Mountaineer Morning Links: Old Dominion Game Day (11/26/13) Edition

Old Dominion previews, Riot Bowl previews, recruiting updates, WVU Pros update, Big 12 roundup & more

By WVUIE97@WVUIE97 Nov 26, 2013, 9:29am EST

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What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Now: Tuesday, Nov. 26 - WV MetroNews
freshman Devin Williams shares his excitement for the Cancun Challenge and Dana Holgorsen talks about WVU needing to play for its seniors this week against Iowa State.

Bussie Named to Naismith Watch List - WVU Athletics
Senior Asya Bussie has been named to the Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List.

Scheffel Named Athlete of the Week - WVU Athletics
Varsity Sports Report

FURFARI COLUMN: Polls unfavorable to Luck, Holgorsen - Times West Virginian
Yeah, one poll in Wheeling, right after a bad loss, should decide the fate of these guys.

News of Note:

Hoops

WVU to Face Old Dominion in Mexico - WVU Athletics
Game one on Tuesday night.

Mountaineers won't treat Cancun trip as a vacation - Charleston Daily Mail
It's what those players do away from the court that may direct them to the NCAA Tournament they defiantly seek after last years' 13-19 record and this year's seventh-place spot in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll.

Mountaineers down in Mexico 'on business' - Charleston Gazette
Huggins said. "And Juwan Staten said, 'Listen, everybody understand now, this is a business trip. This isn't a vacation. This is a business trip.'

Forget sand and sun: WVU says winning is mission in Cancun - WV MetroNews
West Virginia faces Old Dominion on Tuesday evening in semifinals of the Cancun Challenge.

Preview: WVU vs Old Dominion - BGN
West Virginia has to keep focus on the court when it faces Old Dominion on the coast of Mexico Tuesday evening.

Improved Mountaineers head to Cancun - Bluefield Daily Telegraph
This year’s West Virginia basketball team has looked like a different group than the one that finished 13-19 last season

GAME PREVIEW: WVU vs. Old Dominion - WVillustrated
West Virginia (4-1) will meet Old Dominion (4-1) in Cancun as the two teams will do battle in round three of the Triple Crown Cancun Challenge.

Softer early schedule makes sense for Huggins - Charleston Gazette
The Mountaineers are playing an early-season tournament just like last year, but it's a week later and under a different format - two tune-ups at home (Georgia Southern and Presbyterian) and then the trip to Mexico.

One question answered, one to go - WVU Sports with Mike Casazza
This is where we talk about the competition and where we say the only "good" team WVU has faced is the team that beat WVU. And I think with regard to scoring, that has some merit.

HERTZEL COLUMN: Teams are only as good as the players - Times West Virginian
So what happened? Did Huggins teach them to shoot? Did he create a new offense that gets them open?

Football

Back to Work - BGN
With his team on a bye week and injuries piling up by the day, Dana Holgorsen and the West Virginia football team deemed last week to be a developmental week.

West Virginia playing for seniors - Register Herald
The Big 12 standings became irrelevant weeks ago. A 12th straight trip to a bowl game was taken off the table with a 31-19 loss at conference bottom-feeder Kansas on Nov. 16.

WVU Football Playing for Seniors on Saturday - WVillustrated
The West Virginia football team is playing for nothing but pride on Saturday. After losing to Kansas, all bowl hopes were shattered and now only one game remains on the schedule.

Holgs: Play for Pride - EerSports
With a bowl game no longer a possibility, the topic of today's conference call with the media centered around motivation for Dana Holgorsen's Mountaineers. For the West Virginia head coach, he is looking to see how his team reacts after a couple days off for the bye.

Focusing in on the finale - Charleston Gazette
'Win one for the seniors' could be Mountaineers' battle cry

Trickett clears concussion tests, but Holgorsen mum on starter - WV MetroNews
West Virginia ends the season Saturday by hosting Iowa State.

Iowa State flying high entering visit to WVU - Charleston Daily Mail
Neither West Virginia nor Iowa State is going anywhere, but the teams are headed in different directions before Saturday's season finale.

Mountaineers hoping to close out season on a high note - Times West Virginian
Iowa State comes to town on as much of a roll as any one-win team can do.

Recruiting:

North Carolina running back becomes WVU’s third pledge for 2015 - WV MetroNews
William Cameron is a 5-foot-10 athlete who also could play inside receiver for the Mountaineers.

About that QB conundrum - WVU Sports with Mike Casazza
We wondered aloud in the F Double whether West Virginia would recruit only William Crest this season and thus stick with the quota or if the Mountaineers might learn from the pitfalls of being short at that position and actively try to add another arm.

Pro News:

WVU Pros Week 12 recap: Tavon, Rams roll; Geno struggles again - ProsReport
Sunday's action is in the books and it seems as if the season is flying by. Here's how the WVU Pros fared Sunday.