West Virginia To Mess With Texas On Saturday

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

Football:

Mountaineers, Longhorns to Meet Saturday | WVU Athletics
West Virginia got some of its mojo back following last Saturday’s 31-26 win over Texas Tech at Milan Puskar Stadium, and now the Mountaineers hope to get a little more of it back this Saturday against Texas.

After breakout day, Ka’Raun White must avoid dropoff | WV MetroNews
After Ka’Raun White emerged against Texas Tech for five catches, including two with tricky degrees of difficulty, the comparisons to his older brother re-emerged.

WVU defense adjusts, applies infrequent pressure | Charleston Gazette-Mail
For years and years now, West Virginia’s defense has played and even prospered without banking quarterback sacks.

WVU offensive line will be challenged against relentless Longhorn pass rush | Beckley Register-Herald
West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard probably isn’t a fan of 1980s pop star Taylor Dayne, but it’s likely he’ll be singing one of the New York native’s biggest hits on Saturday when Texas visits Mountaineer Field in Morgantown for a noon clash on ESPNU.

Mountaineers weigh in on Missouri situation | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Their identities are mostly concealed under helmets and behind facemasks, but the players who make up West Virginia’s football team are among the most visible, well-known people in a small state without any kind of major professional sports.

Basketball:

Phillip and Macon will be WVU’s key bench contributors this season | The Daily Athenaeum
If Press Virginia was ever going to succeed, head coach Bob Huggins needed a deep bench. He had it last season, as the West Virginia University men’s basketball team ran as many as 13 players out onto the court some nights to offset the effects of foul trouble and fatigue.

Youthful Mountaineer reserves will be counted on to come up big | The Daily Athenaeum
The West Virginia University women’s basketball team totes a new cast of players coming off the bench this year, with 11 players overall seeing action for the first time as Mountaineers.

Around The Big 12:

Baylor's owned Oklahoma, but the Sooners can take advantage of 2 weaknesses | SBNation
Baylor has won its last two games against Oklahoma by an 89-26 margin, but the Bears have weaknesses the Sooners can exploit, and OU has been magnificent since its baffling loss to Texas.

Jarrett Stidham ready for Baylor's Big 12 title hunt | ESPN
How did Jarrett Stidham celebrate his first victory as Baylor’s starting quarterback? He went hunting.

Have the Texas Longhorns finally turned the corner? | Charleston Gazette-Mail
A year ago, a win against West Virginia was part of a three-game winning streak that repositioned Charlie Strong’s first season at Texas and made him speak about the future.

Around The NCAA:

This Week In Schadenfreude, in which Michigan State needs to leave for the ACC | SBNation
Your weekly tour of the country's angriest college football fanbases is back, but we have to work up to Spartan anger.

Nick Saban to the Colts speculation continues to grow | Stampede Blue
Though not reporting anything, WTHR's Bob Kravitz appeared on a podcast with Adam Schein and noted that he thinks Colts owner Jim Irsay will go after Alabama's Nick Saban as his next head coach.

LSU and Arkansas have a trophy rivalry that's more about wild fun than hate | SBNation
This weekend’s Battle for the Boot may not have the gravitas of other trophy games, but the on-field product has been wild.

Did Minnesota punt on its coaching search by hiring Tracy Claeys so early? | SBNation
Maybe, but nothing assures a program of Big Ten glory more than being good at punting.

The Solid Verbal: College football's Week 11 is one giant trapdoor | SBNation
Ty and Dan are here to be your college football audio sherpas.

SHUTDOWN FULLCAST 3.31: THE UNDER 30 MINUTES BUT IT'S STILL FREE EPISODE | Every Day Should Be Saturday
WE'RE NOT GOOD AT BUSINESS

HATIN' ASS SPURRIER STAYS UNDEFEATED | Every Day Should Be Saturday
AND JUST LIKE IOWA HE'S PROBABLY NOT REAL

Jets' Geno Smith reveals he did not owe IK Enemkpali money | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
When then-Jet IK Enemkpali decked teammate Geno Smith in the locker room during training camp, breaking the quarterback's jaw, it was widely reported that money was at the root of their dispute, and Smith owed Enemkpali $600. But on Tuesday, Smith told Kimberley Martin of Newsday that story is "the biggest misconception in America."

The time is running out for the Bears to make a decision on Kevin White | Blue Gold Sports
When the Bears drafted Kevin White with the seventh overall selection in this year’s NFL Draft, everyone had visions of Jay Cutler dropping bombs to the WVU standout at Soldier Field this season. After having micro-fracture surgery during training camp, we’ll soon know if White will play at all in 2015.

Today's Miss Throwdown is a model that has somehow managed to fly under the radar. CLICK HERE for Mary Shum's Instagram.

A photo posted by MARY SHUM (@mary_shum_) on Aug 31, 2015 at 3:04am PDT