State Of West Virginia Program Bleak After Loss To Oklahoma State

They say it is always darkest before the dawn, and for any West Virginia football fan who looked out his or her window Saturday night, they found themselves staring into a sea of blackness.

By Michael Miller@michaelmillerWV Oct 12, 2015, 10:39am EDT

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.

Football:

State of WVU program bleak after loss to OSU | The Exponent Telegram
They say it is always darkest before the dawn, and for any West Virginia football fan who looked out his or her window Saturday night, they found themselves staring into a sea of blackness.

Offensive glitches putting West Virginia defense in major bind | WV MetroNews
For a period of each day’s practice, Skyler Howard and the West Virginia running backs rep the read-option handoff that now predicates the offense. How many of those exchanges typically are dropped or bobbled? "Almost none," said running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider.

Offense, not defense, WVU’s biggest cause for concern | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Given the conversations that preceded the start of the season and then the beginning of Big 12 play, it could be argued without much resistance that West Virginia would have been content in the situation it found itself in Saturday.

Mountaineers struggle with their depth at RB | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
West Virginia junior running back Wendell Smallwood was a game time decision with an ankle injury Saturday night. Smallwood rushed 19 times for a game-high 147 yards and a touchdown in a 33-26 overtime loss against Oklahoma State, but he wasn't on the field during the Mountaineers' final offensive series.

West Virginia Athletics:

No. 3/4 Mountaineers Pull Away on Road | WVU Athletics
Three second-half goals helped the No. 3/4 West Virginia University women’s soccer team withstand late pressure from No. 16/13 Texas Tech and ensured a 4-1 victory for the Mountaineers Sunday afternoon at John Walker Soccer Complex.

No. 1 Mountaineers Earn First GARC Win | WVU Athletics
The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team earned its second straight win of the season today, defeating No. 6 Nebraska, 4714-4654, at Air Force’s Falcon Rifle Range, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Around The Big 12:

Big 12 Week 6 Power Rankings: Shake-up in the middle | ESPN
The Big 12 Power Rankings after Week 6.

Big 12 Week 6 bowl projections: TCU holds on to playoff spot | ESPN
TCU survived, Baylor coasted and Oklahoma faltered. That was the story of a dramatic Week 6 in the Big 12.

Charlie Strong beat Oklahoma. Your argument is invalid. | SBNation
Welcome to The Top Whatever, in which Spencer Hall ranks the teams he feels like ranking at this moment, and not a team more.

Around The NCAA:

College football rankings: Baylor jumps TCU to No. 2 in AP Top 25 | SBNation
Here are the two big polls, a consensus rating and an advanced statistical ranking, all in one spot.

New College Football Playoff and bowl projections, where it's hard not to put Michigan up top | SBNation
Here are some predictions for every bowl game, with Ohio State still lingering in the Playoff despite being the second best team in its division so far.

Maryland fired Randy Edsall. Here is what his era of Terps football did to me | SBNation

The Terrapins were bad for Edsall's four years, but the kind of bad that constantly made you think something better was coming.

Steve Sarkisian taking leave as USC head coach, reportedly to seek treatment | SBNation
Offensive coordinator Clay Helton is the interim coach.

Unofficial visits yielded positive impressions | Charleston Gazette-Mail
In this spot last week, we mentioned just how unpredictable unofficial visit weekends can be. With recruits needing to organize their own transportation and pay their own way, there are a lot of moving parts that lead to abrupt cancellations and just as many last-minute additions. This past weekend did not disappoint.