The Shotgun/Throwdown: West Virginia has One of the Best Defenses in the Country (in the Second Half)

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

Football

West Virginia defense needs to treat whole game like second half

If games started at halftime, West Virginia’s defense would be one of the nation’s most formidable units. The Mountaineer defense has yet to allow a second-half touchdown through three games.

WVU coach Neal Brown pays tribute to Roane County player Alex Miller

Neal Brown shared his heartfelt condolences with the family of Alex Miller and the Roane County community on Tuesday. Miller, a senior football player from Roane County, passed away during his team’s game against Clay County last Friday.

Mountaineers Embracing Multiple Ways to Win Football Games

Under Neal Brown, the West Virginia Mountaineers are starting to take advantage of playmaking opportunities on special teams. This was very apparent when senior Logan Thimons blocked a punt during the Mountaineers’ win over NC State.

Basketball

2019-20 WVU Men’s Basketball Schedule

Bob Huggins and the West Virginia men’s basketball team have their schedule for the upcoming season. The Mountaineers have will travel to Pitt for the second game of the season. WVU will also be playing in Madison Square Garden to face St. John’s in the Big 12/Big East Scheduling Alliance. Before conference play begins the Mountaineers will play Ohio State in the Cleveland Classic. And to round out non-conference play, WVU will host Missouri in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Big 12 Releases 2019-20 Women’s Hoops Slate

Now that the Big 12 Conference has announced the women’s basketball schedule for this season, the Mountaineers final have their complete schedule for the year. Some of the notable matchups for the Mountaineers include the Big 12/SEC Challenge at Mississippi State and games with Michigan State and Syracuse at the Florida Sunshine Classic.

Soccer

Morris’ Golden Goal Helps WVU Top Cincinnati

Junior defender Kevin Morris scored the game-winning goal in the 96th minute to send the #20 West Virginia men’s soccer team home with a 2-1, overtime win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night. The Mountaineers are now 4-1-1 this year.

Robles Grajera Named MAC Player of the Week

The #20 West Virginia men’s soccer team had the conference’s top player this past week. Freshman forward Rodrigo Robles Grajera was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week for his two goals against #15 Coastal Carolina.

Mountaineers in the Pros: Week Two

In Week 2 of the NFL, Raiders cornerback Daryl Worley recorded his first career fumble recovery, while rookie David Long saw his first snap of professional action. Kyzir White started at linebacker and recorded seven total tackles for the Chargers.

Around the Big 12

Big 12 News of the Week: Texas healing, games coming to ESPN+

Got ESPN+? You may need it this weekend. Also, injury-suffering Texas is finally getting some good news.

Here’s how the Big 12 made a statement with its non-conference play, despite national reluctance to buy in

While the Big 12 didn’t claim a Top 25 victory last weekend, it was a very solid showing heading into conference play on Saturday

Big 12 Football Power Rankings, Week 4: Don’t sleep on Oklahoma State

As we head into Big 12 football action, we learned a lot about some teams, and very little about others. Here are the Week 4 power rankings.

Around the NCAA

The Bottom 10 welcomes the ACC (and former pal Maryland)

This week’s Bottom 10 includes UCLA and the entire ACC.

Revisiting preseason college football predictions: Big 12 tough top to bottom, ACC struggles

Barton Simmons and Chip Patterson redo their predicted order of finish for all Power Five conferences.

Trash talk, mattress fires and a flying projector: Lane Kiffin’s year at Tennessee

Ten years later, ESPN caught up with many of the key figures in what was one of the wildest, most entertaining 7-6 seasons in recent college football history.

Blood Week: How to spot a truly chaotic college football weekend

A Blood Week — as defined by the Shutdown Fullcast, originators and trusted keepers of the term — is any week when the given season’s hierarchy is flipped upside down, when the sport’s propensity for chaos is turned to maximum levels.

NFL picks 2019, Week 3: Experts think the Chiefs can be the first to slow down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens

Quarterback injuries made a few games easy for the experts to agree on. Thankfully, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are healthy for their duel.

NFL Panic Index 2019: Somehow, we’re running out of starting quarterbacks

If you’re an NFL fan in 2019, there’s approximately a 1 in 5 chance your quarterback situation is in complete and utter turmoil.

The Jaguars only have themselves to blame for the Jalen Ramsey debacle

In the last two years, the Jaguars have made all the wrong moves and alienated their best players.

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