The Shotgun/Throwdown (10/1/18): Saturday’s game just another example of the unpredictability of the Big 12.

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Football

The Unpredictable Big 12 | West Virginia Athletics
Things never come easy in the Big 12. If there’s one thing West Virginia football fans have learned since joining the conference seven seasons ago, it’s that the games last 60 minutes and usually all of them are required to win in this crazy league.

WVU football: Mountaineers hope to build off adversity in win at Texas Tech | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Everything was not going to go West Virginia’s way for an entire college football season. The Mountaineers, who had for the most part cruised through three wins to start the season, appeared to be on their way to another easy win Saturday at then-No. 25 Texas Tech.

Uneven climb to 4-0 leaves Mountaineers in subdued celebration | WV MetroNews
Will Grier plopped down in the chair, hiked up his blue shorts and tugged tight a flying WV ballcap. Time to explain the half-mastery, half-misery of an afternoon that just unfolded. “We won, but we’ve got to get better.”

Lack of intensity leads to execution errors, physical mistakes for West Virginia football | WV News
West Virginia quarterback Will Grier was as direct as one of his usually accurate passes in his assessment of the Mountaineers’ 42-34 win over Texas Tech. After shredding the Red Raider defense for 382 total yards and 35 points in the first half, the Mountaineers engaged cruise control. The result was white knuckles and growing nervous moments before WVU held on for the win.

Award Winners for the Texas Tech Game | West Virginia Athletics
The West Virginia University football coaching staff has named its award winners for outstanding performances in the Mountaineers' 42-34 win at Texas Tech on Saturday, Sept. 29.

WVU recruiting: Sizing up potential prospects to fill out the 2019 class | Charleston Gazette-Mail
As of Sunday, the West Virginia football team’s 2019 recruiting class sat at No. 35 in the 247Sports team rankings, right about where the Mountaineers usually finish in a given year. There are only 18 commitments in the class, though, leaving room for at least a handful of additions to move the team up in the rankings.

West Virginia Athletics

No. 1 Mountaineers Win Opener | West Virginia Athletics
The top-ranked West Virginia University rifle team opened the 2018-19 season with a 4704-4662 win at Akron Saturday afternoon at the Robert A. Pinn Shooting Range in Akron, Ohio.

Kellogg’s Two Goals Leads WVU to Shutout Win | West Virginia Athletics
A pair of second-half goals by junior defender Ryan Kellogg led the West Virginia University men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Delaware on Saturday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Seven Wins Propel WVU in Tournament Final | West Virginia Athletics
The West Virginia University tennis team completed Sunday's Hokie Fall Invite tournament finale in stellar fashion, capturing seven total wins in the final day.

Around the NCAA

College Football Empires Map 2018: Notre Dame takes the lead | SBNation
LOOK AT ALL THAT BEAUTIFUL LAND

Freshly updated bowl projections, now with more Notre Dame Playoff debate! | SBNation
Here are picks for all 40 bowl games, including the College Football Playoff.

Which CFB teams have already exceeded (or guaranteed they won’t meet) 2018 expectations? | SBNation
Did you bet on college football win totals? Check your status here.

THIS WEEK IN SCHADENFREUDE, there’s already a Fire Joe Moorhead site | SBNation
Let’s take a trip around the angriest, most conspiratorial corners of the college football internet.

Every college football quarterback is now interchangeable, apparently | SBNation
The Top Whatever is a weekly ranking of only the college football teams/things that must be ranked at this time.

Easier said than done: how does Penn State go from ‘great’ to ‘elite?’ | SBNation
James Franklin says he wants his program to earn a spot in the top level. The path is simple, but extremely difficult.

College football’s CATCH OF THE YEAR so far, explained by the OC who drew up the whole weird play | SBNation
An exotic formation set up an unreal grab, with a sensible plan behind it all.

An autopsy of the USA’s blowout Ryder Cup loss | SBNation
The US Ryder Cup operation spent years working to avoid the very thing that happened in Paris. Here’s where and how it all went wrong.

The NFL’s 5 biggest unsung heroes of Week 4 | SBNation
The NFL’s 5 biggest unsung heroes of Week 4

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