Holgorsen Ready To Turn The Mountaineers Loose On The Eagles

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

Football:

Holgorsen ready to turn ‘em loose Saturday | The Daily Athenaeum
In Tuesday’s press conference, head coach Dana Holgorsen made it clear he can’t wait for Saturday night. After weeks of camp and practice, the team is also feeling the same energy and anxiety.

Mountaineers are restless, ready for Georgia Southern | The Dominion Post
The fact-finding mission launched nearly five months ago, in late April. While most of Tony Gibson’s peers, college football assistant coaches around the country, were scouring the web for bottom-dollar plane tickets and sunscreen for last-minute vacations, the WVU defensive coordinator’s search centered on a 10-year-old game tape in which his Mountaineers square off against a team that shares its name with a small, wiry dog.

Discipline a key for WVU defense against GSU option | The Exponent Telegram
With an offense as unique as the one West Virginia will be facing Saturday when it takes on Georgia Southern in its 2015 season opener, there will always be a little added attention.

Holgorsen's defensive decisions have WVU headed in right direction | Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Dana Holgorsen did a double-take, took a step back and reinvented himself. This was an unusual move for West Virginia's confident football coach who arrived here amid lofty expectations.

Enough talk, Holgorsen’s ready for game time | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The best thing to happen to Dana Holgorsen Tuesday actually happened Monday. The West Virginia coach started the first game week of the season by publishing a depth chart online. A day later, that gave life to a news conference that followed last week’s that detailed Saturday’s opponent, Georgia State.

Dana Holgorsen wants to play the season opener today | WV MetroNews
Looking antsier than ever after 25 preseason practices, Dana Holgorsen lined Tuesday’s news conference with a clear talking point: He’s tired of talking about Georgia Southern and ready to play.

WVU ready to enter 'The Twilight Zone' | The Exponent Telegram
In another world, a world of black and white television, no less, there existed a show called "The Twilight Zone," a weekly science fiction journey deep into the recesses of creator Rod Serling’s fertile mind. It was not far off from the journey the West Virginia football team will take beginning this Saturday night at home against Georgia Southern.

Planning for success: West Virginia defense gets tough early test | ESPN
Georgia Southern might be a Sun Belt Conference program in just its second season as a full-fledged FBS member. Yet the Eagles are hardly an opponent West Virginia can take lightly heading into Saturday night's opener in Morgantown.

WVU, Georgia Southern want QBs with mobility | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Skyler Howard will start at quarterback for West Virginia in its season opener Saturday night. There was a time not long ago when the 6-foot Howard wouldn’t have been coach Dana Holgorsen’s choice.

Southern Fried Offense | WVU Athletics
Jed Drenning provides an in-depth look at the Georgia Southern offense.

Barber fights his way back into lineup after injury | The Daily Athenaeum
When the West Virginia Mountaineer defense takes the field for the first time on Saturday, it will be the end of a long journey for senior linebacker Jared Barber.

Durante could buck trend, make impact as true freshman | The Exponent Telegram
Questions are better asked before they are answered, and that is why before the Georgia Southern opener is a part of history rather than the future we have to ask whether Dana Holgorsen is making a mistake by starting a true freshman wide receiver in Jovon Durante.

WVU freshman Durante set to start at WR | Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Jovon Durante is a rarity at West Virginia, coach Dana Holgorsen said Tuesday. Durante is among a select group of freshmen receivers under Holgorsen to open the season in the starting lineup.

A depth chart with actual depth? Mountaineers O-line finally fortified | WV MetroNews
t’s not the kind of reminiscence Ron Crook enjoys, but West Virginia’s 2014 offensive line was essentially a band of five with no backup singers.

Depth gives WVU options on O-line | Beckley Register-Herald
Run into any fan on the street wearing a West Virginia football hat, and there’s a 90 percent chance he or she will be able to tell you the quarterback’s name. The chances of that individual being able to name a couple receivers and a running back is probably 70 percent. Naming the starters on the offensive line is a little more challenging for an average fan.

Starting safety Dravon Henry brims with confidence for WVU | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As a freshman, Dravon Henry was everything one could want out of a first-year player, a dependable starter at safety who finished with two interceptions and was named a freshman All-American by ESPN. West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, however, saw something else entirely.

WVU Mountaineers Preview with Mark Stickel, SmokingMusket.com | Heartland College Sports
Pete is joined by WVUIE97, the managing editor for the popular West Virginia Mountaineers fan site Smoking Musket. We get into how Skyler Howard will doing replacing Clint Trickett. Also, how competitive will WVU be this season? And is Dana Holgorsen a mediocre season away from the hot seat?

2015 College Football: Scouting the West Virginia Mountainers | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Three keys to West Virginia’s 2015 football season and a breakdown of their schedule.

College football preview: Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia are unrivaled for all the wrong reasons | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Rivalries across college football have disappeared the past five years, making some wonder whether the sport has lost part of its appeal.

West Virginia Athletics:

Around The Big 12:

Air Raid's rise in Big 12 still inspired by Mike Leach | ESPN
Mike Leach is more than 1,200 miles away from Big 12 country now, but his fingerprints are still all over the conference. His influence on the way Big 12 offenses move the ball is more pervasive than ever in 2015.

It’s go time for the Big 12 | Charleston Gazette-Mail
On Tuesday, West Virginia had its game week press conference. That’s because, finally, it’s game week. And for the Big 12, it’s go time. Time to go and win.

Both Baylor and TCU swear the state of Texas' biggest battle isn't a rivalry | SBNation
The Big 12's two best hopes have redefined Texas football. There's plenty of hate, but neither side's officials want to call it a rivalry. Yet.

K-State picks sophomore Jesse Ertz to start at quarterback | FOX Sports
The last time Jesse Ertz threw a pass in a game that mattered, the lanky quarterback with the buzz cut was leading tiny Mediapolis High School through the Iowa state playoffs. Now, he's the starter for Kansas State.

Baylor ready for new-look SMU in season opener | FOX Sports
Seth Russell is the man who will step in for the departed Bryce Petty for a Baylor team that has national title hopes.Russell makes his second career start for the fourth-ranked Bears on Friday night in what appears to be a major mismatch on the road against rebuilding SMU.

Around The NCAA:

How Notre Dame crashing the College Football Playoff could prompt expansion | Campus Rush
If you are anxious for the playoff to be expanded, here's a bit of unorthodox advice—root for Notre Dame.

Preseason college football bowl projections 2015-16 | SI.com
Who will make the College Football Playoff this season? Who's headed to the rest of the bowl games? Here are our full bowl projections.

2 former Mountaineers among Tuesday’s NFL cuts | WV MetroNews
Two former West Virginia players were among the cuts Tuesday as NFL teams trimmed their rosters to 75 players.

Jets QB coach breaks silence, talks Geno Smith | New York Post
Jets quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo spoke to reporters for the first and only time this summer Tuesday, but he had no interest in discussing Geno Smith and his broken jaw.

Our friend Dan Rubenstein picks the big games in this week's Easy Call.

Today's Miss Throwdown is an actress from across the pond, and will grace the cover for the upcoming October issue of FHM magazine. CLICK HERE for a gallery of Jorgie Porter.