The Stats Don't Back It Up, But West Virginia's Defense Is Effective

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

Football:

Stats don't back it up, but WVU defense effective | The Exponent Telegram
Tony Gibson is taking conventional wisdom and turning it upside down. Gibson, of course, does very little conventionally anyway in his job as West Virginia’s defensive coordinator, a position which gives him almost full autonomy over the defense West Virginia plays because the head coach, Dana Holgorsen, absorbs himself completely into the offense West Virginia plays.

WVU defense knew tipped passes could come its way | Charleston Gazette-Mail
After he’s called his play and the ball has been snapped, West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson ordinarily avoids following the ball, choosing instead to check out the pass rush or the way defenders are blocked on a run play. He’s the linebackers coach, after all, but there are exceptions, and he was happy he made one Saturday.

Fleming chose West Virginia because coordinator Tony Gibson ‘kept it real’ | WV MetroNews
Maurice Fleming, tip-drill hero in Saturday’s 35-32 win over BYU, carries a simple recollection of what convinced him to spend his final season at West Virginia.

WVU players atone for mistakes in BYU win | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Before West Virginia’s nonconference football game against BYU, Mountaineer receiver Ka’Raun White challenged the Cougars’ secondary. He provided the proverbial bulletin board material by saying BYU’s cornerbacks couldn’t keep up with WVU’s wideouts. And then the statement nearly came back to bite him.

Undefeated Mountaineers Still a Work in Progress | WVU Athletics
West Virginia eyes big game against Kansas State on Saturday.

Football Award Winners for the BYU Game | WVU Athletics
The West Virginia University football coaching staff has named its award winners for outstanding performances in the Mountaineers 35-32 win against BYU at FedExField in Landover, Md., on Saturday, Sept. 24.

West Virginia Athletics:

WVU Posts Record-Setting Seventh Straight Shutout | WVU Athletics
The No. 24 West Virginia University men’s soccer team recorded its record-setting seventh consecutive shutout in a 1-0 victory at UNCG on Saturday evening in Greensboro, N.C.

Mountaineers land former Syracuse defensive tackle | Charleston Gazette-Mail
For each of West Virginia’s first 13 commitments, none of the decisions came particularly as a surprise. All were leaning toward West Virginia, and most had a set time and date for their announcement. That changed on Sunday when West Virginia picked up a pleasant surprise of a pledge from Northwest Mississippi Community College defensive tackle Jalen Harvey. The 6-foot-2, 315-pounder announced his decision via social media, choosing the Mountaineers over several smaller schools and while numerous Power Five programs were still evaluating him.

Wolfley remains committed to Mountaineers | Charleston Gazette-Mail
When Morgantown linebacker/fullback Maverick Wolfley became the first commit of West Virginia’s 2017 class, the only aspect of the news that was surprising was the fact that it was almost three years to the day before he would sign his Letter of Intent.

Around The Big 12:

Big 12 parity figures to drive more thrilling finishes, exciting league race| ESPN
Baylor's thrilling duel with Oklahoma State pushed the Bears atop the Big 12, but its hold is tenuous with so many good-but-not-great teams ahead.

Baylor Bears, West Virginia Mountaineers hold on to remain unbeaten | ESPN
The Big 12 power rankings mostly held steady this week, but with West Virginia set to host K-State next week, changes could be on the horizon.

West Virginia Mountaineers rise after perfect out-of-league finish | ESPN
The Mountaineers improved to 3-0 in Week 4, and their station in the Big 12 bowl projections improved accordingly.

Big 12 Week 4 helmet stickers: Big-play WRs, QBs impress | ESPN
Wide receivers Chris Platt and John Diarse made explosive plays that stood out in Week 4.

Around The NCAA:

The 4 biggest names to know in LSU’s coaching search | SBNation
By parting with Les Miles, the Tigers sort of joined the early-firing trend, and sort of didn’t. Here’s what we know now about what happens next.

Tennessee finally beat my team, so I’m ranking Tennessee No. 1 | SBNation
The Top Whatever is Spencer Hall’s ranking of only the teams he feels like ranking at this time.

College football coaches, here are 2 very simple rules for hiring new coordinators | SBNation
A brief study shows experience matters. The NFL kind matters nowhere near as much as many of you seem to think.

Penn State’s big kicker keeps annihilating people, and more fun Week 4 college football awards! | SBNation
The stat of the week, trash-talk silencing of the week, GameDay sign of the week, and other stuff!

Today's Miss Throwdown is a model from New York City with hopes of landing in the 2017 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. CLICK HERE for Lisa-Marie Jaftha's Instagram.