Isaiah Bruce Out To Make A Statement In Cactus Bowl

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

Football:

Bruce out to make statement in Cactus Bowl | Charleston Gazette-Mail
This season, the Mountaineers have 29 sacks and 2.42 per game. All that with nary a contribution from Isaiah Bruce, whose brief time spent as a linebacker-turned-defensive end should help the defense long after he plays his final game against the Sun Devils.

Shelton Gibson on missed connections downfield: ‘That’s on me’ | WV MetroNews
There’s a bowl game wedged between now and the offseason Shelton Gibson expects to define him. And if one didn’t know better, one might think the receiver is more excited about the winter weightroom workouts and behind-the-scenes pass-catching sessions than he is about playing on ESPN on Jan. 2.

Barber, Petteway persevered through hard times | The Exponent Telegram
This isn’t where it was supposed to end for West Virginia’s linebacking tandem of Jared Barber and Shaq Petteway, not in some lower tier bowl game in the desert at 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 2.

Cactus Bowl Numbers & Nuggets | Charleston Gazette-Mail
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen and Arizona State coach Todd Graham are connected. Graham used to be an assistant for the Mountaineers, and they had battles in Conference USA, where Graham coached at Tulsa and Holgorsen at Houston. They’ve also met one time as head coaches: the Backyard Brawl. Holgorsen won that meeting against Pitt, 21-20, in 2011.

Cactus Bowl matchups | Charleston Gazette-Mail
If WVU coach Dana Holgorsen wants to breathe life into his team’s passing game, this is the time to do so.

Gold & Blue Lunch: Where to stick Cactus on list of Big 12 bowl matchups? | WV MetroNews
Seven games, seven bags of swag and seven chances for the Big 12 to build a postseason reputation.

2016 West Virginia University Cactus Bowl Guide by Joe Swan | WVU Athletics
2016 West Virginia University Cactus Bowl Guide

Basketball:

New number, new roommate and a new Devin Williams | Charleston Gazette-Mail
We’re arrived at a point in the season when it’s finally fair to step back and take a look at West Virginia basketball and how reality has fared against expectations.

Around The Big XII:

Kevin Peterson leaves lasting legacy at Oklahoma State | ESPN
Kevin Peterson will leave Oklahoma State as one of the best defensive backs of the Mike Gundy era.

Trevone Boykin's finest moments as a TCU Horned Frog | ESPN
Dynamic quarterback Trevone Boykin saved some of his best performances for TCU's biggest games.

Around The NCAA:

Georgia Southern wins its first-ever bowl game in wild GoDaddy Bowl | SBNation
Bowling Green and Georgia Southern provided us with some crazy plays, but it was the Eagles who got after the Falcons in the second half.

The MAC was the second-best mid-major in 2015, and bowl season's helping to prove it | SBNation
The American's place in the New Year's Six is well-earned, but the MAC's two Tuesday wins included the single biggest mid-major showcase bowl of the season.

Nick Saban made a point about job loyalty that's often easily forgotten | SBNation
It's not always about the money or the prestige of the job.

The Solid Verbal: Everything you need to know about a bunch of bowl games | SBNation
Let's get to the pertinent items, shall we?

Oakland nearly upset Michigan State. It wasn’t a fluke. | SBNation
One of the country's best small-school basketball players and his experienced coach nearly brought down the top-ranked school in the country on Tuesday.

Recruits see plenty of postseason action | Charleston Gazette-Mail
In college football, the postseason means bowl games. For high schoolers, it means moving on to the next sport — basketball or wrestling, in most cases. For a select few, though, it means All-Star games. Whether local or national, these exhibitions bring together the best of the best, allowing elite prospects from across the nation to show off their skills against the top competition.

Stedman Bailey of St. Louis Rams, recovering from gunshot wounds to head, returns home from hospital | ESPN
Rams receiver Stedman Bailey, who was shot twice in the head while in the Miami area on Nov. 24, was released from the hospital and is spending the holidays at home with his family.

Today's Miss Throwdown is another Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model. CLICK HERE for today's gallery of Rose Bertram.