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The West Virginia Mountaineers moved to 8-1 by beating the Austin Peay Governors by a score of 84-53. The Mountaineers were led by Emmitt Matthews, Jr, who had 16 points (7-9 from the field and 2-3 from 3 point range) and 10 rebounds.  Oscar Tshiebwe got his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. https://twitter.com/WVUhoops/status/1205297276698025984?s=20 https://twitter.com/WVUhoops/status/1205299235941257216?s=20 Derek Culver struggled again, finishing with 4 points (2-5 FG) and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes.  The Mountaineers outrebounded the Governors 48-25.  Terry Taylor, Austin Peay's outstanding junior guard, paced the Governors with 19 points and 5 rebounds. The Mountaineers next play Nicholls State Saturday at 2:00PM at the WVU Coliseum.  The game will be televised on ATSN.

Morgantown, West Virginia - With USC and UCLA announcing that they are moving to the Big Ten Conference, the entire landscape of college athletics has completely changed and will likely lead to several other dominoes falling in the coming days. There seems to be a sense that West Virginia would be lucky to get an invite from the ACC if/when the Big 12 inevitably crumbles. West Virginia, critics say, is a small market and doesn't offer the conference major television viewership.  In addition, West Virginia doesn't meet the academic standards of the ACC. While these criticisms are fair to a certain extent, the pros of adding West Virginia to the ACC far outweighs the cons. Passionate, loyal fanbase  Pitt is in the ACC.  While they have a far better academic ranking, they have a difficult time giving tickets away for their conference football games, regardless of the opponent.  Attendance and ticket sales in a sports conference should be much more important than academics. West Virginia's fanbase is one of the most loyal and passionate in the entire nation, and selling out conference home games would not be a problem, particularly against geographic rivals. Natural, geographic Rivals No team in the the ACC gets excited to play Pitt right now.  The same could be said for Boston College, Louisville and Syracuse. Adding West Virginia immediately brings spirited, impassioned rivalries with Pitt, Virginia Tech, Virginia, as well as old Big East rivals Miami, Boston College and Syracuse. West Virginia belongs in the ACC, both in terms of geography and rivalries with many of the teams currently in the conference. State of the Art Facilities West Virginia has one of the nicest, most up-to-date basketball practice facilities in the country, and recent football renovations put West Virginia near the top of the Big 12 conference in terms of upgraded facilities. Director of Athletics Shane Lyons has made growth and renovations a real priority, and it's going to pay off not only in recruiting but also when the school is seeking out membership in a new conference like the ACC. Improved Academics  There's no way to sugarcoat it, West Virginia University's academic ranking (#241) is extraordinarily low, but it has recently upgraded to a Tier 1 research university and has one of the most respected presidents in the country in E. Gordon Gee. Respected Leaders  Shane Lyons and E. Gordon Gee are the absolute two best people to make a compelling case to the ACC that they belong.  Both are highly respected and experienced.  Lyons is the former associate commissioner of compliance and governance for the ACC, and is the chairman of the Division 1 Oversight Committee.  If anyone can convince the ACC that West Virginia should be added, it's Lyons and Gee. Conclusion While there will always be detractors who insist that West Virginia won't add much to the ACC, it's clear that the positives eclipse the negatives.  If the ACC is wise, the Mountaineers will soon be where they belong, playing against their natural, geographic rivals.

Morgantown, West Virginia - West Virginia Mountaineers 4th-year head coach Neal Brown has said repeatedly that when he was recruiting transfer JT Daniels to West Virginia, that he made it clear that Daniels would have to earn the starting quarterback position and that it just wouldn't be given to him. But the reality is that the job was Daniels' to lose and that he would have to really play poorly during practice to not be named the starter. And so far, Daniels has shined.   Brown said the following of Daniels: "He never lost a job; he's been injured, but if you look at his career path, it's really remarkable. He's had to deal with pressure since he was a freshman at Mater Dei, which is one of the top high school programs in the entire country. He started as a freshman, which has only been done a handful of times. He graduated high school an entire year early and then starts at USC as a high school senior, essentially." Brown continued, "He has success there, wins the job during Graham Harrell's first year there, tears his ACL. So transfers to Georgia and was still recovering, gets the job, wins the Peach Bowl, and was playing really, really well when he got injured again. So this is a great opportunity to remind people that when he's played, he's played at a really high level. And so this is an opportunity for him to remind people that not only is he a high-level quarterback but he's really an NFL prospect." That doesn't sound like a quarterback that is going to sit behind Garrett Greene, a redshirt sophomore with limited experience, or Will "Goose" Crowder and Nicco Marchiol, who have no experience at this level. New offensive coordinator Graham Harrell agrees that Daniels has what it takes to be the Mountaineers' starter. "He’s very intelligent and he’s very even-keel and I think because of that, coaching him, he doesn’t change much,” Harrell said recently following practice. “It’s very similar to the way he was before, he’s always been intelligent and understands football very well, and I think now maybe he understands it a little better.” While this is a supposed four-man competition for the starting quarterback role, JT Daniels will be the starter when the Mountaineers play the Pitt Panthers on September 1st, and he gives the team the very best chance of beating the hated rivals in a few weeks. 1 - JT Daniels 2 - Garrett Greene 3 - Nicco Marchiol 4 - Will "Goose" Crowder

Morgantown, West Virginia - Months ago, back in April 2022, a person by the name of MHver3 sent out the following message on social media: "Fox Sports advising B1G to expand and USC and UCLA are the prime candidates being eyed (as I told you 6+ months ago). How B1G will they go though!?" https://twitter.com/MHver3/status/1516166017319411713?s=20&t=FsoXaXwdr_Rbx8UyqgSpVg While many people claim to be insiders, this confirmed that the man called "MHver3" was the real deal and elevated his insider information to cult-like status on Twitter, gaining followers from many of the major names in college athletics. While he has kept a very low profile and has avoided interviews in the past, he agreed to answer questions from The Voice of Morgantown in written form. To be transparent, we initially reached out and asked for him to do the interview on The Voice of Morgantown Podcast with the use of a voice-changer to protect his anonymity, but his sources were uncomfortable with that. Having said that, here is the full interview with MHver3:  Q: Why do you leak this information? What's in it for you?   A: I leak these rumors and information I get because information deserves to be shared. I get nothing from it. It started as one solid well-placed connection for WVU sports and has grown to dozens across the country. It’s fascinating to me to see what goes on behind the curtain and it gives me fulfillment to pull that curtain back for others. Information can be fluid and sometimes it can be wrong. Sometimes it can be fed to me as being wrong info purposefully to misdirect. I’m not thrilled when that happens, but I’ve got thick skin so I can handle the attacks. My track record is actually really good if someone wants to take the time to dive into my tweet history. Q: Do you think there will be 5 major conferences still around in 5 years? Who survives?   A: There will be 3 major conferences by 2035. Who survives? A combination of Big12/Pac12/ACC leftovers after B1G and SEC have their pick. Most likely 3 conferences of 20 schools. You have to remember that the more members you have the more ways you have to split the pie. I also think you will see unequal revenue sharing becoming a thing with B1G and SEC in the future. Q: ACC vs. The Big 12 vs. The PAC-12. Which conference is in better shape right now?   A: B12 is in the best shape currently. We have 4 networks wanting to bid on our content in the next 24 months. We have weathered the initial shock of losing OU and UT and maybe have come out stronger top to bottom then we were before. We have a chance now to make some very good additions. PAC-12 is reeling and not getting good numbers for their tv negotiations, member schools are fighting, it’s bad. ACC…half the conference wants out and are very fearful of falling very far behind the Big 2 in revenue. Q: Is there a chance that the Big 10 and SEC break off from the NCAA?   A: Not as long as the rest of the Power 5 (4,3 whatever) can remain relevant with good tv money, good ratings, etc. the Big 2 will not risk alienating over half the viewing audience by using the nuclear option. Q: What is the biggest threat to college football? NIL, conference realignment, major sports networks, or the transfer portal? A: The biggest threat for the past 20 years has been networks. It’s ruined rivalries and broken programs. The biggest threat of the future is NIL. It’s going to widen the gap of the haves and have nots. It’s going to turn off many of the fans that are still hanging around that enjoy the amateurism of the sport. If a players union is formed then it gets even murkier. It really is Pandora’s box. Q: How long could these mega conferences exist? Would teams like Oklahoma, USC, etc., be okay with being the 4th or 5th best team in a mega conference with more money long-term?   A: Eventually the hope of many ADs is that the major programs (top 60-70) break away from the NCAA and form their own governing body complete with a commissioner, and negotiate all their media as one entity. This would allow for regional divisions and a return to classic rivalries and affiliations. We are still 10-20 years away from that. Q: Do you expect Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to ultimately join the Big 12? If so, will the Big 12 be strong enough at that point to remain relevant in today's college football landscape?   A: That’s a loaded question. The way things are currently leaning I would say AZ and Colorado are as close to a lock as it can be without a formal offer being made to them yet. The other two…well that’s up to what the committee decides is best for the conference. We can add AZ and CU and get a bump in the revenue. If we add all 4 we may actually take a small hit in the per school payout. If we add all 4 plus Oregon and Washington we get a net increase per school but not much more than just adding AZ and CU alone. It gets tricky when you have so many mouths to feed. Any combination of additions will only make the B12 stronger and that’s good for WVU and good for college football. Q: Where is West Virginia in 5 years?   A: WVU is hopefully winning 9-10 games a year and will be a part of the Big 12 Conference. It won’t be a very different B12 from what we know it’s going to be with the exit of OU/UT and the additions we invited last year. There may be 2-6 new programs joining the conference from the west, though. Regardless, WVU will be stable, making more money than any ACC school from the new B12 media deal, and hopefully building that new stadium that keeps getting whispered about in the AD. Now if the SEC is somehow able to poach some of...

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- West Virginia starting quarterback Garrett Greene was injured and hobbled off the field in the 1st quarter of the Backyard Brawl against Pitt and will not return. Greene, a junior from Tallahassee, Florida, was 0/2 for 0 yards passing and 0 yards rushing. X-rays on Greene's ankle and lower leg showed no structural damage, but he has been ruled out for the rest of the game. He has a boot on his right leg and is in street clothes. Greene was seen in the West Virginia training center "sobbing and crying" while limping around trying to get himself ready to return. However, Greene clearly is too hurt and will not be able to return. Stay to the Voice of Morgantown for more updates on this developing situation as they become available!

West Virginia forward Oscar Tshiebwe has a very bright future playing basketball professionally in the NBA, but imagine if he chose to play football for the Mountaineers instead of basketball. This scenario was actually imagined by Jeremy Phoenix of the Raspy Voice Kids last summer before Tshiebwe had even stepped foot on the Coliseum floor.  Tshiebwe reposted the question"What If?" and replied "What y'all think?" https://twitter.com/Oscartshiebwe34/status/1144011759164018689?s=20 Although further exploration into the topic didn't go on, the bottom line is that Tshiebwe's size and athleticism would be virtually unstoppable if he was placed out wide as a receiver. At 6'9 and 260 pounds, Tshiebwe would be an absolute specimen as a wide receiver or tight end. His size is the not the only thing that would make him an offensive force; Tshiebwe also runs better than most athletes his size. According to West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins, "“He can really run.  I don’t know that I’ve had very many bigs or played against very many bigs that can run better than he does.” Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin both caught 114 passes in 2012 and share the record for single-season receptions at West Virginia.  That record would be difficult to surpass for Tshiebwe, who grew up playing soccer in Africa and has likely never played American football, but his upside and potential would be through the roof.  With real practice and time, he could easily grow into the most dominant offensive force in West Virginia football history. Not only could he be virtually unstoppable offensively, he would certainly excel as an edge rusher on the defensive line. His quickness, athleticism and length would be a problem for any offensive lineman.  Again, rushing the passer is something that football players are trained to do at an early age and it would take time for him to develop, but it's hard to imagine a more prototypical raw athlete to become a force on the defensive line as an edge rusher. Like LeBron James, who would also be an incredible football player at several different positions, Oscar Tshiebwe will likely never put on a helmet or pads, but he has the physical talents to be one of the very best players ever if he did.

Darnell Wright, a former five star recruit from Huntington High School, was a Top 10 prospect nationally and was the most highly-coveted in-state football player in years.  He had offers from every major football program in the country, but it came down to Tennessee, where he eventually chose, and West Virginia, his home state. West Virginia's offensive line is perhaps the worst it's ever been in program history and signing Wright would have been huge for the Mountaineers.  Darnell Wright is a once-in-a-lifetime prospect in our state and West Virginia just barely missed out of him. Not only would Wright have filled a role on the desperately porous offensive line, he would have been an absolutely perfect start to Neal Brown's plan to keep elite in-state talent at home.  The loss of Wright to Tennessee will be felt for years and Neal Brown knew that.  Although Darnell Wright is only one player, he is a really, really important player for several reasons. Former Head Coach Dana Holgorsen unfortunately did not value recruiting in-state talent and largely ignored Wright.  To be clear, Darnell Wright is the most talented high school player in the state of West Virginia in the last decade and Dana Holgorsen didn’t recruit him.  According to Wright, he didn’t even try.  In response to Holgorsen saying, "We weren't going to get high school kids at West Virginia that we were going to win the Big 12 with", Wright replied on Twitter with, "You gotta try first." https://twitter.com/darnell_5232/status/1124080200076210177?s=20   When Neal Brown took over as the Head Coach, he immediately made Wright a priority.  Brown and his whole coaching staff attended Neal Brown attempted to undo Holgorsen’s lack of recruitment by sending his entire staff to Huntington to meet with Wright and try to convince him to come to West Virginia University during his first few weeks on the job.  Unfortunately, the damage was done and Wright ultimately decided to attend the University of Tennessee, the school that recruited him hard for years. Wright was a 2019 ESPN Preseason Freshman All-American and has played well for Tennessee, starting 6 games at right tackle for the Volunteers as a Freshman.  He will have an outstanding collegiate career and will likely one day play professionally in the National Football League. I wish him the best in Knoxville, but he would have been a massive difference-maker for the West Virginia football program and for his entire home state.  Darnell Wright is truly the one that got away for the Mountaineers.

In further response to the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA suspended both on- and off-campus recruiting for all sports until April 15. This move is another in the continuing disruption of college athletics in response to the coronavirus threat. The NCAA earlier canceled all of its winter and spring championships, including the men's and women's basketball tournaments and the College World Series in baseball. The Big 12 had implemented a recruiting ban through March 29. The nationwide ban will extend that into mid-April. The Big 12 also had suspended all conference competition through at least March 29. The Big Ten announced it has canceled all remaining athletic competition for the 2019-20 season. The earliest the conference will resume intercollegiate athletic competitions will be for sports in the fall 2020 season.

(Photo by Sholten Singer - The Herald-Dispatch)  https://twitter.com/eliarcher81_44/status/1340840514703290369?s=21 Eli Archer, a 2021 prospect from Huntington High School, committed to Neal Brown and the Mountaineers on Sunday evening via Twitter. At Huntington, Archer played both the tight end and defensive end positions. Though there was no clear indication of which position he will play at WVU in his post, tagging Travis Trickett and Ryan Nehlen is virtually a dead giveaway that he will be playing on the offensive side of the ball. He was also a solid basketball player, scoring over 1,000 points for his career. Though he does not have a recruiting profile with a major outlet, his 6’4” frame is exactly what the Mountaineers are looking for at the tight end position, giving him the opportunity to work into playing time.  

For teams that haven't sniffed the Top 25 during the season, it's interesting to see where they stack up against other underachieving teams in the country. In the CBS Sports 130, every team is ranked from #1 (the 11-0 Ohio State Buckeyes) to #130 (1-11 Massachusetts).  For what's it worth, I disagreed with both, ranking LSU as a clear #1 and the dismal, 0-11 Akron Zips as #130. The West Virginia Mountaineers came in as the 94th ranked team in nation.  With a 4-7 record, the Mountaineers certainly have not had a great season, but they certainly should be ranked higher in this (absolutely meaningless) poll. A 4-7 record in the Big 12 is far more respectable than a 4-7 record in the American Athletic Conference.  The Houston Cougars, for instance, are ranked 85th with the same 4-7 record and inexplicably shot up 12 spots in the rankings after beating 3-8 Tulsa.  To say that Dana Holgorsen's Houston team has had a better season than the Mountaineers is simply wrong. Other noteworthy rankings include Texas Tech ranked 84th with a 4-7 record in the same conference, Troy University ranked 89th with a 5-6 record and Tulsa ranked just ahead of the Mountaineers with a 3-8 record.  Kansas (3-8) is the only team ranked below West Virginia at 109th out of 130 teams in the country. For a look at the full rankings:  https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/rankings/cbs-sports-ranking/

COVER PHOTO: WVU Athletics Stillwater, Oklahoma -- The West Virginia Mountaineers were very close to getting a very big upset victory on the road today, but fell late to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 70-66 to move to 7-13 on the season and 2-5 in Big 12. The Mountaineers were led by an impressive performance from starting point guard Kerr Kriisa, who had a career-high 21 points on 6-7 from three-point range. Quinn Slazinksi came off the bench to finish with 18 points (7-12 FG, 4-6 3PT) and 3 rebounds. Backup guard Noah Farrakhan added 9 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, and Jesse Edwards made his first appearance since December 16th after a wrist injury and had 3 points in limited minutes. https://twitter.com/WVUhoops/status/1751344247842767169?s=20 West Virginia will be back in action at home on January 31 against the Cincinnati Bearcats, who are currently 13-6 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12 Conference. The game will tip at 7:00PM.

We dominated the game and lost. Same exact thing we did under Holgorsen year after year and game after game. Our players would out-play and out-hustle the other team, yet undisciplined penalties, a lack of fundamentals and questionable play calling and clock management would cause us to lose. The game Saturday against the Pokes resulted in the same exact script. Before I go any further, let me establish that I supported going after Coach Neal Brown before his name was even mentioned for the job, and I do still support him and haven’t given up on him. But he hasn’t yet shown me anything to back up a reason for believing in him. Last year was a complete joke. We blew four games, FOUR, in the 4th quarter. Blowing games in the 4th quarter is a result of play calling and clock management. We were either ahead, tied or within one score going into the 4th against Iowa State, Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma State. We could have gone 9-3 and should have at the VERY worst gone 6-6 and to a Bowl. On top of blowing four games late and giving WVU our first losing season in six years and only the second in seventeen years, ol’ Coach refused to bench a QB that was obviously not good enough to start in a Power 5 conference. Kendall just doesn’t/didn’t have the arm strength to make the necessary throws. People that do not know football saw our rushing stats last year and think that our Offensive Line was terrible, but that just isn’t the case. We couldn’t run the ball because no defense was afraid of our QB throwing the ball and therefore loaded the box. Kendall just couldn’t throw the ball downfield. Throw after throw looked like a wounded duck that hung in the air all day. He finished with 12 TDs and 10 INTs, that is absolutely horrid at any level but especially college where the year before – WIll Grier threw 37 TDs to 8 INTs. I understood starting Kendall out of the gate, he was highly rated from the time he was graduating high school through the time Lincoln Riley said that the QB battle between he and Kyler Murray was neck and neck. But after a handful of games it was obvious that he just didn’t have the arm for Power 5. Yet Coach refused to bench him and not even give a CHANCE to ANYONE and especially not Holgorsen recruit Trey Lowe that was supposed to be our future and could’ve been our Starter for the next four years as a Redshirt Freshman. No offensive line can run block when eight or nine defenders are in the box. And as far as pass blocking, we were very good. We gave up less than 2 sacks in half of all our games and our Left Tackle (Colton McKivitz) got drafted in the 5th round. If you’re wondering why I’m rehashing a lot of last year – I'm pointing out that this past Saturday was déjà vu. We absolutely dominated the Pokes and STILL got beat by 2 touchdowns. We had double digit penalties and multiple fumbles (one for a scoop and score reminiscent of 2018 against the Sooners). At one point we had nearly double the yards but were still down 17-0. Which brings us to the muffed FG that continues the mediocre Special Teams from the Holgorsen era. I picked us going 6-4 before the season started, hoping that Brown’s game management had improved over year 1 to the point that we would win a few of those games that come down to the wire in the 4th Quarter. Unfortunately, if what happened against Oklahoma State continues throughout the season, it will be another below .500 year when we should be a bowl team. I gave Coach Brown a pass last year, he had a new team, new program and new Conference, so I said, “fine, yes we had the talent to go 9-3 but I’ll give him a pass in the first year while figuring out what he has and what to do with it.” But he doesn’t get a pass this year. No one expects(ed) him to go 9-1, I don’t even care if we went 2-8 (because the only games that should be a given are Eastern KY and Kansas. You won’t hear it from the “academic Gods of the Big 10” but The Big 12 is the toughest Conference from top to bottom, the only bad team is KU) as long as we left everything on the field and it wasn’t more of the Head Coach blowing the games like it’s been for the past 8 years. Mountaineer fans deserve better than having that sick feeling of being the better team yet still losing that we've had for large portions of our history and especially since 2012. I still believe in Coach Neal Brown but he needs to right the ship starting this week against Baylor. If he gives us our 3rd losing season in 8 years, he's going to lose a lot of the base, including me. We just saw against Ok State how good we can be, they are supposed to be a favorite to win the Conference, along with OU and Texas - and we should have beaten them. So there is no reason for us finishing below 500 again. I don't buy into the mediocrity accepting motto of "Trust The Climb." We should've/could've won 9 games last year so there is not much "climbing" to do, we're already there.

Brad Paisley is a beloved West Virginia native. Known for being an avid fan of the Mountaineers (and yes, sadly, the Tennessee Volunteers), Paisley is someone that everyone in the Mountain State associates with the Old Gold and Blue. He even had the opportunity to sing Take Me Home, Country Roads at Milan Puskar Stadium in 2015 prior to the Mountaineers' 45-6 win over Maryland. Making him only the second person to do so at Mountaineer Field.   https://youtu.be/hgOhr0W_a0g   Today, the legendary Paisley celebrates his 48th birthday.   https://twitter.com/BradPaisley/status/1321428766527283205?s=20 If you have the opportunity, be sure to wish Paisley a very happy birthday on Twitter, as well as his other social media outlets. Celebrate his day by listening to his adored songs Mud on the Tires and I'm Gonna Miss Her.   And then of course, there is my personal favorite... https://youtu.be/B9mpDAJOPac

(Photo Courtesy of Iowa State Athletics) Rest versus rust has been a debate for a long time.  Rust showed early for WVU against Iowa State.  The Mountaineers struggles on the road continued, and an old headache reemerging with just 13 yards rushing in the first half.  Leddie Brown was gobbled up time after time at the line of scrimmage.  This isn’t a new trend for the junior running back.  A significant amount of Brown’s yards this season have come after contact.  Simply put, Iowa State owned the line of scrimmage in the first half.  Both defensively and offensively.   West Virginia made a little buzz on the first drive as usual moving the ball 43 yards.  Brown was churning out as many yards as he could with 3 or 4 yards a pop.  Jarret Doege hit Sean Ryan for a nice 26 yard chunk play pickup.  Ultimately the drive was done in by a Brown false start penalty on 4th and 2, forcing a Tyler Sumpter punt.  It was all Iowa State from that point on.  The Cyclones put together three straight touchdown drives, two of which went over 75 yards.  Brock Purdy was an efficient 10 for 12 with 127 yards.  Purdy took what the WVU defense gave him on a few scrambles for first downs and made no mistakes.  Breece Hall got his as well with 51 yards on 12 carries and an opening drive 23 yard touchdown run.   The Mountaineer defense didn’t play a terrible first half, but the big plays weren’t made that they’re accustomed to.  The first half showed a yards discrepancy of 236-101 in favor of the Cyclones.  WVU made Iowa State earn every one of those 236 yards playing solid coverage and tackling Hall in the backfield a few times.  Iowa State just refused to get off the field going 6 for 7 on third down conversions in the first 30 minutes.  Protecting Purdy was the key factor in the offensive success early for Iowa State.  The Mountaineers seemed to be socially distancing themselves from the opposing quarterback the entire half.  Trench play powered the Cylcones to a 21-0 halftime lead.   WVU went away from the run game trailing by three scores to start the second half.  Slowly but surely the offense was moving the ball, four yards at a time.  WVU didn’t have the firepower for splash plays but, methodically they marched their way into Iowa State territory on their first two possessions.  Both were stopped on 4th down mistakes by TJ Simmons.  On the first, Simmons ran a 5 yard route on a 4th and 6.  Simmons then dropped a wide open pass on 4th and 3 on the second opportunity.  Iowa State was able to take advantage of solid field position.  Five plays later, Purdy found Charlie Kolar for a 16 yard TD pass that crippled any thought of a comeback.   Entering the 4th quarter trailing 35-0, the goal became to just score points for West Virginia.  It took a field goal from the punter Tyler Sumpter before points were on the board with 12 minutes left in the game.  Sumpter added another field goal with 3 minutes left and might be the kicker going forward.  Good for that guy.  West Virginia’s ugliest performance in 2020 ended in a 42-6 loss to the favorite for the Big 12 title.     Position Grades: Offense Quarterback: B Doege just does what he is asked to do.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Everyone can call for his job all you want but this marks the 5th consecutive game without an interception.  He has absolutely zero help from his receiving corps.  His completion percentage could probably be 73% with half the drops he’s had this season.  Jarret Doege is not this offense’s issue and won’t be.  This is as solid of a quarterback as you can have in college football. Running back: C Leddie Brown laid a big ol’ goose egg today.  No, the offensive line doesn’t help him.  Not even a little bit.  But you’re starting to see the bad habits trickle in that were there last year.  The missed holes and lateral movement doesn’t bode well for an offense that has trouble getting its engine started anyway.  I know the offensive line isn’t great but there are holes somewhere.  Brown did a lot of lateral movement at the line of scrimmage today, especially when he wasn’t behind a blocker and outside the tackles.  Brown doesn’t have the jets to beat anyone to the outside.  Plant your foot, get up field, and get what you can.  Less than 3 yards per carry isn’t going to get it done. Receivers: D When it was announced Sam James and Bryce Ford-Wheaton (prayers for your recovery) were going to miss this game, I was excited to see who would step up.  Turns out, no one did.  It did seem that Sean Ryan and Isaiah Esdale do a better job of catching the ball than the two starters.  However, I have yet to see a receiver on this team that can track a ball past 20 yards.  A lot of throws get blamed on Doege overthrows and that’s just not the case.  A majority of the time, the receiver is either running off line or stops their route on deep throws.  None of them know how to attack the football.  Winston Wright made a business decision on a pretty 30 yard ball from Doege and just decided not to catch it.  WVU better find some receivers and find them before next season. Offensive Line: D Brandon Yates was on skates all night.  Sacks happened in bunches on Doege.  Only a glimpse of a hole every now and then was available in the run game.  This group has steadily improved all season.  Tonight it looked like they reverted back to the Oklahoma State game.  They just didn’t have it.  At times it looked like half the line was moving and half wasn’t.  There was no synchronization within this group tonight.  They were not even getting off the ball at the same time.  I do think...