The Shotgun/Throwdown (10/3/18): West Virginia Moves On, Looks To Remain Undefeated Against Kansas

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

Football

WVU football: Mountaineers move on, look to remain victorious | EerSports
No. 9 West Virginia is one of the 14 remaining unbeaten teams in the Football bowl Subdivision. The Mountaineers made it through a bumpy second half at Texas Tech Saturday and held on for a rare conference road win against a ranked team. They return home this week to play host to Kansas on Homecoming.

Mountaineers keen on stopping Kansas RB Pooka Williams | Charleston Gazette-Mail
West Virginia University came out on top in a shootout at Kansas to open Big 12 play last season, winning 56-34. In that game, Jayhawks’ running back Khalil Herbert gashed the Mountaineers for 291 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. The good news for No. 9 WVU? Herbert is still around for Kansas but is no longer the primary ball carrier. The bad news? The new guy toting the rock for KU might be even better.

Turnover hat works in more ways than one | EerSports
What history will remember is that West Virginia's -- what are we calling this? -- turnover miner's hat was first spotted on the sideline following safety Kenny Robinson's second interception in Saturday's win against Texas Tech. What you need to know was this was the second time the Mountaineers used the gimmick.

West Virginia joins turnover prop parade: Origin of the coal miner’s helmet | WV MetroNews
Since Miami debuted its turnover chain, college football defenses from every time zone have incorporated sideline gimmicks ranging from baronial to bare-bones

Pregame puking means Marcus Simms ‘ready to play’ | WV MetroNews
The sight of West Virginia receiver Marcus Simms puking during pregame warmups at Texas Tech brought a team manager rushing to his aid. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and quarterback Will Grier welcomed it.

Why did Holgorsen laugh when Kenny Bigelow started cramping? | WV MetroNews
Turf temperatures approached 90 degrees at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock on Saturday, but at least West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen and nose guard Kenny Bigelow got a good story out of it.

Despite boxing clip’s 1.3M views, Cajuste ‘here to play football … not go all viral’ | WV MetroNews
Many heavyweight boxing matches end up with a rematch, but it looks like we’ll have to hold off on a sequel between Yodny Cajuste and Eli Howard.

Basketball

Why Esa Ahmad is a different player for West Virginia this season | WV MetroNews
The sweat rolled off Esa Ahmad’s goatee and down his neck in a stream — the result of a pre-practice shootaround Tuesday at the West Virginia basketball practice facility. His body looks leaner, stronger. If Ahmad’s 6-foot-8 frame was used in the past by Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins to be a physical mismatch against other small forwards, it appears those mismatches may be for a variety of reasons this season.

Knapper Thankful He Finally Gets His Opportunity With Mountaineers | West Virginia Athletics
Finally, South Charleston's Brandon Knapper can play his freshman season at West Virginia University. It could have been two years ago, following an outstanding senior season at South Charleston High in 2016 when he averaged 28.5 points, six assists and 5.4 steals per game for coach Vic Herbert's Black Eagles. But West Virginia coach Bob Huggins felt it best for Brandon to get a little more seasoning in prep school, so Knapper agreed to go to Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, where he played for former Marshall standout guard A.W. Hamilton.

How Brandon Knapper reacted when he was cleared to play | WV MetroNews
The day Brandon Knapper received medical clearance in August to resume basketball activities, it came as a complete surprise to him.

West Virginia Athletics

Mountaineers Strike Early in Shutout Win | West Virginia Athletics
Two first-half goals less than five minutes apart propelled the West Virginia University men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory against Binghamton on Tuesday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Around the Big 12

Experts explain how Kyler Murray’s 1st-round baseball skills make him a Heisman contender, and vice versa | SBNation
How the Oklahoma QB’s diamond and gridiron talents enhance each other, as told by Lincoln Riley, MLB scouts, and QB coaches.

The untold 1999 Texas-Oklahoma story of Mike Leach's fake play script | ESPN
In 1999, the Sooners' offensive coordinator left a play sheet on the field to be discovered by the Longhorns, causing "pandemonium" and nearly engineering an upset.

Around the NCAA

Why they don't award the Heisman in September | ESPN
This season's star QBs should remember it takes more than a month to win the coveted trophy.

The nine teams that still have a chance at the CFP title | ESPN
In preseason, ESPN Analytics narrowed the field to 14 teams that had at least a 1 percent chance to win the national championship. After a month of games, only nine remain.

The best early bets for Week 6 of college football, including Notre Dame | SBNation
The early betting lines often allow for the most value.

PODCAST AIN’T PLAYED NOBODY: Biscuits, firearms, West Virginia, and Penn State | SBNation
Ole Miss will be very different in 2019, Penn State wants to be elite, and let’s will West Virginia to happen.

Each College Football Playoff contender’s biggest threat, per the numbers | SBNation
Each top-25 team still has a long way to go.

Simply put, Nebraska will go 0-12 because every team on the schedule has personal beef with Scott Frost | SBNation
After Purdue and Michigan indicated Frost gave them bulletin-board material, let’s see how deep this goes.

Is this weekend Notre Dame’s toughest remaining game until the postseason? | ESPN
The Irish travel to Virginia Tech, and elsewhere for Playoff contenders in Week 6, Oklahoma needs this Texas win.

College basketball corruption trial: 5 things we learned from opening arguments | SBNation
This is what we learned in opening arguments from college basketball’s corruption trial.

NFL Panic Index 2018: The Steelers are falling apart | SB Nation
Plus, the Browns can’t catch a break, the Broncos need a quarterback and the Bucs defense is trapped. There’s plenty to freak out about this week.

Terrance Gore almost kept the Cubs alive in the 2018 MLB playoffs | SBNation
Terrance Gore was nearly a folk hero for a new team. And then baseball got in the way.

(Yes, I’m aware this video is labeled wrong.)

Enjoy the best skit Saturday Night Live has done since David S. Pumpkins.

---

Have any tips, suggestions or requests for what you want to see in The Shotgun/Throwdown? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us on social media.

Follow us!
Twitter: @smokingmusket
Facebook:The Smoking Musket