Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.
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Football:
WVU Ground Attack Marches on to Kansas | WVU Athletics
Now nine games into the season, we are discovering the true identity of this year’s West Virginia University football team – run and possess the ball, play good, sound special teams, create turnovers on defense, value field position and make on-field decisions with all of those things in mind.
2013’s lesson from Lawrence? Even Kansas can dust a lethargic team | WV MetroNews
Nov. 16, 2013, aka the day West Virginia’s pride sank with the Kansas goal posts to the bottom of Potter Lake, was a painful one for Jared Barber. And he wasn’t even in Lawrence.
WVU hopes it learned lesson from its 2013 trip to Kansas | Beckley Register-Herald
West Virginia is 5-4, has won two straight and is playing to qualify for bowl eligibility. Kansas is 0-10 has lost 13 straight, dating back to last season, and has won just one of its last 18 Big 12 contests. So Saturday’s game between the Mountaineers and Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan., should be a definite WVU victory. Should be, but isn’t guaranteed.
Some of West Virginia's goals this football season remain quite reachable | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Four losses in October came with an immense physical toll for West Virginia, from injuries to key players to the travel demands of three trips to places such as Norman, Okla., and Waco, Texas.
Coverage units, field position a plus for WVU | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The rankings do not provide the best testimony for just how good West Virginia’s punt and kickoff coverage teams have been this season, but numbers aren’t the best way to judge their value, either.
West Virginia’s hard-hitting coverage units are the team’s unsung heroes | The Daily Athenaeum
Even while the West Virginia offense tries to adapt to a major culture change, and the Mountaineer defense struggles against some of the most dynamic offenses in football, one unit has always stood out: WVU’s special teams coverage units, which rank among the best in the Big 12.
Howard’s still got a grip despite right wrist injury | WV MetroNews
Skyler Howard’s late-game touchdown run against Texas also left the West Virginia quarterback with a sore right wrist that continues to receive treatment.
Wellman drives West Virginia’s smack-attack | WV MetroNews
Elijah Wellman, bearded to the point where he could platoon with the Mountaineer mascot, lives by the simplest of football philosophies.
Holgorsen on WVU battling the ‘human instinct to relax’ | WV MetroNews
With 0-10 Kansas next up, how much deprogramming must be done to take the Jayhawks seriously?
Dance a big part of who Rogers is | The Exponent Telegram
Ricky Rogers is that rarest of creatures. He lives a double life. You might even make that a triple life. He is first a wide receiver on the West Virginia football team, a player who lives with strains and pains, with dirt and hurt. But when football ends, Rogers trades his cleats in for a pair of ballet slippers as a dance major at the school.
Basketball:
Devin Williams may be developing into NBA talent | The Daily Athenaeum
Williams has already recorded a pair of double-doubles thus far for the West Virginia University men’s basketball team, making that 19 during his time in Morgantown. The junior sensation finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in an 86-73 victory over James Madison on Monday.
West Virginia Athletics:
One Special Team | WVU Athletics
WVU women's soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown believes the 2015 team is special.
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Around The Big 12:
Who wins the Big 12? Breaking down all the scenarios | ESPN
A handy look at how the Big 12 will shake out based on the results of four games.
Winless Kansas still brings energy, effort to each game and practice | ESPN
Kansas (0-9) didn't have much to play for against TCU last week, but it sure didn't show in the Jayhawks' effort or energy.
Kansas’ Goodman grew up calf roping before football | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Ben Goodman grew up in Texas and plays college football today in the Big 12. In between, the Kansas defensive end had role models and dreamed of endorsement deals. He practiced for hours and hours and once nearly lost a finger to his sport. He won all sorts of prizes as a kid and had schools lining up to offer him a scholarship. And he did it all for calf roping.
TCU still has plenty to prove against the Big 12's elite | ESPN
Back-to-back wins over Oklahoma and Baylor would send a message that would be heard across the national landscape.
Oklahoma secondary secures spot among nation's best | ESPN
The Sooners, led by their improved secondary, held Baylor to a season-high eight possessions without a first down in Saturday's win.
From walk-on to Heisman? Why Baker Mayfield is perfect for Oklahoma's air raid | SBNation
Baker Mayfield wouldn't be the first overlooked, undersized QB from Texas to run and gun his way to the award in this system.
Charlie Strong denies Miami rumors, says he's at Texas 'to build a program' | SBNation
Strong had previously been linked to the job.
Around The NCAA:
This Week In Schadenfreude, in which Dan Mullen let Alabama win so Nick Saban will finally leave | SBNation
Welcome to your weekly roundup of the Internet's maddest college football fans.
The Solid Verbal: College football's Week 12 will give us long-awaited answers, a preview | SBNation
Ty and Dan talk about the newest College Football Playoff rankings and how Week 12 can quickly change everything.
SHUTDOWN FULLCAST 3.33: HEAD COACH MARIAH CAREY EDITION | Every Day Should Be Saturday
THE SHUTDOWN FULLCAST LOOKS AT A SWEET FANTASY IN MIAMI AND THE WEEK AHEAD IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
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Today's Miss Throwdown is a beautiful model/actress from Texas. CLICK HERE for Courtney Tailor's Instagram.