The Shotgun/Throwdown (11/26/18): Holgorsen on Texas Tech and Louisville’s radar

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Football

Holgorsen on Texas Tech’s radar, along with Louisville and Colorado | WV MetroNews
Texas Tech officials reportedly are targeting West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen as a replacement for Kliff Kingsbury, who was fired Sunday after six seasons.

HERTZEL COLUMN: Where does WVU football go from here? | Times West Virginian
Where does West Virginia football go from here and should Dana Holgorsen be included in its future? That is the central issue that must be confronted right now. When Shane Lyons, the athletic director, sits down and analyzes the situation, there is one focal point and that is Holgorsen.

Sooners Win Another Big 12 Shootout | West Virginia Athletics
This was the shootout everyone anticipated.

WVU recruiting: Crucial weeks coming now that regular season is over | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The West Virginia football team’s regular season is over. The Mountaineers await their bowl selection, and the players are taking a few days off to finish up their school work for the semester. The coaches, though, will remain busy. Recruiting is in its home stretch and the Mountaineers have a lot of work to do in what should be an exciting next two months.

WVU football: Where Mountaineers, Big 12 could land for bowl season | Charleston Gazette-Mail
With all but a few games in the books for the 2018 college football regular season, let’s turn our attention to the bowl games.

WVU football: Sills says he will play in bowl game; Grier undecided | Charleston Gazette-Mail
It didn’t take long for the questions to start popping up after West Virginia University’s 59-56 loss to Oklahoma on Friday.

Grier’s legacy is a layered tale of potential and hope | Times West Virginian
Legacy. In many ways the word is misused, for it’s dictionary definition is an amount of money or property left to someone in a will. But in the world of sports or politics or theater its definition has been broadened to be the reputation that is left behind.

Six quarters of miserable defense exposed Mountaineers in Big 12 race | WV MetroNews
Defensive tackle Kenny Bigelow stormed off Mountaineer Field alone, rocketing his helmet to the turf as the irksome strains of “Boomer Sooner” played in the distance. Though others may not have demonstrated it as viscerally as Bigelow, the frustration from West Virginia’s 59-56 loss to Oklahoma was shared by many on the defense.

Basketball

Ahmad's Career-High 30 Propels WVU on Saturday | West Virginia Athletics
Esa Ahmad's career-high 30 points and Sagaba Konate's career-best 26 powered West Virginia to an 88-76 victory over Valparaiso here at the WVU Coliseum Saturday afternoon

WVU basketball: Win over Valparaiso comes with more questions for Mountaineers | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The West Virginia men’s basketball team ultimately did what it was supposed to on Saturday, climbing over .500 for the first time this season with an 88-76 win over Valparaiso. But once again, it was a win that left more questions than answers for WVU.

Esa Ahmad doesn’t need a ball to help WVU basketball | Times West Virginian
For much of his career, which has now entered into its final season, Esa Ahmad has been an enigma on the West Virginia basketball team.

No. 25 WVU Rolls Past Eastern Kentucky | West Virginia Athletics
Redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin had a double-double to lead five Mountaineers in double-figure scoring as the No. 25/20 West Virginia University women's basketball team capped Junkanoo Jam with an 81-39 win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday at Gateway Christian Academy in Bimini, Bahamas.

West Virginia Athletics

WVU Falls at No. 5 Texas | West Virginia Athletics
The West Virginia University volleyball team dropped a 3-0 match to No. 5 Texas in its final contest of the season on Saturday afternoon, at Gregory Gymnasium, in Austin. UT took the match from WVU in set scores of 25-11, 25-22 and 25-18.

Around the NCAA

Holgorsen’s a Texas Tech name, plus 10 more coaching search news items | SBNation
Inside updates on UNC, Louisville, Maryland, Colorado, and more.

College Football Empires Map: Ohio State doubles its domain | SBNation
At the start of the season, each FBS team had land. Each week, we keep track of who’s taken what since then.

THIS WEEK IN SCHADENFREUDE, Michigan fans reach the acceptance stage | SBNation
It’s time for the weekly tour through the saddest in college football internet.

New bowl projections with just ONE. SATURDAY. LEFT. | SBNation
Here are picks for all 40 bowl games, updated after this weekend’s results.

Clay Helton, Lovie Smith and Chris Ash weren't fired. Why? | SI.com
They wanted blood. They got a statement delivered in a two-frame tweet.

Clay Helton job status: USC head coach will remain with Trojans | SI.com
Clay Helton will return to USC for a fifth season, the school announced on Sunday. Helton is 32–17 in his first four seasons with the Trojans, going 5–7 in 2018.

Bizarre altercation after LSU vs. Texas A&M: Kragthorpe says he was hit | SBNation
Whatever happened here, it wasn’t good.

Exactly how hot is Gus Malzahn’s seat after that Iron Bowl blowout? | SBNation
Malzahn’s sixth year has been an epic disappointment, but it’s not clear if (when?) the school will make a change.

Oh no, what if Bama ends up hiring Kliff Kingsbury as OC? | SBNation
The Tide can somehow get even scarier.

The Browns proved they don’t miss Hue Jackson AGAINST Hue Jackson | SBNation
The Monday Morning Pleighbook is a collection of the best things in the NFL from week to week.

Jimmy Butler is an amazing distraction from the Markelle Fultz disaster | SBNation
Things are never boring in Philadelphia.

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