West Virginia Looks To Past To Keep Defenses Guessing

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Football:

WVU offense dips into past to keep defenses guessing | Charleston Gazette-Mail
As Dana Holgorsen grabbed his offense by the shoulder pads and shook it up to take it into the future, he also reached into West Virginia’s past. His fifth team of Mountaineers is using a feature of the offenses that preceded him on campus.

New wrinkle makes Mountaineers offense more dangerous | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dana Holgorsen’s rise up the college football coaching ladder, going from quarterbacks coach at tiny Wingate University to head coach at West Virginia in the span of 12 years, was precipitated by his belief in and mastery of the "Air Raid" offense. The Mountaineers coach never has drifted far from the pass-happy scheme, and, for someone whose offenses regularly score points in droves, there’s no reason to stray. But this season, with the right quarterback in place, Holgorsen has added a new wrinkle to his offense.

Examining WVU’s red zone struggles | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The smoke from the mascot’s rifle had barely cleared two Saturdays ago, and West Virginia football coach Dana Holgorsen was moments away from clearing his docket and officially enjoying a 41-17 win against Liberty. All that stood in his path was the conclusion of a postgame news conference and a few more questions about the Mountaineers, the win and their 2-0 start.

WVU Dependent on Do-It-All Nose Tackle to Anchor Defense | WV Illustrated
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. However, in this instance, the image attached to this story is defined by one word. Toughness.

Ball skills key for WVU’s DBs | The Dominion Post
To hear West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson tell it, the Mountaineers’ 2014 stats as they pertain to interceptions come with a caveat, or a catch. More precisely — it’s a caveat concerning the catch.

WVU could establish itself as region's best | The Exponent Telegram
As Maryland week is born in this 2015 college football season for West Virginia, it comes carrying a reminder of the way the pecking order in this area has changed and put the Mountaineers in position to become the top power within their football rich regional area.

Mountaineers needs special effort on special teams against Terps | The Exponent Telegram
Now comes the test for West Virginia’s special teams. Through the season’s first two games, they’ve been acceptable, which around these parts is a huge improvement.

West Virginia Athletics:

Utley, Defense Deliver Win | WVU Athletics
A stingy Florida Gulf Coast defense limited the chances for the No. 4/7 West Virginia University women’s soccer team today, but the Mountaineers made the most of their best opportunity and pushed their shutout streak to eight with a 1-0 win over the Eagles at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Buchanan, Izzo-Brown building something special at WVU | The Exponent Telegram
There’s a collection building throughout Kadeisha Buchanan’s room. Along the walls, there are messages from fans, pictures, posters that have been given to her over the course of this summer that she will surely remember for the rest of her life.

WVU starts off tennis season strong at William and Mary Invitational | The Daily Athenaeum
The West Virginia University women’s tennis team opened its season over the weekend in the William and Mary Invitational.

Mountaineers win 2 of 3 at Winthrop Invitational | The Daily Athenaeum
Over the weekend, the West Virginia University volleyball team participated in the Winthrop Invitational, coming home with two wins and one loss.

No. 18 Georgetown Beats WVU, 3-1 | WVU Athletics
The West Virginia University men’s soccer team suffered a 3-1 loss to No. 18/RV Georgetown on Sunday afternoon at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Around The Big 12:

Football hierarchy emerges in Big 12 Conference | The Daily Athenaeum
With the 2015 college football season fully underway, a hierarchy has emerged in the Big 12. Oklahoma, TCU and Baylor look to be the three big dogs competing for the conference title, with the likes of Oklahoma State and West Virginia nipping at their heels.

Big 12 benefits from stellar play at QB | The Exponent Telegram
While West Virginia was taking a week off to heal whatever wounds were inflicted by a pair of inferior opponents and readying themselves for this week’s meeting with a rejuvenated Maryland group that now has a quarterback, much transpired in the Big 12 that could affect the rest of the race.

Big 12 Week 3 Power Rankings: Texas Tech rises, Kansas State falls | ESPN
In the Big 12 Power Rankings for Week 3, everything remains the same except for Texas Tech and Kansas State switching spots.

Big 12 bowl projections: Texas Tech Red Raiders on the rise | ESPN
Texas Tech leapfrogs Texas on the strength of its win at Arkansas, otherwise there's not much movement in the Big 12 bowl projections this week.

Kliff Kingsbury says Bret Bielema 'just got his ass kicked' | SBNation
THE TRASH TALK CONTINUES!

Texas Tech Football vs Arkansas: 10 Quick Overreactions | Viva The Matadors
That was a good win!

TCU vs. SMU Recap: 5 Things We Learned | Frogs O' War
After a tense game and two more injuries, TCU wrangles the Mustangs 56-37.

Texas Longhorns lose 45-44 heartbreaker to California Golden Bears on missed PAT | Burnt Orange Nation
A heroic effort from Jerrod Heard wasn't enough when Nick Rose made the biggest mistake of his career.

Oklahoma State Takes It Back - Defense shines, Offense takes care of business. | Cowboys Ride For Free
After a few weeks of not seeing Oklahoma State play at the highest level, fans might be back to drinking the Kool-Aid.

Oklahoma Football Notes And Quotes: Sooners 52 - Golden Hurricane 38 | Crimson And Cream Machine
The list of accomplishments for Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is pretty long.

Kansas State 39, Louisiana Tech 33 (3 OT): 5 Observations, and Somebody Get Me a Doctor | Bring On The Cats
Let's not do THAT again anytime soon.

Iowa State Does Iowa State Things, Loses to Toledo in Double Overtime | Wide Right & Natty Lite
The nut kick was prolonged and painful.

Around The NCAA:

Cheating, spying and the game within the college game | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Perception, reality, the legitimacy of one and the difference between the two can be determined by something as fleeting as one look. Consider the situation West Virginia’s football program found itself in two weeks ago.

Ole Miss is the easy choice for No. 1. Here's how to tell whether the Rebels can sustain it. | SBNation
Ole Miss was the best team in the country for two months last year, then crumbled. Three weeks in, it's hard to prove more than the Rebels have so far. So far.

Leonard Fournette still faces an uphill road to the Heisman Trophy | SBNation
He was incredible against Auburn, but LSU's superstar has a long way to go to hoist the Heisman.

Ole Miss and Notre Dame are the country's 2 best teams right now | SBNation
Welcome to The Top Whatever, in which Spencer Hall ranks however many teams he feels like ranking.

New bowl projections, with Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff | SBNation
Let's guess about some sports! Specifically, every college football bowl game for 2015.

The Solid Verbal: How Ole Miss, USC, and Week 3's biggest games will change the course of the season | SBNation
Ty and Dan run through the biggest and most medium-sized results of college football's third week

Several WVU football recruits off to fast starts | Charleston Gazette-Mail
High school prospects receive their rankings — and their offers — off of projections. Scouts and college coaches are predicting what they will be, not necessarily what they are right now. That means that sometimes highly regarded recruits don’t necessarily put up staggering numbers on Friday nights. Sometimes.

Geno Smith Starts '7 Sunday Heroes' | New York Jets
Quarterback Geno Smith kicked off a new philanthropic program, which he calls "7 Sunday Heroes," at the Jets' season opener against the Browns. The program will craft a unique game experience during the Jets' seven Sunday home games for kids in need served by Boys and Girls Clubs and other youth development organizations.

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