What I Think After An Early Season Bye

Oklahoma State vs Tulsa

The loss of Spencer Sanders grounded the normally high-flying offense of Oklahoma State Cowboys and perhaps gave the West Virginia Mountaineers an opening to start dreaming about a 6-0 start in Year Two. The Cowboys replaced Sanders, who injured his ankle, with Ethan Bullock but Bullock could not get the offense out of neutral. Mike Gundy then turned to freshman Shane Illingsworth, who hit a long throw to Tylan Wallace that helped give the Cowboys enough momentum to hold off the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. West Virginia should have the advantage with their defensive line against the Cowboys offensive line and that alone could be the difference in the game.

Marshall vs App State

The Marshall Thundering Herd defeated #23 ranked Appalachian State Mountaineers, marking only the second time in school history they have beaten a ranked team. Thanks to COVID-19, Marshall now finds itself ranked in the AP. Congrats Marshall, don’t be surprised if you get removed next week because the Big Ten will play a football game in October.

The Big Ten

The Big Ten’s decision to reverse course and play football is not surprising. Dolla dolla dolla bills y’all. It’s all about the money. But for me, knowing that the Big Ten is going to play only eight (8) games and is eligible for inclusion in the rankings starting next week really grinds my gears. I just can’t fathom how you can rank a team in the Top 25, much less the Top 10, when they haven’t played a single game and won’t play for another month while other teams are actually winning.

Personally, I’d exclude the Big Ten, and eventually the Pac-12, because you know the P12 is going to follow suit, from the College Football Playoffs. I just would. I would use the same logic that was used in 2014 when the playoff committee excluded Baylor and TCU. Extra “data points”. 9 vs 11. Two more games played by the SEC, Big 12 and ACC would be used to exclude them. Sorry, not sorry.

Wyatt Millum

By now you likely know that Wyatt Millum has committed to the Mountaineers and just how huge his commitment is. On Friday, Millum and Spring Valley did the impossible, they ended Martinsburg’s 57-game winning streak against West Virginia teams and their 65-home game winning streak. Millum and the Timberwolves beat the Bulldogs 22-20 on Friday.