For Leddie Brown, everything is personal this season

Football

Leddie Brown: “I’m taking everything personal this season” | Gold and Blue Nation
Coach Neal Brown wasn’t quite ready to celebrate the run game improvement, admitting that it was a start — but for running back Leddie Brown, it was a good payoff to a difficult 2019 and the offseason that followed.

Surreal and Grateful Sum Up 2020 Mountaineer Football Opener | West Virginia University Athletics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – understatements! Entering Milan Puskar Stadium for West Virginia's season-opening football game against Eastern Kentucky was like reliving a scene out of the old Vincent Price movie The Last Man on Earth.

Mountaineers able to adjust to “surreal” game atmosphere | Gold and Blue Nation
On a normal Saturday in the fall, Milan Puskar Stadium is filled with 60,000 gold-and-blue clad fans backing the Mountaineers in full voice. But for Saturday’s home opener against Eastern Kentucky, only families of players and coaches and official WVU Athletics personnel were permitted inside the stadium as a COVID-19 precaution, creating an atmosphere that head coach Neal Brown called “kind of surreal.”

Neal Brown considers big rushing day a good start | Charleston Gazette-Mail
West Virginia averaged just 73.2 yards per game on the ground in 2019, which was not only last in the Big 12 but also one of the worst marks among all Football Bowl Subdivision programs. WVU nearly bettered those figures in the first half alone on Saturday.

WVU football notebook: Youngest Mountaineers answer the bell in wake of suspensions | Charleston Gazette-Mail
About the best thing to say about WVU center Zach Frazier on Saturday is that unless you were looking, it was hard to notice he was there. In a position predicated upon delivering shotgun snaps and blocking, that’s a good thing.

Sunday notebook: Zach Frazier impresses in collegiate debut | WV MetroNews
Five former Fairmont Senior Polar Bears took the field for West Virginia in the Mountaineers’ 56-10 season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky. Darius and Dante Stills are multi-year starters on the defensive line. Redshirt junior linebacker Jake Abbott has played in fifteen career games. Redshirt freshman Rhett Heston had a solo tackle in his collegiate debut. And then there is Zach Frazier.

BOB HERTZEL: Suspended WVU players let many folks down | Times West Virginian
So much for building character.

It’s hard to imagine, with as much emphasis West Virginia University football coach Neal Brown has placed on character building, community leadership, social justice that before his team could kick off its season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown had to suspend 11 players — three of them starters.

West Virginia Athletics

Mountaineers Claim Season-Opening Win at ISU | West Virginia University Athletics
The West Virginia University women's soccer team opened the 2020 season with a 2-0 win at Iowa State on Friday night at the Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames, Iowa.

Couple of big wins, but overall quiet week for WVU commits | EerSports.com
Just as West Virginia finally hits the field for actual football, the future of their program had their quietest week, yet. Multiple players had the week off, a couple played but didn't put up any stats, and a few had their games moved or outright canceled.

Around the Big 12

Kansas Jayhawks Football: It Ain't Getting Any Better | Rock Chalk Talk
Jayhawks lose 38-23 to Coastal Carolina in an abysmal performance.

Oklahoma Football: OU overwhelms Missouri State, 48-0 | Crimson And Cream Machine
Spencer Rattler did not disappoint in the first start of his college career.

Quick thoughts from No. 14 Texas’ 59-3 win over UTEP | Burnt Orange Nation
The Sam Ehlinger-led Longhorns offense looked crisp early on, getting everyone involved as Texas works to replace key contributors.

Around the NCAA

The Big Ten has always been this mess | Moon Crew
When you want to be both the Ivy League and the SEC, sometimes you end up neither.

The Top Whatever: Flew too close to the Sun Belt | Moon Crew
Welcome to your weekly ranking of only the college football things we feel like ranking.

NFL Week 1 recap: Tom Brady costs the Buccaneers as much as 22 Cam Newtons | SB Nation
Here are 6 things to know from Week 1 in the NFL

The “Tom Brady Is Washed” Murmurs Got a Little Louder in Week 1 | The Ringer
The GOAT’s Tampa Bay career got off to a rocky start as he threw two ugly picks in Sunday’s loss to the Saints. Was his performance an aberration against a strong opponent or the start to an ugly season?

Cam Newton Has the Patriots Offense Looking Very Different Already | The Ringer
The former MVP rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s win over Miami, as New England showed it’s ready to adapt in the post–Tom Brady era

Joe Tessitore explains Holey Moley, the greatest show on television | Moon Crew
"Do you know how much joy this show brings me in the middle of my regular broadcasting career?"

Is Jean Valjean the original Batman? | Banner Society
An important literary examination

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