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After the two plus hour drive home from the amazing comeback we witnessed on Saturday, I had a thought. For those that know me...shut up. For the rest of you, it was this: Did we just witness Dana's "Louisville 3OT game?" Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean to compare the team's personnel (Pat and Steve were freshman vs. current roster of starters) or the game itself, but more so what that game did for the program under Rich and what this one could do for Dana. WVUNite already touched on this a bit yesterday, but I want to look at it in a more historical perspective.
Think of it this way: Rich had his close losses to Miami to show that the program was heading in the right direction and Dana had the Alabama game to show that things were getting better. Rich had his upset wins over ranked teams like VT and Pitt a couple of times, Dana has his over Oklahoma State (Trickett) and Baylor (Kevin White G.A.M.).
Then Rich had the Louisville game; the dealing with the adversity, coming back and things really started rolling after that game (right up to The War). The comeback on Saturday just felt eerily similar to me in retrospect.
Now, I'm not saying that Saturday's comeback was definitely "the game" to define it as the program's turning point under Dana. It's too early for that. Only time and continued positive results will do that, starting with this coming Saturday at Baylor. I know they're BAYLLLLLLOR (6 L's) right now, but they are still a dangerous team capable of giving teams fits. Even after that, every team left on the schedule has the capability to beat us. There is also no one left on the schedule that also can't be beaten by us. Then, even a great season must be built upon by continued high-level play, especially at the quarterback position. Fingers crossed Will Grier stays, but that's no given.
I remember talking to Priddy (master of the Mountaineer Retweet) after the Kevin White Baylor game and saying, "We're BACK!" I was wrong. We've still had hiccups and stumbling blocks to overcome since then. But, the glimpses have been there. A game like Saturday's comeback can galvanize a team and perhaps even a whole program. Time will tell if that was the true beginning of something great or just another glimpse of the potential that exists. I don't want to rush to judgment...but the signs are there.