Mountaineer Morning Links: Tuesday (10/14/14) Edition

Big 12 teleconference, Baylor previews, recruiting scorecard, WVU Pros updates, Big 12 roundup & more.

By WVUIE97@WVUIE97 Oct 14, 2014, 8:39am EDT

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by Penn Brewery's Oktoberfest Lager Beer.

What You May Have Missed:

Gold & Blue Now: Tuesday, Oct. 14 - WV MetroNews
Dana Holgorsen talks about the confidence his team has heading into the showdown with No. 4 Baylor this week. Legendary coach Don Nehlen also talks about how he would defend the Bears if he were still calling the plays.

Women's Soccer Back at No. 13 - WVU Athletics
Following a two-week stay at No. 14, the West Virginia University women’s soccer team is back at No. 13 in today’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Women’s Top 25 Poll.

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

Playoff committee cautious when talking about football - Charleston Gazette
West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck is part of the College Football Playoff selection committee. The ADs on the committee have been drilled on watching what they say in public.

FUFARI COLUMN: Some odds and ends about a variety of sports items - Times West Virginian
Stringing together some odds and ends about various sports matters that may be of interest to you:

News of Note:

Holgorsen talks WVU matchup vs. Baylor - BGN
The matchup between West Virginia and Baylor has been among some of the highest-scoring games in college football each of the last two seasons.

Holgorsen's Take: Big 12 Teleconference - WVSports.com
Two years ago when West Virginia hosted Baylor it was an offensive showcase with the Mountaineers defeating the Bears 70-63, but that was then and this is now and both teams are better defensively, head coach Dana Holgorsen said.

Briles: WVU, Baylor Typical Big 12 - BGN
Baylor head coach Art Briles nailed the essence of Big 12 play when he said, in games such as the No. 4 Bears’ 61-58 win over then-No. 9 TCU, that the idea was to simply make enough defensive plays to give the offense an opportunity to win the game.

"Our Defense is Designed For This" - EerSports
For West Virginia Head Coach Dana Holgorsen, he feels his team’s defense is made to go up against the Bears.

Mountaineers evolved into ‘run-first’ team - Charleston Daily Mail
The first time West Virginia has ever had a pair of 100-yard rushers and 100-yard receivers in the same game was also the first time the Mountaineers saw Texas Tech’s defense do what it tried to do.

Holgorsen professes WVU a run-first offense - Exponent Telegram
You could almost hear the collective gasp from across the country.

WVU looking for fewer points - Register Herald: College Sports
When Baylor and West Virginia get together Saturday at noon for a Big 12 showdown in Morgantown, the scoreboard operator better be well rested and alert at every second.

WVU Has A Recipe For Victory - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
West Virginia has one of the best passing offenses in the country.

'Finish' Mantra on Display for Mountaineers in Latest Win - WVillustrated
WVU preached all offseason to finish on Saturdays and with time running low in a 14-point game, the players and coaches put that mantra to use in Lubbock.

WVU, Baylor defenses have improved - Charleston Gazette
Given that Baylor just won a 61-58 game over TCU, and that West Virginia has proven it can strike quickly if not always consistently, the chances that they play a low-scoring defensive struggle this weekend seem pretty slim.

Surprises abound thus far in 2014 - Exponent Telegram
Two years ago Baylor came to Morgantown and found out a lot about playing at Mylan Puskar Stadium. Facing a Mountaineer team that would finish the season at just 7-6, Baylor scored 63 points … and lost.

2 key defensive linemen could return against Baylor - WV MetroNews
Dontrill Hyman missed two games with a knee injury and Christian Brown was suspended for one. Both could be back this week, says Dana Holgorsen.

More Changes on WVU Depth Chart - EerSports
West Virginia released this week's depth chart and there were more changes on there for the Mountaineers, most of which reflected what was already shown, however.

Separation Saturday hits the Big 12 - ESPN
Separation Saturday hits the Big 12, with Oklahoma State-TCU, Baylor-West Virginia and Kansas State-Oklahoma.

Hickman: WVU’s toughest schedule ever? - Charleston Gazette
I wanted to put some numbers to it, though, as a point of comparison — not just to the schedules faced by past Mountaineer teams, but to those faced by others around the country this year as well.

Lambert Earns Multiple Weekly Honors - WVU Athletics
Lambert was named a Lou Groza Award Star of the Week, the Big 12 Special Teams Co-Player of the week and the College Football Performance National Placekicker of the Week.

Football Award Winners From Texas Tech Game - WVU Athletics
The West Virginia University football coaching staff has named its award winners for outstanding performance in the Mountaineers’ 37-34 win at Texas Tech on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Recruiting:

Big 12 college football recruiting scorecard - ESPN
Here's the latest around the Big 12 on the recruiting trail this week.

Pro News:

Mountaineers in the NFL: Week 6 Recap - WVU Pros
It was a busy week for various WVUPros in NFL action this past weekend. Here is what happened.

Jets sticking with Geno Smith as starting QB - SBNation.com
Geno Smith threw a game-sealing pick-six in Week 6, but will get the starting nod again for Week 7.