WVU vs. Oklahoma: I'll Be There, Will You?

I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with this yet, so bear with me once again. This is just a stream of conscious thing that kind of wanders around a bit. I will tell you that if you want another proper breakdown of personnel, matchups and such, check out Jed Drenning HERE.

Well, it's been 6 weeks and 4 games (I thought of THIS when I typed that, and it's somewhat apropos) since the Mountaineers have tasted victory on the gridiron. HERE'S a partial list of what's happened since. Has it really been that long? The historians tell us that this is the longest such losing streak for WVU football since the 1986 dropped six straight. It was so long ago that many of our staff were barely in kindergarten, and one or two may not have even been born. It was before I was fully indoctrinated, so I can tell you that I don't remember it with full certainty.

I know that there are some of our readers with enough experience as Mountaineer fans that they can remember losing that many in a row. But many of us haven't been around long enough know how this feels. For me, I don't know how to take this. Yes, we've had bad seasons and seasons that haven't lived up to expectations before, but we haven't had a losing streak like this for 26 years.

To compound the issue, we're living in a day and age where 24 hour coverage is the norm and that WE'VE LOST FOUR STRAIGHT is everywhere you look around the sites that cover WVU sports. The contributing factors have been discussed ad hoc infinitum: 2nd year head coach, new defensive staff, new defensive scheme, higher competition, lack of depth on the roster, etc, etc, etc.

Guess what. It's not going to get any easier to get off the schneid this weekend, or next, and maybe even the next. That's the dangerous beauty of this Big 12 thing we've gotten ourselves into. There are no weeks off. There is no week when a less than stellar effort can be overcome anymore. And yes, that includes us as fans too.

For the love of Pete, the freaking Oklahoma Sooners are coming to Morgantown for the first time and tickets are still available!?!?!? Freshman students get a pass for the dorm closing thing, but all of the other students leaving before the game are likely to regret not staying. I take great pride in saying I've been to many of the top attended games (and wins) in school history (both as a student and otherwise). Plus. these new teams only come to town for the first time, once. I'm already anxious that I may have to miss the first Texas game next year for my sister's wedding (praying for an off-week).

The odds are against the losing streak ending Saturday, but the odds have been against this program for countless years and big games are where history is made. Despite the unrealized expectations for both teams, tomorrow is definitely a big game. I know I'll be able to, but don't you want to be able to look back years from now and say, "I was there when Oklahoma came town for the first time on that cold November night in 2012."?

Whether or not you'll be able to add, "...and we beat their asses." remains to be seen.