Is Skyler Howard The Final Key To West Virginia's Success?

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Football:

Howard gives Holgorsen, WVU options on offense | Charleston Gazette-Mail
For the second straight year and the fourth time in now five seasons as West Virginia’s head coach, Dana Holgosen opens up a football season today with no uncertainty about who is his best quarterback. Skyler Howard follows the path first traveled by Geno Smith in 2011-12 and Clint Trickett last season, but this is not to say the situation is without questions. The Mountaineers know who will lead their offense. What’s unknown is what it will look like with Howard.

Howard: The final key to WVU success | Times West Virginian
Say what you will, winning football begins and ends with the quarterback. Skyler Howard is West Virginia University’s quarterback and that makes him the No. 1 key to the season.

More certainties for WVU entering 2015 campaign | The Exponent Telegram
What a difference a year makes. As it is in any year in college football, the cast is forever in flux and we begin it by introducing you to 10 players who could have a huge effect on this year’s team who were not in the picture a year ago.

Contact rules don’t worry Holgorsen | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Dana Holgorsen maintains that the Big 12’s new limit on full contact days during a practice week won’t affect the way he approaches scheduling workouts during the season. Nor will it affect how much contact the Mountaineers go through during August drills — which begin Monday — because the new rules don’t apply then. Nothing has changed as far as the preseason is concerned.

2015 Football Season Outlook | WVU Athletics
West Virginia finished 7-6 in 2014, and the 5-4 mark in its third year in the Big 12 Conference led to its highest conference finish. The Mountaineers’ improved play, especially on defense, gave WVU a successful season and put them back in a bowl. Heading into the 2015 season, WVU returns 44 letterwinners, including 21 starters. Add another strong recruiting class, coupled with an outstanding spring, and the stage is set for good things to happen.

Possibilities & Predictions as WVU Opens Camp | BlueGoldNews
West Virginia’s program is in the crosshairs for some, at a crossroads for others. Here, we take a look at a few potentials of the make-or-break variety as the Mountaineers begin fall camp.

It's That Time of Year Again | WVU Athletics
On Monday, the Mountaineers begin preparation for the 2015 season, which gets underway on Saturday, September 5 when Georgia Southern comes to Morgantown.

Basketball:

John Flowers raises money with alumni game | WV MetroNews
Former West Virginia forward John Flowers and J Flow Entertainment hosted the ‘Inaugural West Virginia Men’s Basketball Alumni Game’ on Saturday at Morgantown High School, and raised money for the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Fund.

Around The Big 12:

Projecting every Big 12 game in 2015 | FOX Sports
Preseason camps will begin opening across the Big 12 this week and every player will step on the practice field dreaming of what could await in the always-memorable fall months. David Ubben takes a closer look at what will happen, and analyzes and pickes every game on the Big 12 schedule. Here's how the standings shake out.

Ranking the Big 12's Top Heisman Candidates for 2015 | AthlonSports.com
The last time a Big 12 player won the Heisman Trophy, Texas A&M and Missouri were conference members. It has only been four years since Robert Griffin III of Baylor was named the Heisman Trophy, but so much has happened since then that it feels a bit longer.

Should the Big 12 Ban FCS Opponents? | Land Grant Gauntlet
The Big Ten announced that members will no longer schedule FCS schools. Should the Big 12 follow in their footsteps?

Around The NCAA:

The pop pass isn't going away, but referees are watching it more closely | SBNation
If your team (or your rival) uses these popular run/pass options, just know things will need to be done by the book.

Alabama, Louisville will reportedly open the 2018 season in Orlando | Sporting News
Louisville and Alabama will reportedly kickoff the 2018 season on Sept. 1 in Orlando, according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

Has the Pac-12 passed SEC as college football's top conference? | SI.com
The SEC is vulnerable. The league’s two-year national title drought and dismal 2014 bowl season have dimmed its stature as the premier conference in college football. SEC Media Days in July featured a flurry of obituaries memorializing the end of its dominance atop the sport. Pass the smelling salts to Paul Finebaum—college football is gaining ground on the SEC.

West Virginia Mountaineers in the NFL Training Camp Diary | College to Pro Sports
Today’s camp diary brings you notes about Alford, Austin, helmet cam with Stedman Bailey, Geno Smith losing a new toy and more.

New York Jets' Geno Smith: Cheers or boos, 'makes no difference to me' | ESPN
It has been only two days, and we're talking about a small sample size (about 1,500 per day), but the crowds at practice have been supportive.

Why Geno Smith is so convinced this year will be different for him | New York Post
This is a different Geno Smith. A less defensive Geno Smith. A Geno Smith oblivious to the naysayers. A Geno Smith who never has stopped believing in Geno Smith. Maybe it means nothing. Maybe he will, at some point, surrender his dream job to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Maybe it will mean everything.

Geno Smith vs. Ryan Fitzpatrick: Jets training camp quarterback tracker, Day 3 | NJ.com
Everybody knows it would be a stunner if the Jets didn't start quarterback Geno Smith in Week 1 against the Browns. So there isn't really a quarterback competition at all between Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Today's Miss Throwdown is an absolute beauty from Australia.  CLICK HERE for today's gallery of Robyn Lawley.