What I Think About WVU Football...After Beating Kansas

1. I think Lou Brown was right

OK, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called "two in a row". And if we win again tomorrow, it's called a "winning streak"... It has happened before!

I know everyone was discouraged after October. To watch your favorite team lose, often out of the game by the third quarter, can dredge up emotions of disgust, anger and bitterness. It can cause you to question the coach, the quarterback, and the team.

Many fans often expressed they weren't sure that the team would win another game. Texas Tech looked like an explosive offense who would exploit the vulnerable defense for the Mountaineers. Texas had beaten WVU in consecutive years and looked to be gaining confidence after demolishing Kansas. Iowa State and KSU have proven to be tough against the team.

The team has now won three straight. They will be favored in the next two. Things aren't as bad as they seemed in October.

2. I think there are 22 players who will play their last game at Mountaineer Field next Saturday

This group of seniors won't be remembered as the best to ever wear the old gold and blue, but they should be remembered as one of the more resilient groups. They will also be remembered as the first full Big 12 group. They deserve your full love on Saturday. This team doesn't get back on track without those 22 seniors.

3. I think Dana has secured his place next year.

Six wins was always the minimum requirement for Dana. Given the strength of schedule, which currently is 5th in the nation, not winning the conference could be forgiven if bowl eligibility could be obtained. Doing so by beating the next three teams on the November schedule shows tremendous progress.

Whereas an ugly win Saturday would’ve sufficed for bowl-eligibility purposes, the unabated mauling that transpired was indicative of how this West Virginia checks the boxes it’s supposed to check. Unlike recent years, it has avoided head-scratching losses in favor of some steady strong-arming.

Pronounced favorites at home against Georgia Southern, Liberty and Maryland? Clubbed them all.

Swing games against the mediocre likes of Texas and Texas Tech? Done and done.

Keeping KU lifeless in Lawrence? Not a problem. - WV MetroNews - Allan Taylor

Dana is owed a retention bonus days after the season. That decision has to be made now, not in the heat of the moment, much like the Bill Stewart hire. Positive and negatives have to be weighed and barring an absolute collapse of 2012 Boston Red Sox proportions, Dana should and will be retained.

4. I think this win means a better program in 2016.

In 2011, during West Virginia's last season in what was the dying remnants of the Big East, WVU struggled on offense despite owning the NFL talents of Tavon Austin, Geno Smith and Stedman Bailey. WVU became bowl eligible with a win over unknown. The subsequent practices leading up to the BCS Orange Bowl allowed the team to develop extra cohesiveness. The team scored 70 points against an extremely talented Clemson team

The next year WVU lit the world on fire, rising to number 5 in the country despite owning some very serious flaws in defense. I think that the upcoming bowl practices are very good for Skyler Howard, Shelton Gibson, Jovon Durante and the rest of the offense.

5. I think this win showed tremendous coaching

You may view this as an easy win that should have been as lopsided as the final score but in actuality plenty of teams, including previous Mountaineer teams under multiple coaches, have showed up lackluster against far superior competition and left games with margin of victories closer than they should have been.

"I told them to be down there for a meeting at 6:45, and they were all bright-eyed at 6:30, so we started 15 minutes early. That told me they were ready to go and they were excited and ready to play." - Dana Holgorsen

This iteration of this team showed up all week for practice then showed up 15 minutes early to the pre-game walk through. They showed up 15 minutes early for a walk through against a winless team, on the road, in cold and windy conditions, with fewer than 22,000 people in the stands and less than 500 students. Yet, they showed up early and showed up early in the game. The 28 points scored in the first quarter were the most points scored in a quarter since scoring 35 against Clemson in the second quarter of the Orange Bowl.

6. I think this game proved my thoughts on William Crest.

Mobile athletic quarterbacks have always been the X-factor in football. The man who can throw a football on a frozen rope between two defenders 20 yards, who can throw a 45 yards bomb and drop it in a bucket and can escape the pocket to make a first down or score a touchdown.

Crest may be the most athletic player we've had at quarterback since Major Harris. Standing at 6'2" and weighing over 210 pounds, he has the physical stature you look for. He's proven he can run the ball, catch the ball and throw the ball a mile. What he hasn't proven yet is the ability to make the right reads, put touch on short passes or be accurate with his throws. I like William as a player and hope he finds success with us and on Sunday but I don't think that will happen at quarterback. I think Crest needs to embrace another position.

7. I think I really like this uniform combination

Think I may have snapped @Holgorsendana's new profile picture yesterday. #WVU pic.twitter.com/levXMmgUmj

— Geoff Coyle (@GFCoyle) November 22, 2015

Of the "new" uniform combinations that WVU has used over the past few years, this specific combination: gold helmets, white jersey, gold pants, is one of my favorites. I've taken to calling it the Appalachian Bengals. It reminds me so much of LSU. When I think of LSU, I think of tough, fast, and physical defense. The two times that WVU has worn this combination, 2014 against Oklahoma State and 2015 against Kansas, the defense has given up a total of 10 points, caused 6 turnovers, including returning two interceptions for touchdowns. Those stats sound an awful lot like the LSU Tigers. While I still am a traditionalist and would like to see blue helmets, blue jerseys and white or gold pants as the main combination, this specific combination is very appealing to me. If we are going to play fast and physical defense with this uniform combination, then maybe we should wear it more often.