship in the Varsity Sports Report, and then preview the Mountaineer football teams conference game this Saturday with the Cincinnati Bearcats.


Video of (Dis)Interest:

This is wild:

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is Russian model Laura Blokhina. Click on her picture for today's gallery.

Otter Creek Copper Ale image via www.bruguru.com