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Sorry this came out a day late. Had some stuff come up Sunday night that kept me away from my beloved keyboard.
impatiently awaiting the @abpriddy Monday RT.
— EersNation™ (@EersNation) September 15, 2014
The natives are clearly restless, so without further ado, here we go!
I'll be honest, the hardest part of this thing is going to be keeping it to a manageable length. In fact I gave serious thought to doing a first half / second half 2 part edition, but that's just self-indulgent and unwieldy. We are all (or at least most of us) adults with important adulty things to do. So I'll do what I can and attempt to describe what we went through in less than 278 tweets and 10,000 words. As a great man once said, let's roll.....
@HoppyKercheval and @bradhowe07 ready for the game today. Coverage of Maryland vs.#WVU pic.twitter.com/lIgp3PPBbj
— Chris Lawrence (@WVOutdoors) September 13, 2014
Let's get ready for some LIIIIIVE ACTION!!!!!
Last time @bhertzel and I were at Byrd Stadium, we cornered John Marinatto to discuss breaking news Pitt/Syracuse were leaving Big East.
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) September 13, 2014
Today, we visited the scene of that surreal conversation. Emotional moment for us both. pic.twitter.com/gYL9mH4OMQ
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) September 13, 2014
Clearly an American monument deserving of a bronze plaque. Also I'm pretty sure that sloppily drawn outline could have done a better job running the league than Marinatto. And John would kill for that figure.
As we've been sharing with our VIP members all week - #WVU LB Wes Tonkery out for today's game versus Maryland.
— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) September 13, 2014
I don't know who but some dumbass who's name rhymes with Drandon Gritty wrote that Tonkery would be back for this game. The lesson as always: that guy is an idiot and the champagne in Chris' VIP room is always accurate. For a Mountaineer defense that anticipated being tested that was a tough blow, though.
The rain didn't get the powder wet. #HailWV pic.twitter.com/J5ekRpID4M
— Jed Drenning (@TheSignalCaller) September 13, 2014
Yep, gotta be sure we got enough powder. Hey, how about just to be safe we make 3 different trips into the red zone and come away with nothing! Then we'll DEFINITELY have enough powder!!
Wendell Smallwood gets 50 on first-play screen after lining up at OUTSIDE receiver. #WVU on the move early.
— Allan Taylor (@AllanTaylorWVU) September 13, 2014
In last week's game preview I wrote about the WVU big play woes. The Mountaineers were ranked 7th nationally in plays for 10 yards or more but 52nd nationally in plays of 20 yards or more and dead freaking last for plays of 30 yards or more with just one. Well the first play of the game was a screen that went for 50 yards. And that wasn't to be the last big play of the day. Holgorsen's offense has a proven track record and it was fun to watch this progression to the mean.
So far #BTN has been wrong on almost every snap with Down and Distance.
— Randy Gyorko (@GooseGyorko) September 13, 2014
I remember watching the Mountaineer play the Texas Longhorns in a basketball game on the Longhorn Network and describing it as a "horrible life experience." I feel like the Big Ten Network would have been the same....but I try not to make the same mistake twice in life and synced my TV up with the WVU IMG radio broadcast.
(by the way that's secretly my favorite thing about DVRs - I can sync video of games up with audio and am spared awful announcers. Sometimes God takes extra special care of his children.....)
@SmokingMusket #sicem, 'eers
— OurDailyBears (@OurDailyBears) September 13, 2014
Conference solidarity!
That a baby 'eers
— Landthieves (@LandThieves) September 13, 2014
Everybody hold hands and sing "The Big 10 is laughably terrible!!!"
Holgs fired up after that opening TD drive! #WVU pic.twitter.com/1vj7fr3Brr
— Gold And Blue Zone (@GoldAndBlueZone) September 13, 2014
I had a sneaking suspicion all week that WVU might be primed to boat-race Maryland. And when I heard WVU sideline reporter Jed Drenning say that Holgorsen's pregame remarks were the shortest that he'd ever heard I was giddy. "In 30 seconds you're going to come out of this tunnel like you own this field." This team was primed to unload on someone.Then they flew down the field with ease and punched it in and we had the return of "Angry cause I'm fired up and we're taking care of business" Holgo, not to be confused with "Angry and not really able to direct that anger anywere productive unless you count obliterating headsets as productive" Holgo. The former is a very fine football coach. The latter has been nowhere to be seen this season and that's a good thing.
Maryland’s jerseys are pretty nice… FOR ME TO POOP ON (not really i love America) pic.twitter.com/pu5WzFyPp4
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) September 13, 2014
Seriously Maryland, laying it on a little thick weren't you? "OK we want uniforms that have the 'Star Spangled Banner' written in script on the helmet and sleeves and a patriotic color scheme and some sort of flaggy-like fort-in-plan looking thing on the helmet and then - wait for it - on the back where more lesser individualistic teams put their names we will put TRIUMPH because we shall TRIUMPH and we LOVE AMERICA MORE THAN YOU BECAUSE WE ARE NEAR A FORT!!!"
On second thought you know what Maryland you're perfect for the Big Ten, where self-importance and seriousness aren't simply life-rules, but things to be inscribed upon stone and carried in the upper-breast pocket of your dark-toned suit because SOMETIMES THE WORLD NEEDS ADULTS.
(Gawd they're insufferable)
Clint Trickett just threw a BOMB to Alford for the 43-yard touchdown pass. Prettiest pass I've seen Clint throw in two years. #WVU up 14-0
— Marc Basham (@marc_b) September 13, 2014
It was friggin' beautiful.
Bomb from Trickett to Alford gives #WVU a 14-0 lead here as the first quarter winds down. Trickett is 12-for-13 with 175 and a TD.
— Michael Carvelli (@Carvelli3) September 13, 2014
Those are crazy stupid numbers.
Seriously, how much pain was Clint Trickett's shoulder in last year? He looks like a completely different player this year.
— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 13, 2014
Holgorsen just chugged a Red Bull
— William Hirsch (@WHirschSports) September 13, 2014
WE'RE ROLLIN' BOYS!!!!!
I mean, things can't possibly get better can they?
Make that FIU 16 - #PITT 0.
— WVUPros (@WVUPros) September 13, 2014
Virginia Tech beat No. 8 Ohio State last week. Now they’re losing 21-0 to East Carolina: http://t.co/Xcxr61RXMB pic.twitter.com/QDSALkl0Bj
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 13, 2014
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA IS THIS HEAVEN!!!!!
And WVU's Kevin White scores on a 44 yard scree pass. 21-3 now. Maryland has no one who can cover White...
— TerrapinStationMD (@terpstationmd) September 13, 2014
Well if it makes you feel any better neither did Alabama.
Holgorsen gave Kevin White a bit of a hard time in the postgame presser after Towson saying the staff didn't "think he likes scoring touchdowns" but was clearly challenging his best receiver to step up and make some of those big plays that had been lacking.The catch and run was perfect - it flashed some speed we hadn't seen from Kevin before and there was nothing that was going to keep him out of that end zone.
Dana talked about explosive plays all week. They listened. @abpriddy
— Randy Gyorko (@GooseGyorko) September 13, 2014
Yuuuuup.
Meahwhile, back in Blacksburg:
IS THAT BAD? RT @HokiesJournal: Unbelievable. RT @NathanWarters: ECU out-gaining #Hokies 205-6.
— THE KEY PLAY (@thekeyplay) September 13, 2014
Nah, it's fine. You're juuuuust fine V Tech.
My god a Indiana in-game update? You are the scariest of haunted houses #B1G Network
— Travis J. Booten (@TjBooten) September 13, 2014
It really was awful.
This makes me happy because I want Holgo in the conference forever.
— OurDailyBears (@OurDailyBears) September 13, 2014
Me, too.
And it was rolling and rolling. Trickett nailed Alford for another score the next WVU possession and the 'eers were up 28-6. The Terps answered with a long score to Stefon Diggs off a blown coverage but the lead was still 15 and Maryland still hadn't shown any ability to stop the WVU attack.
Nothing can stop us now, baby!
Big Ern on the play board today. #BillFMurray #KCCO pic.twitter.com/Wp7YUxFXGJ
— Smoking Musket (@SmokingMusket) September 13, 2014
Then things got weird.
Then things got crappy.
Trickett threw into triple coverage. Had his outlet open out in the flat ...
— John Antonik (@JohnAntonik) September 13, 2014
It started here when Clint Trickett made probably his only error of the game and ignored his outlet - Wendell Smallwood in a LOT of wide open space - to try to force in a pass. He was clearly feeling it and this one was just a biiiit too much. But the pass was picked off and Maryland was in business. This was the beginning of a pretty brutal stretch of WVU football.
Thank you based Testudo. Will Likely calls for a fair catch, but it deflects off WVU into Alvin Hill's hands, and he goes for a TD. 28-20
— TerrapinStationMD (@terpstationmd) September 13, 2014
huh?
Play's being reviewed, and nobody is sure what they're even looking for. Who did it hit first? Does it matter? Least tweet-able play ever.
— Testudo Times (@testudotimes) September 13, 2014
Great way to describe it. Twitter was paralyzed. No #HotTakes, no strong opinions, not even an argument over what had just happened, because nobody understood what the hell had just happened. There aren't many times you can genuinely say "I've never seen that before." But we had never seen that before.
Pretty sure Dana Holgorsen just made the officials aware of a rule they didn't know. That's DANA HOLGORSEN, refs.
— MJD (@themightymjd) September 13, 2014
There's actually some validity to this - not the snarky part about Holgo not knowing the rules but the part about him making the refs aware. Folks on the sideline said there was confusion and a point at which the refs seemed ready to allow the score. The WVU sideline pleaded it's case and the call was overturned. And to their credit they got the call right.
@PittScript we gotta run faster.
— Victory Lights (@VictoryLights) September 13, 2014
I needed a happy thought. Cause things aren't getting any better.
LET IT ROWE! LET IT ROWE! BEAUTIFUL PASS TO JACQUILLE VEII. 28-20 MD
— TerrapinStationMD (@terpstationmd) September 13, 2014
You should be ashamed. A Frozen reference? REALLY?
It is staggering that this is gonna be a game at halftime after West Virginia essentially did what it wanted for about 25 minutes.
— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) September 13, 2014
Quick halftime break to remember things that matter much more than football games and to point out that veterans make up a higher percentage of the West Virginia state population than in any other state. Y'all are heroes and we thank you for what you give up. Thank. You.
@SmokingMusket @CMAnderson247 @eersports @hpalmerbrown pic.twitter.com/moeLIpx7li
— Kelton Collopy (@Kac1214) September 13, 2014
Back to the silliness.....
C.J. Brown starts 3rd Q at QB for Terps
— Jeff Culhane (@jeffculhane) September 13, 2014
Yeah but dude got drilled at the end of the half and can probably barely think, what's the worst that could happen?
That was all on Brandon Golson. Lost contain, then took a bad angle, then gave up on the play. Maryland scores on first play of 2nd half.
— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) September 13, 2014
Completely inex-friggin-scusable. This is the crap we saw last year and that had been absent this year. This team is talented, but not talented enough to take plays off. Just like that we had a 1 point game. From 28-6 to a 1 point game.
WVU is passing on fourth-and-1 at the 4 with its unstoppable receiver 50 yards away from the action. Not a winning effort here.
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) September 13, 2014
Then it went from bad to worse. I didn't understand the call to go for it at all. If you're playing a team that you're clearly superior to and protecting a 1 point lead on the road, don't you just take the damn points? Maryland had popped the two big plays but for the most part wasn't moving the ball much and the WVU offense was unstoppable. Live to fight another day. This looked too much like the Impulsive Holgo that I thought we'd left behind.
Second trip into the red zone that resulted in nothing.
G.I. Joey- American soldier, stationed on Allied military base in Australia, makes friends with a baby kangaroo: pic.twitter.com/wqpp4qImKO
— WW2 Tweets from 1942 (@RealTimeWWII) September 13, 2014
Dammit I'm so mad right now even a picture of a marine shaking a kangaroo's hand can't cheer me...aw hell who am I kidding that's pretty cool. BUT DAMMIT WHY ARE WE ONLY LEADING MARYLAND BY A POINT????
I laughed.... hard. RT @abpriddy: Hey look WVU finally scored in the red zone!
— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) September 13, 2014
Let it be known that sucking up to the host will get you in the Retweet every time.
Joe DeForest told me last week Jarrod Harper was a player that he couldn't take off the field on Special Teams. Another big play from Harper
— Jeff Culhane (@jeffculhane) September 13, 2014
Enormous special teams play right there to create a little breathing room. Man our special teams has been great lately. Had the punt block against Texas last year, the 100 yard kick return against Bama, this block......boy things are sure going great!
Thompson had fumble issues last year. They return this year.. anyone else available?
— TheDeuce (@TheDeuceWVU) September 13, 2014
(sad trombone)
I thought we were past this. I really, really did. Squirt had a nice return against last week and a nice return in this game and I really thought we were past this. What scares me is I don't think there is anyone else. I mean if there were, wouldn't we have seen them? But this is unacceptable. You've got to be able to field a punt. What's worse is that on the next one either Thompson was told to run away or he did of his own accord and once the ball bounced at the 25 and rolled it cost the Mountaineers almost 20 yards in field position. A FIFTH OF THE FIELD!!! BECAUSE THEY CAN'T FIELD A PUNT.
— WMITC (@THE_REAL_WMITC) September 13, 2014
There was a lot of this type of thing on Twitter and I get that. The failures on Saturday were costly. But let's stop and think - both kick coverage units were among the best in the nation last year. We've now made a pair of long game-winning field goals in the last 8 games or so. We've blocked two hugely meaningful punts in the last 6 games (Texas and at Maryland). We had that kick return against Bama. When DeForest called special teams a "wash" in his postgame comments, if he had prefaced that with "on the season" then fact of the matter is he'd be right.
West Virginia has been good on offense and defense but not special teams and hey two outta three ain't bad
— Ben Kercheval (@BenKercheval) September 13, 2014
But yeah they sucked out loud on Saturday. The punt return TD was awful, that entire coverage unit was just a damn mess.
Hey! Let's throw to Kevin White.
— Randy Gyorko (@GooseGyorko) September 13, 2014
Inexplicably disappeared for a large chunk of the game - a chunk that just so happened to be when Maryland made their late run. That shouldn't happen.
#HailWV pic.twitter.com/MUl8AnUOhq
— WVU Football (@WVUfootball) September 13, 2014
Because Kevin White is a damn monster.
#WVU Kevin White on his WR screen for a TD: "I was kind of pissed off that I got tripped up last game."
— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) September 13, 2014
PISSED OFF FOR GREATNESS BABY!!!!!
So the Mountaineers got the ball back at their own 5 yard line with 2:35 left. What followed was a curious few minutes that perfectly punctuated a curious afternoon.
Holgorson is the worst clock manager in the history of WVU sports...
— Bearded One (@THEChrisKessell) September 13, 2014
Well I might not go that far, but I don't know that I've ever seen a last-second game-winning drive go:
Run-Run-Run-Run-Pass-Pass-Pass-Pass-Run-Pass-Run-Pass-Kick.
That was taken directly form the play-by-play log. Oh, did I mention WVU ended that run-heavy two-minute drive with a timeout in their pocket? I mean I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth but that was odd. But it worked which is the only thing that matters, and Holgorsen went so far as to dismiss any doubts about his clock management by saying afterwards that "I'm used to operating without timeouts ... we might have left a few of them back there but who cares." He actually said that.
So right when I was ready to write flowing prose about all-grown-up Holgo he goes and does that. But again - it worked. And now nobody has any idea what the hell he'll do when he's in that position facing their team.
The sideline before the winning kick @SmokingMusket pic.twitter.com/zMTsrZqomP
— William Hirsch (@WHirschSports) September 13, 2014
High drama....
It's good!!!!
— Da'Sean C Butler (@TheDaSeanButler) September 13, 2014
From a man who knows something about game-winning 3s.
Oh, I almost forgot... OLD BAY SUCKS OLD BAY SUCKS OLD BAY SUCKS OLD BAY SUCKS OLD BAY SUCKS OLD BAY SUCKS OLD BAY SUCKS OLD BAY SUCKS OLD B
— David Smith (@SmithFire13) September 13, 2014
Well, at least Maryland still does crab cakes.
<-- good coach
— Not Dana Holgorsen (@FauxHolgorsen) September 13, 2014
Perhaps your genius simply exceeds our capacity to understand genius.
Someone get Holgo a 10k marker and 13 warm Bud Ices.
— Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) September 13, 2014
I think he's earned it.
Tip of the cap to Clint Trickett. Nearly 700 yards of offense for WVU and 511 passing for Trickett. Quality win. #section91
— Braden Gall (@BradenGall) September 13, 2014
If I told you #WVU had 4 TOs, 3 more TOs on downs, a blocked FG, 2-of-5 in red zone and gave up punt return TD. How much does MD win by?
— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) September 13, 2014
Was it perfect? Obviously not, but one way or another these guys were going to face adversity. And I'd rather face it against Maryland sporting a 22 point lead than a week later when the Oklahoma Sooners come to town. There's no such thing as a bad win and there was certainly a lot to like about this one. So appreciate that this is a 2-1 team with a lot of room to improve and a huge opportunity coming up on Saturday night.
So keep on tweeting and LET'S GOOOOO!!!!!