The Shotgun/Throwdown (9/24/18): Through three games, Will Grier hasn’t encountered a defense nearly as tough as his own

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Football

Grier hasn’t encountered a defense nearly as tough as his own | WV MetroNews
Three wins. Seventeen touchdowns. Zero drama. That’s the September math perpetuated by this swank West Virginia offense, ultra-cool and so precise it can donate timeouts to charity even when the final 6 seconds of the half send us wondering whether Dana Holgorsen has taken time-management tutoring from Les Miles.

HERTZEL COLUMN: The road to Big-12, NCAA game opens for WVU | Times West Virginian
All of a sudden, anything is possible for this West Virginia football team. Anything. Even the Big 12 Championship title.

Award Winners for the Kansas State Game | West Virginia Athletics
The West Virginia University football coaching staff has named its award winners for outstanding performances in the Mountaineers' 35-6 win vs. Kansas State on Saturday, Sept. 22.

WVU defense steals the spotlight | The Register-Herald
Will Grier was, well, Will Grier, and David Sills looked a whole lot like David Sills. But it was the West Virginia defense that put forth a performance Mountaineer fans haven’t seen in years Saturday in Morgantown.

Defense paves the way for Mountaineer win streak | The DA
Improved defense has been key for the West Virginia University men’s soccer team in its recent three-game winning streak.

Big fourth down stop gave WVU everything it needed | The DA
Kansas State had a chance. West Virginia did have far more talent on the field. West Virginia was a far better team. But because of a few costly WVU turnovers, it was sitting in a position to potentially tie the game in the second quarter. All they needed was one yard to keep the drive going and get closer to (maybe) tying the game. One yard.

Tonkery’s bounce-back game helped bottle K-State’s rushing attack | WV MetroNews
Following West Virginia’s 52-17 Week 2 win over Youngstown State, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson pleaded for more out of Mike linebacker Dylan Tonkery. Not exactly a big ask, considering the redshirt sophomore didn’t record a single tackle.

Tonkery's Fourth-Down Stop Keys Blowout Win | West Virginia Athletics
They say football is oftentimes a game of inches. Well, a matter of 6 inches is what ended up turning Saturday's Kansas State game upside down.

Deep defense comes up big for Mountaineers against Kansas State | Charleston Gazette-Mail
West Virginia University defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said last week he planned to sprinkle in some four-man defensive line looks against Kansas State to help combat the Wildcats’ power-style run game.

Pros and Cons of WVU's 35-6 win over Kansas State | The DA
There were plenty of takeaways from the game, but the good outweighed the bad on Saturday afternoon.

David Sills shows K-State once again he’s ‘lethal in the red zone’ | WV MetroNews
Wide receiver David Sills provided a reminder that he is one of the nation’s most reliable targets, hauling in three of Grier’s five touchdown passes as the No. 12 Mountaineers (3-0, 1-0) rolled over Kansas State 35-6 in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

WVU passing numbers impress WR prospects | Charleston Gazette-Mail
West Virginia University quarterback Will Grier threw for 350 yards and five touchdowns Saturday in a win over Kansas State. He hit Marcus Simms for an 82-yard score, Tevin Bush, for a 62-yard touchdown and David Sills for the other three touchdowns. It was an impressive showing that would have had a positive impact on any recruit, but especially so for the three four-star receivers in attendance on Saturday.

West Virginia Athletics

West Virginia women blank Frogs to wrap up strong road weekend | WV MetroNews
Sh’Nia Gordon scored in the first 25 seconds, the fastest goal in school history, and West Virginia capped a strong weekend by beating No. 21 TCU 2-0 on Sunday.

Mountaineers Travel to North Carolina West Virginia Athletics
After inclement weather ended last week's VCU Invitational, the West Virginia University golf team will open the 2018-19 season at the Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Monday and Tuesday.

Around the Big 12

Epic failure in Morgantown | Bring On The Cats
We try to make sense of Kansas State’s latest football loss

Oklahoma survives Army in overtime 28-21 | Crimson And Cream Machine
It sure wasn’t pretty, but disaster was ultimately avoided

Recap: Red Raiders Romp Cowboys 41-17 | Cowboys Ride For Free
Texas Tech pulls away in the second half for easy victory

Late surge pushes Texas past TCU for monumental win | Burnt Orange Nation
Last weekend wasn’t a fluke, as Tom Herman’s Longhorns team proved that it’s making important progress in finishing games.

Instant recap: TCU loses to Texas in Big 12 opener | Frogs O' War
In a game that was disappointing from start to finish, the TCU Horned Frogs lost 31-16 at Texas Saturday to fall to 0-1 in Big 12 play.

Cyclones Down the Zips | Wide Right & Natty Lite
Media timeouts, football, and more media timeouts.

Baylor Beats Kansas 26-7 | Our Daily Bears
Charlie Brewer secured the starting quarterback job in the first half and led Baylor to a 26-7 win over Kansas.

Kansas Jayhawks Football: Bears maul Jayhawks 26-7 | Rock Chalk Talk
It was never close in Waco.

Around the NCAA

THIS WEEK IN SCHADENFREUDE: Tennessee, with ‘nothing left to burn down,’ must hire Bobby Petrino | SB Nation
Your tour of the most honking-mad in college football internet begins with a cry for help from Knoxville.

The Top Whatever: Kentucky is good at football. Make peace however you can. | SB Nation
This is The Top Whatever, the weekly ranking of only the college football teams that must be ranked.

130-team S&P+ rankings: Penn State’s turn to try and crash the top tier | SB Nation
Updated S&P+ rankings show two of the country’s five best teams squaring off in Week 5. Can Penn State end the emerging No. 5 curse?

The updated College Football Empires Map after Week 4 | SB Nation
Each FBS team started the season in control of its immediate area. And each week, winning teams gain more and more land.

Ranking college football’s top 10 games of Week 4, with highlights | SB Nation
That half the games happened after dark on Saturday probably isn’t a surprise. College football got drunk for a little while there.

Virginia Tech lost *at* ODU. Here’s why the road trip made sense at the time | SB Nation
Sure, losing at ODU stinks. But the rationale made sense.

Virginia Tech has even more roster attrition after dismissing one of its leading tacklers | SB Nation
Defensive end Trevon Hill is off the team in a surprise move by the Hokies.

Wake Forest makes the ceremonial first Power 5 coordinator firing of 2018 | SB Nation
Demon Deacons defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel out.

Saban asked the media to write about Bama’s weaknesses. So here are 6 of them. | SB Nation
No team is perfect, not even the Tide.

Tennessee got blown out by a rival *and* has an open dispute between coach and player | SB Nation
Well, that isn’t good.

SMU coaches explain the game-winning trick play they found on Google | SB Nation
A 2016 search turned up a 2011 Bama play similar to a Gus Malzahn staple. Now it’s in SMU’s playbooks. Let Sonny Dykes and Rhett Lashlee explain.

The best early bets for Week 5 of college football, including Clemson | SB Nation
The early betting lines often allow for the most value.

Ohio State-Penn State highlights Week 5’s opening lines | SB Nation
Ohio State at Penn State and Stanford at Notre Dame highlight a loaded schedule in Week 5.

Tiger Woods did not need a win to validate this comeback. But he got one anyway. | SB Nation
In winning the Tour Championship, Tiger provided a reason for a formal celebration of a year that was already one of the greatest comebacks in sports.

Which NFL teams are realistic trade candidates for Le’Veon Bell? | SB Nation
Three teams have the space and the aspirations to add Bell — but would the Steelers bite?

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