ITG 121 - WVU/Cincinnati Preview
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00:00 In the gun, episode 121 of your new favorite WVU football podcast.
00:09 I'm Wesley Euler with the best teammates in the business.
00:12 We've got the runaway beer truck down the sideline being Owen Schmidt himself and the
00:18 signal caller Jed Drenning here.
00:21 And of course you already know this episode of ITG brought to you in part by our friends
00:24 at BetOnline where the game starts.
00:27 If you're watching on YouTube, you'll notice I've got a Bruce Ervin jersey on here today.
00:33 And I know Big O was already giving me grief before we hit the record button here.
00:37 All right.
00:38 It's the wrong one now.
00:39 OK, because I'm wearing the Seahawks, the old the old 5-1 Bruce Ervin, the Super Bowl
00:43 champion Bruce Ervin jersey here.
00:47 But our guy Bruce, just when we all thought that he was done with his football career,
00:51 right?
00:52 I mean, he's he's getting inducted into the WVU Hall of Fame.
00:54 He's on the sideline for some of these games.
00:56 Well, not so fast, my friend, as Lee Corso would say.
01:00 Big O, Big Bruce signing with the Detroit Lions this week.
01:03 He's going to start on the practice squad, but obviously you think he's got a great opportunity
01:07 to be a part of that active roster down the stretch here.
01:10 And you know, for a Lions team that really started to build momentum last year and has
01:15 carried that into this year, one of the top seeds in the NFC right now, you know, kind
01:19 of right behind the Eagles there, right in that in that race in the NFC.
01:23 Having a guy like Bruce is has got to be great for a team that has so many young guys, for
01:27 a team that has so many guys that haven't had postseason success like he has.
01:32 It's got to be great to have a guy like that in the organization for Detroit.
01:35 Yeah, and Bruce is kind of really, you know, not to not to down him at all, but he is matured
01:44 into like an absolute, you know, superstar from where he came.
01:52 And just to now the experience, the hard work, the dedication, the struggle and strife he's
02:00 been through in his life, the absolute motivation he'll be able to bring to that Lions team
02:04 coming in, you know, halfway through the season, really, you know, who knows, you know, him
02:12 getting on and active, you know, they're probably going to see where he's at conditioning wise
02:15 and whatnot.
02:17 And he could be playing on Sundays real quick here in the near future.
02:23 I mean, it's absolutely crazy for a team that is going to win their division and host a
02:28 playoff game at least, you know, absolutely.
02:31 And, you know, to come in with some, you know, fresh legs a little bit, he might be might
02:36 have a little cobwebs to dust off, probably not many.
02:40 And to come in and kind of just let him eat deal situation, not a bad deal for him.
02:46 I love he was drafted when he entered the league guys.
02:52 That's back when you still had the more rigid Jersey number code.
02:56 Linebackers had to wear this number D line, O line, et cetera, et cetera.
02:59 That's why he had a 51.
03:01 Well now the Pandora's box is open.
03:03 You can wear basically anything you want to wear.
03:05 So to that end, I say attention, Khalif Raymond, give up your number 11.
03:11 Come on, give up your number 11 with those Detroit lines.
03:15 Let's see Bruce Irvin and his last hurrah wearing that old WVU number 11 again.
03:20 But Owen, I agree with you.
03:21 A guy like that fits in any locker room, first of all, but, but I think Bruce Irvin and Dan
03:27 Campbell are going to be two peas in a pod, right?
03:29 I think that's a great addition.
03:31 I think a presence of, of a guy like Bruce and any locker room is going to help him take
03:36 a step forward.
03:37 But when you can have a guy like that, just asking him to be a situational player, even
03:42 more specialized and more situational than he was at the peak of his career, because
03:46 he's always been a pass rush specialist.
03:47 But, but when you can have a guy like that, that tells you you're just, you're just kind
03:51 of cherry picking.
03:52 Now you don't have a lot of needs from roster standpoint, and now you're just kind of dotting
03:56 your eyes, crossing a couple more T's and here you go.
03:59 But, but, uh, addition to a roster that kind of puts him in position as strange as it may
04:04 feel to say that Detroit lions are a legit super bowl contender.
04:08 So let's go lions.
04:10 Hey, there there are seven and three.
04:13 And like I said, I mean, you look at the rest of that division, Minnesota without Kirk cousins.
04:17 I mean, Josh Dobbs has done great for them the last couple of weeks, but I don't think
04:20 they're going to keep pace with the lions.
04:22 The Packers and the bears are a mess.
04:24 Um, I mean that, that Detroit team, I think, and especially there's seven and three right
04:28 now, if you look at their schedule, it sets up pretty well down the back half.
04:31 I mean, they could easily win 12 games.
04:33 That lions team host a playoff game, maybe two, they can stack some wins there.
04:37 So yeah, we'll be keeping an eye on Bruce and if he's able to get on that active roster
04:41 and contribute with some fresh legs, like big O said, uh, I love it.
04:46 You know, he, he was one of my favorite mountaineers of all time.
04:48 He was, you know, playing while I was in school.
04:51 Um, I'll never forget, you know, when he was drafted by Seattle 15th overall in 2012, Oh,
04:57 and you'll like this story that was shortly after my 21st birthday.
05:00 Okay.
05:01 And after my 21st birthday, I lived in Sunnyside when I was in school and much, I mean, I could,
05:07 I could have thrown a football from my front door and hit mutts.
05:11 I mean, that's how close I live to mutts.
05:14 And so that was right around the time to 2012 that they turned the NFL draft.
05:18 It started to become more of a spectacle and they started to make it a, you know, an event
05:22 and it was multiple nights and all that stuff.
05:24 And the first round kind of it's standalone thing and a big production.
05:28 I remember being at mutts for the first round of the NFL draft and they've got the draft
05:33 on all the TVs and the volumes cranked up, right.
05:35 And everyone's kind of doing their thing and half paying attention to the draft and half
05:38 hanging out.
05:39 And you hear that doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom, doom.
05:43 With the 15th pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Bruce Irvin, West
05:49 Virginia university.
05:50 And it was like a bomb went off in mutts.
05:53 Like it just turned into straight K people are chucking their beers in the air.
05:58 Everyone's screaming and yelling.
05:59 The whole place is going.
06:03 It was, it was one of those, one of those cool moments from my, from my college career
06:06 that I won't forget.
06:07 So all the best of Bruce Irvin.
06:09 Go ahead.
06:10 No, I was just going to say all the best of Bruce Irvin and we'll be rooting for you.
06:14 Yeah.
06:15 Jeff Castile recognized what he had before Bruce even really settled into a full-time
06:20 role and understood the big picture, what we were trying to do defensively.
06:23 You just, you couldn't help but see the raw talent.
06:25 So here we were as an odd stack defense and a three man configuration up front at the
06:30 point of attack and to Jeff's credit, what he did was he put in what we call the SWAT
06:35 package.
06:36 And that, when we went to an even front, just for third downs in the old big East days and
06:41 that even front defense included Bruce off the edge.
06:46 And some of the highlights that you remember from his days at West Virginia were in that
06:49 SWAT package.
06:51 And you just had to find a way and Jeff recognized, look, even if he doesn't understand all the
06:56 calls and all the plays, we got to get this guy on the field.
06:58 Eventually he'll learn the rest.
06:59 Right.
07:00 But, and of course he did, he settled into one of the greats, a hall of famer for all
07:04 the right reasons, but he was just explosive.
07:07 He was dynamic.
07:08 And you recognize that from the first time he put on pads in Morgantown.
07:13 Bruce Irvin, Chris Nealed, Julian Miller.
07:16 I mean, that was a, that was a heck of a trio across that line.
07:19 Yeah, it sure was.
07:20 Yeah, it was a savage D front for sure.
07:24 They were a lot of fun to watch and we'll be watching Bruce as he, as he maybe gears
07:27 up for one last run here with the Detroit lions.
07:30 A big thank you to Fortis for presenting this episode of in the gun as well to shout out
07:34 to our guy, Rick Lewis for roof performance and financial certainty guaranteed.
07:39 Make sure you visit fortis.us.com.
07:41 Well from a more recent Mountaineer legend and Bruce Irvin to an all time Mountaineer
07:47 legend and Don Neal and gentlemen, his contributions to the university, to the football program,
07:53 finally going to be immortalized on Saturday as he will have his name placed in a diversified
07:58 energy terrace there in the end zone ceremony for him.
08:03 His name will go next to the greats, right?
08:05 Rogers, Huff, Bosley, Talley, major Chuck Halle, just getting up there as well too at
08:10 the BYU game.
08:12 And you know, John Antonik, you know, you mentioned this, Jed wrote a really nice article
08:17 on a wvu sports.com as he so often does.
08:21 And I thought, you know, if I thought he said this really well in his article, he basically
08:25 said, you know, if you're talking about a Mountaineer football, football Mount Rushmore,
08:29 you know that conversation that sports fans love to have, hey, who's on your, who's on
08:33 your wide receiver Mount Rushmore, who's on your New York Yankees Mount Rushmore, who's
08:36 on your Pittsburgh Steelers Mount Rushmore.
08:38 If you're having that conversation about the Mountaineers, Don Neal and has to be one of
08:43 those guys.
08:44 And it's going to be great to see him finally get that recognition and have his name, you
08:48 know, displayed in the stadium forever.
08:51 Yeah, it's a timeless honor as it should be.
08:55 And when you think back to some of the greats who have populated this program, you know,
09:02 since its inception, you know, the Bruce Bosley's, the Darryl Talley's, I mean, all these great
09:07 names that come to mind, there is that select few that somehow some way, I'm not going to
09:13 say as a cut above the rest, but as a cut deserving to be over top of Mountaineer field
09:19 for all of time.
09:20 And of course, Don Neal is right there.
09:24 If not even, I mean, maybe he should be up above looking down, kind of coaching those
09:27 guys up in some way.
09:29 Right.
09:30 But, but what Don Neal and meets different things to different people among the West
09:34 Virginia Panhandle base.
09:35 And I kind of view him as in, in, in many ways, he took us places that it seemed we
09:43 couldn't possibly ever go.
09:45 I mean, there always seemed to be a ceiling on what we could achieve as a program on the
09:49 national scale.
09:50 Yeah, we'd been to a sugar bowl.
09:52 Yeah, we had some bowl wins.
09:54 Yeah, we had some moments, but we couldn't possibly play for a national championship.
09:59 Right.
10:00 Well, not so fast, my friend.
10:02 He goes unbeaten in 1988 with a Heisman finalist that he recruited and brought to town and
10:09 made a quarterback when nobody else wanted to.
10:10 I mean, all these different innovative things that he did and was responsible for.
10:16 And then to do it again, five years later, another unbeaten schedule.
10:20 And again, it, it, it kind of instilled in us this belief that why not us that that never
10:27 existed.
10:28 I really don't think at least on the level of consistency until Don Neal and got to town.
10:34 I mean, we weren't really that recognizable of a brand.
10:37 I mean, he's attached to the flying WV logo itself.
10:40 He's attached to the uniforms that we enjoyed for so many years and still do.
10:44 When you're watching a Mountaineer game, you can kind of tell us the Mountaineers because
10:47 of Don Neal.
10:48 And that's one of the things he wanted.
10:49 But, but guys, that's, that's the way I recognize it.
10:52 But you mentioned Antonik's article.
10:55 I would certainly direct people.
10:57 You know, he goes back to his Schembechler days in Michigan and what Bo told Coach Neal
11:01 and before he took the job, certainly go to WV sports.com and, and check out John Antonik's
11:07 article because it does a great job of kind of chronicling the whole story.
11:11 But, but it's going to be a cool moment.
11:14 His first coaching job, Cincinnati, his first win at Mountaineer field in 1980, Cincinnati,
11:20 and he's going to be memorialized with Cincinnati in town.
11:23 It's kind of neat.
11:24 No, it is.
11:25 I'm glad you said that.
11:27 You know, I saw that in the article as well, too.
11:29 That is pretty cool.
11:30 His first, his first coaching job as an assistant was at Cincinnati.
11:33 His, his first game when he was head coach at WVU was against Cincinnati and November
11:38 18th was also his final game that he coached at Mountaineer field back in 2000 against
11:43 East Carolina.
11:44 And this is all going to happen on November 18th.
11:47 Sometimes it's just really cool how that stuff comes together and yeah, going to be special
11:51 when when Don Nealon gets that, that immortalization that he so richly deserves Saturday afternoon
11:56 at Mountaineer field.
11:58 If if you are there, make sure you're, you're, you're screaming your tail off.
12:02 You're clapping and making some noise for, for coach Nealon when, when he gets, I think
12:06 this, I think Sean said the ceremony was going to be at the end of the first quarter, but
12:09 whenever it is, that's when they do that.
12:11 Typically that's when they, when they do that type of stuff.
12:13 So yeah, a very cool kind of full circle moment there with a lot of that backdrop as well
12:17 too.
12:18 And that will be a special, special moment on Saturday at the final home game of this
12:23 season.
12:24 That home game is against the Cincinnati Bearcats, a team that we used to be familiar with for
12:29 a long time in the big East went away for a little bit.
12:31 Now they're back.
12:32 We've got another East coast time zone opponent, which we know Jed loves finally an opponent
12:37 to that.
12:38 We have a little history, at least, you know, more distant history with than, than the last
12:43 decade or so that we've spent with some of these big 12 teams.
12:46 We will get into the Bearcats their first year in the conference.
12:49 When we return on the other side, you are in the gun.
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14:35 Let's go Mountaineer fans.
14:39 You're tuned in to In the Gun with Wes, the runaway beer truck and the signal caller.
14:48 Back in the gun here as we get ready to preview the Cincinnati Bearcats.
14:51 Like I said, a familiar foe in a lot of different ways, a border state with West Virginia, a
14:57 team that we used to share a conference with in the big East days.
15:00 Once again, we do now in the big 12.
15:02 This is their first year, obviously, in the conference.
15:06 We know they're struggling a little bit.
15:08 New coaching staff, right?
15:09 Luke Fickle leaves and goes to Wisconsin.
15:12 Working in a new coaching staff right when you're heading into a new conference, that
15:16 was always going to be tough sledding and it has been for Cincinnati so far this season.
15:20 But make no mistake about it, they are certainly a team that has some really good players,
15:24 some dangerous elements.
15:26 And Jed, I gotta think, I mean, so often as it always does, in particular with how we
15:31 know this WVU offense wants to operate, it starts in the trenches, right?
15:35 But I mean, the five star matchup to keep an eye on in this one is that WVU offensive
15:39 line against that Bearcats front, right?
15:42 I mean, as much as they've struggled, they might, I mean, you could make an argument,
15:47 they've got the best or certainly one of the two or three best defensive fronts in the
15:50 entire conference.
15:51 Yeah, and more specifically, on the interior of that battle with West Virginia's offensive
15:57 line against Cincinnati's defensive line.
16:01 They're very productive.
16:02 They're very talented.
16:04 You have a situation with a new coaching staff and Scott Satterfield, who you've heard Neil
16:08 talk about it.
16:09 He has a history with Scott Satterfield when Scott Satterfield was at Appy State and Neil
16:13 Brown was at Troy.
16:16 But he came in and of course, one of the things you have to do when you take the job is to
16:20 assemble your staff.
16:21 And people were wondering what he was going to look like on the defensive side of the
16:24 football.
16:25 Would he retain what he had at Louisville?
16:28 Because they did a bang up job at Louisville on the defensive side of the football.
16:31 Well, certainly did.
16:32 Brian Brown is the coordinator at Louisville, came with him.
16:36 And Brian Brown did a terrific job at Louisville for him.
16:40 I mean, when you look at the production, they led the nation in sacks last year, they had
16:45 50 sacks.
16:46 So that's the style that you see Cincinnati building towards.
16:51 But from a scheme standpoint, Brown himself has kind of described his scheme as yes, they're
16:58 a 3-4 team.
16:59 Yes, they're an on front team, but they kind of have principles that are similar to a 4-2-5
17:05 defense.
17:06 And the reason he says that is they always have five defensive backs on the field.
17:10 Now, of course, one of those defensive backs is the star position hybrid, which just about
17:15 everybody has some version of their hybrid in today's modern game.
17:17 You have to.
17:19 But for the last several years under Luke Fickle, they were an odd stack defense.
17:25 Now, the good news is when you step into town and you're taken over now, these none of these
17:30 schemes are identical, but it's easier to go from a transition standpoint from an odd
17:36 stack to a 3-4 in the sense that you're used to having odd front defensive personnel.
17:42 Now, you get to the second level of changes up because you're not going to have the same
17:46 backers and the same skill set and all that.
17:49 But from a point of attack standpoint, yeah, the guys that you're going to be talking about,
17:53 I mean, it all starts with Dante Corleone.
17:56 I mean, Owen, they're two most talented, two most explosive, and I think two most NFL ready
18:01 guys are the guys that they have on the interior.
18:05 Corleone's a guy that's a handful.
18:07 He's 6'2", 318 pounds, but he doesn't play at 318 pounds other than his strength.
18:12 He's very quick.
18:14 He's very explosive.
18:15 He's very strong, incredible pad leverage, an incredible first step, and just violent
18:20 hands.
18:21 And next to him is a 6'2", another kid that's pushing 300 pounds, Jawan Briggs, 297 pounds.
18:29 And those two on the interior of that defensive line have given a lot of people fits.
18:34 And you might think, "Well, if they've given it fits, how can Cincinnati be 3-7?"
18:38 Well, it's not because people have gashed them in the run game.
18:41 Guys, we talked about it.
18:43 When we watched Oklahoma State do to them in the run game what we did, what was the
18:47 point that we made the following week after that game?
18:50 Hey, Oklahoma State just ran for 300 yards on Cincinnati, and nobody this year has yet
18:55 run for more than 125.
18:58 That's how difficult that is to do.
19:00 We even made that point the week after that game.
19:03 These guys have been difficult to run on.
19:06 When you look at their production, they hang around the top of the league, at least in
19:11 that conversation, among the best defenses from a total yardage standpoint.
19:15 They're fourth from a pass defense standpoint.
19:18 Again, they'll get after you.
19:19 They'll pressure you.
19:20 They're fifth.
19:21 And from a rush defensive standpoint, they're fifth.
19:24 So they kind of keep them hanging around.
19:27 And in large measure, they do it with that talented defensive front.
19:31 They got a couple edge guys that'll get after you, too.
19:34 These are really, your hands are so full, guys.
19:37 You don't want to have that pocket collapse from the interior.
19:40 And sometimes you have to commit so many resources to helping prevent that, that it clears up
19:45 those edge guys.
19:46 And Eric Phillips, and they got Gryziak, who has 13 hurries as well.
19:50 Those are the guys who are getting afty and piling up bigger numbers.
19:54 Sometimes what Corleone's doing and what Briggs is doing doesn't necessarily surface on the
19:58 stat sheet quite as much.
20:01 But here's the deal, guys.
20:03 If you can find time to try and pick on their back end, especially their corners, you might
20:10 be able to make some pay.
20:11 But the difficulty is finding that time.
20:15 You're going to have to sometimes max protect.
20:17 You're going to have to keep a tight end in.
20:18 The backs are going to have to be activated in the pass protection game and be very physical
20:22 when they do it, not just show up and pretend.
20:24 I mean, you're truly going to have to have some double teams and some chips and some
20:28 help from the tight ends and the backs in addition to the O-line.
20:32 Because when you look at some of the things people have been able to do or tried to do
20:36 on their back end defensively, let's start with this.
20:40 Justin Harris, he's a 6 foot 195 pound kid.
20:43 He's going to wear number 12.
20:44 He's one of their corners.
20:46 He's been flagged six times for defensive pass interference.
20:50 That's the most in all of Power Five.
20:52 He's a very grabby kid.
20:54 He doesn't use his body leverage nearly as well when the ball's in flight.
20:57 He sometimes kind of gets out of sorts.
20:59 He's been targeted 36 times.
21:01 He's allowed 19 catches for 166 yards.
21:03 But what you see on tape, when the ball's in flight, he's not extremely comfortable.
21:09 It's kind of what we sometimes look like in West Virginia last year with the ball in flight
21:13 and those struggles that we had.
21:14 And we talked about how low our pass defended numbers were a year ago.
21:19 So that's point number one.
21:20 Now if you go to the other corner, Jordan Young, Jordan Young has been flagged four
21:26 times.
21:27 So that's 10 DPIs between their two starting corners.
21:29 But more than that, Jordan Young has surrendered in coverage 584 yards.
21:35 That is the most in the entire nation among all defenders.
21:39 So again, they're somewhat liable on the perimeter on the back end if you have time to force
21:47 the issue there.
21:48 But the issue is, it doesn't necessarily sync up in terms of their defensive line or their
21:53 front seven at large allowing that time.
21:57 So it's going to take a lot of that.
21:59 And keep an eye on DeSean Pace.
22:01 That's the hybrid kid.
22:02 They'll bring him off the edge.
22:03 They'll sometimes hover him in space.
22:05 He'll find a void in zone coverage.
22:07 He'll man you up in man coverage.
22:09 So he's kind of a Swiss Army Knight to this defense.
22:12 And he is that star hybrid defensive back.
22:15 He's going to be flying around where number three.
22:18 He's 6'2", 212 pounds.
22:20 Kind of an undersized backer, oversized safety, physical kid, but also has some coverage skills.
22:26 But you'll see some guys go after him as well.
22:29 I mean, sometimes if you can find the time to isolate him with a certain matchup, you
22:34 can make some plays.
22:35 He's allowed four touchdowns in coverage.
22:37 But the issue is getting to these guys.
22:41 But again, the defensive line is kind of the straw that stirs this entire drink.
22:45 I mean, they're going to try and find ways to-- and they're very good.
22:49 You know how we always talk about Andrew Jackson doing a great job with our snap count defensively?
22:53 Well, I think the same thing can be said for what their defensive staff is doing with their
22:58 guys.
22:59 Dante Corleone, 370 snaps.
23:01 Jawan Briggs, 369.
23:03 Great job kind of governing how much those guys play to keep them fresh.
23:08 So we'll get into when we talk about their offense, the challenge we're going to have
23:11 from a keep away standpoint.
23:13 Because now it's kind of a fair fight.
23:15 We're facing a team that's going to try and do the same thing to us.
23:18 So yeah, there's going to be some challenges there.
23:22 But again, you ask yourself, well, how are they 3 and 7?
23:25 Well, there's deficiencies outside of what I'm talking about.
23:28 Sometimes people have found a way to pass pro long enough and pick on those corners.
23:32 Sometimes people have isolated that star safety in coverage.
23:36 Sometimes people have even had success when you get to the second and third level because
23:40 they will roll the dice.
23:41 Remember what Oklahoma was a year ago, but didn't look like last week.
23:46 They would gamble downhill with those run fits and sometimes miss.
23:50 They had 12 TFLs in Morgantown last year, but they also gave up a lot of big plays.
23:54 That's more in keeping with right now what you see in Cincinnati.
23:58 Because again, bear in mind, Brian Brown, this isn't a finished product.
24:03 Their defensive coordinator is going to continue to work this and they're going to recruit
24:06 to this specific scheme.
24:08 And it's going to continue to improve in the years to come.
24:11 But right now, just being cast the hand he was dealt, he's done a pretty good job with
24:16 fitting these pieces, particularly those NFL pieces right up front on the interior.
24:21 Think Texas Tech in the sense that it's difficult to get movement on these guys and shove them
24:26 around.
24:27 And that creates a lot of other possibilities with what they can do defensively.
24:35 Big dog.
24:36 Wow.
24:37 I was slightly distracted during that, Jed, and I apologize.
24:43 I had sent a text message to Jason this week because, of course, he was a Bearcat.
24:53 That's true.
24:55 Did you see the picture on the surface this week?
25:00 Did you see the picture?
25:01 Joe, what was that?
25:02 Travis and Jason, the picture.
25:04 Did you see the picture that surfaced this week?
25:07 The old picture of them playing at Cincinnati?
25:09 Oh, yeah.
25:10 Both of them.
25:11 Yeah, I'm going to have to send that to you.
25:12 They look like goofy 18 year olds.
25:14 Yeah.
25:15 Oh, yeah.
25:16 The finalists.
25:17 The finalists for world's sexiest man and the other one.
25:19 But that's what I just said.
25:20 Hey, I said, I said, Hey, big dog, how's the body holding up?
25:27 He's like, man, you know, it feels great after the bye.
25:29 Coach has been taking care of me.
25:30 I said, man, you earned it.
25:31 I said, I'm sure it also feels great that you're the sexiest man alive.
25:37 That's well and also known as.
25:41 Boyfriend's brother.
25:44 Oh, man, he has just there's no guys, dude.
25:54 I love it, man.
25:55 I absolutely text that picture to Skylar.
25:58 I love what those guys are doing right now.
26:01 Well, I love it here.
26:02 I said, we're going to throw down on a bed.
26:04 He said, Nah, man, I'm not.
26:06 I'm not touching any part of that this year.
26:08 So, but no, Jed, honestly, you know, stingy D upfront, you know, we're going to have our
26:16 hands full as far as the old line go.
26:20 This is going to be another good test for Zach and that bunch.
26:24 And and really, you know, this could be, you know, a week we really legitimize our run
26:29 game as a whole and then who we are by putting up those numbers that we have consistently
26:35 all year.
26:38 So we always talk about the situations that might arise.
26:41 OK, now, when you look at third down, it's kind of an even matchup.
26:45 We're both middle of the pack, our offense, their defense and third down production, the
26:49 big 12.
26:50 The thing that might jump out is even though we haven't been as effective in the last couple
26:55 weeks, West Virginia is still fourth in the red zone and the big 12 and touchdown production
27:01 at 64 percent.
27:03 Cincinnati has kind of struggled when the field shrinks for whatever strange reason.
27:08 And it was nothing that I could really see on tape that stuck out.
27:11 But 62 percent touchdowns allowed.
27:15 So they're 11th in the big 12 in that category.
27:17 That's that's one of the areas that they haven't fared nearly as well.
27:20 But that's the one thing I would add.
27:24 Oh, well, OK, so we know the defensive line is legit.
27:29 We know there's some there's some opportunity for the secondary there.
27:33 What's this all translate to?
27:35 Is this is this a bounce back game for Garrett?
27:37 Is this another ground and pound game?
27:40 What's the you know, if you're if you're calling the signals there, Jed, what's the you know,
27:44 what's at least the opening script look like?
27:46 How do you how you want to test that defense?
27:48 Well, we tried to get this roll in last week against Oklahoma, but the game just spiraled
27:54 out of control so quickly that it wasn't a factor.
27:57 But I wouldn't be surprised if we ask Garrett to become more engaged in the run game again,
28:04 because that's one of the things when I watch tape on these guys, you do have to kind of
28:08 force them to play 11 on 11.
28:11 And if and if opportunities are to be made, whether it was John Rhys Plumlee, John Rhys
28:15 Plumlee at UCF or even Donovan Smith at times in the Houston game.
28:20 I mean, athletic quarterbacks are some of what you got to do.
28:24 You got to utilize that to make any kind of hay at all on the ground against these guys,
28:28 because that's a way to breach the perimeter.
28:30 That's a way to test their eye discipline, because that's the thing, Owen, when I look
28:33 at Corleone, probably more specifically than Briggs, not only is he all those things, but
28:40 his eye discipline is incredible.
28:42 I mean, you'll see people try and counter them, and he recognizes that so quickly.
28:47 So you better engage and leverage him.
28:50 So you're going to have to use all those resources, including Garrett in the run game, including
28:56 jet sweep action.
28:57 You're going to have to have a lot of moving parts, testing the perimeter, anything to
29:00 move you outside so you can kind of pick your spots on the interior as you try and wear
29:05 them down.
29:06 But we talk about deep balls.
29:09 Well, from a fundamental standpoint and a technician standpoint, Neil's talked about
29:13 it.
29:14 Look, Garrett, there's some things he needs to improve on, or he's always just going to
29:18 be that 50% passer.
29:21 If some of those things can improve, there are some opportunities.
29:24 We've seen him make those plays down the field.
29:26 He is a gifted deep ball thrower, as long as his fundamentals are sound.
29:32 We push the envelope in the vertical pass game.
29:35 We continue to do that.
29:37 We've seen him consistently do that.
29:39 Matter of fact, when you look at it, we average, I think Garrett's average per attempt is higher
29:48 than any other quarterback's air yards in the Big 12.
29:52 We're really trying to force the issue downfield with some of what we're doing.
29:55 In other words, 24% of Garrett's pass attempts have been 20 plus yards downfield, and that's
30:00 the most in the Big 12.
30:02 As a team, our average attempt in the air, our throw depth, is 11 yards, and that's tied
30:09 for the highest in the Big 12 and second highest in Power 5.
30:12 So it's not for lack of effort, pushing the football vertical, trying to test things like
30:17 these opportunities we talked about with these sensey corners.
30:21 But what you can't do is you can't be doing it from a position of desperation.
30:25 You're going to have to be doing it from a clean platform, at a clean pocket, and take
30:28 those shots accordingly.
30:30 But that's kind of what it's going to have to be.
30:32 We talk about the plays that Garrett's made at his best in the pass game.
30:36 He's still forced more missed tackles than any quarterback in the league, in the fifth
30:40 most in all of Power 5.
30:43 That's what we're going to have to see.
30:44 He's going to have to get back to playing the style of football that we saw, for instance,
30:48 against Central Florida, against BYU.
30:50 So we're going to need him against this very talented defensive line.
30:54 Cincinnati's going to bring the town.
30:56 And that's kind of what I see, guys, is because I don't like the third down matchup.
31:00 I mean, I think they do some creative things on third down.
31:03 I mean, they'll really pressure and test you.
31:07 But you got to stay on schedule.
31:09 I don't see a way to do that without Garrett being a critical part of the run game.
31:13 We're also going to have to have some moments where we just push them around and win some
31:18 of those battles.
31:19 But it's going to be a clash of titans, guys.
31:21 I mean, right there at the point of attack over the football, Zach Frazier, Dante Corleone,
31:28 it's going to be a clash of titans.
31:30 Here's two guys that for all intents and purposes should be playing on Sundays for the next
31:35 decade or longer.
31:37 And it's going to be worth the price of admission just to kind of small ball it and pay more
31:40 attention to what's going on in the interior.
31:43 You know, as Pat Kerwin likes to say, take your eye off the ball.
31:46 Well, once the ball snapped, the fun stuff's really going to take place at the point of
31:51 attack with Zach Frazier and Dante Corleone.
31:54 Yeah, Jed, it kind of reminds me, you know, you were we had a similar conversation leading
32:00 up to the Penn State game, just in the sense of for a lot of these WVU offensive linemen
32:05 and Zach is at the forefront of that.
32:07 But you know, Wyatt and Doug as well, two guys that you know, that want to play on Sundays
32:11 and have a chance to have careers in the National Football League.
32:14 There was a lot of matchups in that Penn State game that you were saying, right?
32:17 This is one the scouts are going to cut on.
32:19 Like they're going to want to see good on good, you know, guys, there are two guys that
32:23 are invited to the going to be invited to the combine and going to be drafted against
32:27 each other and see how you do.
32:29 I think this is another one of those, certainly for Zach and for and for Dante.
32:33 That's going to be a lot of fun to watch.
32:37 It might as well be a senior bowl, big on big Oklahoma.
32:40 I mean, because that's the type of environment these guys are going to move forward and find
32:45 themselves in.
32:46 So it's one of those rare opportunities, though, in that Zach, as revered as he already is,
32:52 has an opportunity to improve his stock against Dante Corleone.
32:56 And Dante Corleone, as revered as he is, has a chance to improve his stock against Zach
33:01 Frazier.
33:02 So what more could you ask for?
33:05 Yeah, absolutely.
33:07 Well, big on big, baby, I'm ready for it.
33:09 This Saturday is going to be, you know, like I said, that's where the money's made.
33:14 That's where the money's made for these guys.
33:16 Season's coming to a close for for unfortunately, you know, it's senior night as well.
33:22 So, you know, last time Mountaineer Field, a lot of a lot of different feelings, probably
33:28 a lot of emotions going through.
33:31 I'm hoping that we're going to bounce back, you know, and especially those guys up front
33:35 from the showing they had last night.
33:37 It's the last game they're ever going to play there.
33:39 So, you know, I I look to see those guys having a little bit extra mustard coming out there
33:46 on the game field.
33:48 And you know, if if Neil and the staff kind of does the thing right with, you know, kind
33:53 of pumping up Coach Neal and giving that kind of speech, win one for the Gipper there.
33:58 You know, I could I could see a little bit extra sauce action coming out on Saturday.
34:04 I'm all for it.
34:05 Sign me up.
34:06 I'm all for it as well, too, especially for those West Virginia boys who know how much
34:10 Coach Neal and meant to the program and to the state.
34:12 That's well said, big.
34:13 Oh, all right, Jed, before we spin the block here, a thank you to Toothman Ford, our guy
34:17 Jayar for presenting in the gun, as always, too.
34:20 We all know cars cost less than Grafton.
34:22 So get your butts to Grafton for all of your vehicle needs.
34:26 They support this podcast.
34:27 They support dozens of our athletes with NIL.
34:31 Big shout out to Toothman Ford and a big thank you for them being a presenting sponsor of
34:34 ITG as always.
34:36 All right, Jed, other side of the gun, other side of the equation, spin the block Cincinnati
34:40 offense against the WVU defense.
34:43 What stands out?
34:44 Where's this matchup begin?
34:45 Well, Scott Satterfield, his his pedigrees on the offensive side of the football, long
34:50 history, very well respected offensive coach.
34:54 You know, he was part of that Appy State staff back in the day that pulled the shocker at
34:57 Michigan.
34:58 Oh, and he actually back when he was first at Appy State as a play caller, they were
35:03 running a lot of option out of the eye and a lot of kind of old school stuff.
35:08 Some of the stuff that he even ran when he played at App State.
35:11 But what they did was they bounced around visiting different staffs around the country
35:16 and tried to see what they thought they could do to differentiate themselves and maybe become
35:21 a giant slayer.
35:23 And one of the staffs they visited was West Virginia with Rich in the early 2000s.
35:27 And they picked Rich's brain and liked a lot of what he was doing with his tempo.
35:32 And so they took a lot of their inside and tight zone stuff and really paired that with
35:40 Rich's tempo.
35:42 And they lifted that idea and took some other ideas and built from it and created this identity
35:48 that would ultimately become the Scott Satterfield offense that we now know and recognize.
35:53 And everybody appreciates.
35:55 And many years later, he still run a lot of those same concepts.
35:58 He still approaches things the same way from a flow of the game standpoint.
36:04 And when you've seen him at his best, he's a handful.
36:08 I mean, at Appy State, again, Neil tangled with him and encountered some of those offenses.
36:15 When he gets a dual threat quarterback, that's when this guy is really humming because his
36:19 system kind of fits that and it caters to the skills of a guy like that.
36:23 So whether it was Appy State, I mean, I remember guys like Taylor Lamb or Zach Thomas.
36:28 I mean, they were very productive in the throw game, but they were also like 500-yard rushers
36:33 back in the day.
36:34 So guys that can really hurt you and burn the candle from both ends.
36:39 And really, when you look at what he did at Louisville, perfectly in sync with his entire
36:44 time at Louisville was Malik Cunningham.
36:47 You talk about a dual threat weapon.
36:48 Well, it's not easy to follow in the shoes of Lamar Jackson, but Malik Cunningham did
36:53 a pretty good job of doing it at Louisville as a four-year starter for Scott Satterfield.
36:59 And this is a kid who, in Scott Satterfield's system, threw for 9,000-and-some-odd yards,
37:04 ran for 2,500 yards.
37:05 Guys, he rushed for 45 touchdowns.
37:09 That's the kind of production that the quarterback spot, you can expect when Scott Satterfield's
37:15 offense is humming on all cylinders.
37:18 So, in the offseason, it was kind of a big get when he brought in Emory Jones, former
37:23 SEC starter at Florida, who lost the job, transferred to Arizona State, so he bounced
37:28 around again, jumped back in the portal.
37:30 This is a guy who's a legit dual threat.
37:33 I mean, he can tuck it and go.
37:35 He can truly hurt you in the run game.
37:38 Talk about a guy who forces you to play 11-on-11 football.
37:41 Well, he absolutely certainly does that.
37:44 And at their best, they're going to have a controlled passing game, pick their shots,
37:48 but run the football effectively, not just with the quarterback.
37:52 But the guy that's kind of leading the way is Corey Kiner.
37:54 This is another guy that, he was a former Mr. Football in Ohio, ended up signing with
37:59 LSU, played quite a bit at LSU, and transfers back home to play for Cincinnati.
38:05 And now he's a burgeoning star.
38:07 He's on the cusp of a 1,000-yard season.
38:10 He's been consistently productive for them all year.
38:13 They've really leaned on him to play the style of football that they want to embrace.
38:18 And the engine that makes their run game go, when you study them on tape, what stands out
38:24 is, speak of the interior of the offensive line, they're guards.
38:28 They got a right guard in Luke Condra and a left guard in D'Artagnan Tinsley, and they
38:33 both are just maulers.
38:35 They're road graders.
38:36 They're a handful.
38:38 So they kind of set the table for all the things that these guys try and do from a production
38:44 standpoint.
38:45 Now, there's some leakage there.
38:48 There's some leakage.
38:49 Again, if they're not quite on the script that they want to follow, you can penetrate,
38:53 you can be disruptive.
38:55 You can knock them off schedule with some TFLs.
38:58 I'm not as sold on their tackles.
39:01 And even, you can get to the quarterback, you can get to Emery Jones, especially if
39:04 you put them behind the sticks.
39:05 He's been sacked 24 times, 23 times.
39:09 I did the math on this, guys, to give you some sense of it.
39:12 He's been sacked 23, 24 as a team, 23 have been Emery Jones.
39:17 He's sacked once every 12 pass attempts.
39:20 Compare that to Garrett, once every 53 pass attempts.
39:23 So that gives you some sense of how they've struggled in trying to protect.
39:29 But when you look at some of the deficiencies outside of that, on the offensive line, they've
39:35 got a tackle in DeAndre Buford.
39:38 He's number 56.
39:40 He doesn't necessarily hold up on tape, guys.
39:43 That's a guy that really struggles, and the metrics back that up.
39:48 He has a lot of blown blocks.
39:50 He's been beaten a lot, not just in the pass game, but in the run game.
39:54 So there's going to be some opportunities on the edges of that offensive line, not so
39:59 much as the interior.
40:00 But the thing that alarms me, if I'm to look at this and scrutinize it further, here's
40:08 the thing that jumps out.
40:09 It's kind of a tale of two teams.
40:10 We talked about this last year with BYU.
40:12 This is an inverted version of that.
40:14 For whatever strange reason, they have played pretty good football on the road.
40:19 They're three and seven overall.
40:20 They're two and two on the road.
40:22 Okay?
40:23 Now, let's look at the why behind that.
40:26 On the road, in road games only, they've averaged 235 yards rushing.
40:31 That's number one in the Big 12 on the road.
40:34 So they're the best road rushing team in the Big 12.
40:36 On the road, 44% conversion rate on third down.
40:40 Tied for number one in the Big 12.
40:43 So when you can run the football and you can win on third down, what's that translate to?
40:48 Number three, 34 minutes and 18 seconds average time of possessions on the road.
40:54 Number one in the Big 12.
40:56 Here we go, guys.
40:57 That's our playing card.
40:59 That's our go-to.
41:00 Here's a team that's going to try and do to us what we do to everybody else.
41:05 Bully us, play keep away, take the air out of the game.
41:09 Now they'll try and drag you into an ugly football game.
41:12 In some ways, they kind of remind me of what we were early in the season before our offense
41:16 hit its stride.
41:17 Remember those games where we're winning ugly?
41:19 That's the style of game they want to drag you into.
41:23 Because the production's not all there.
41:25 Four rush touchdowns on the road, that's the fewest in the Big 12.
41:28 They're not a really productive red zone team.
41:31 42% touchdowns in the red zone.
41:33 Worst in the Big 12.
41:35 But they consistently run the football.
41:39 Here's their four road games.
41:40 216 yards rushing at Pitt, 242 at BYU.
41:43 Even in the blowout loss at Oakland State, they ran for 277.
41:47 Last week's win at Houston, they ran for 204.
41:49 So every time out on the road, they've run the football.
41:52 So I think what they're leaning into, the old adage that two things travel well, that's
41:56 a solid run game and a solid defense.
41:58 I think that Satterfield's been around long enough to understand that.
42:03 And he's really, especially on the road, when they leave Cincinnati, trying to lean into
42:07 that and take advantage of it.
42:09 And I do think that by and large, that is exactly the type of game plan we can expect
42:14 from them.
42:15 A lot of ground and pound, a lot of 11-11 football game where they activate the quarterback,
42:20 pound him, get the most of the can out of him.
42:22 Corey Conner, we're going to see a heavy, heavy dose of Corey Conner, especially on
42:27 that inside zone.
42:28 Oh, and those guards really are in sync on that inside zone.
42:33 They have some weapons on the perimeter, so they will take some shots.
42:37 A lot of transfers on this football team.
42:39 And that's to be expected.
42:41 First year head coach, that kind of roster transition, even more than normal in today's
42:46 game.
42:47 So that's to be expected.
42:48 One of them is Xavier Henderson, big 6'3" target on the perimeter.
42:51 They target him way more than anybody else.
42:53 Braden Smith is going to get some targets.
42:55 Dee Wiggins, another big body kid.
42:57 They got a tight end in Mateo.
42:59 They like to go to him.
43:00 So there are some weapons that they will try and move around and configure things.
43:04 But yeah, we got to find a way to win the battle of attrition.
43:11 It's going to be a staring match and a battle in the trenches.
43:14 They're going to try and play the same style of football that we do.
43:17 So now more so than ever, if we can get a couple of those big plays against those corners
43:22 we talked about, get an early lead.
43:24 They're not a football team that's necessarily built to come from behind like us.
43:30 So I think advantage to whoever gets an early lead in this football game, if you can get
43:34 up by a couple of scores, that kind of knocks them out of sorts.
43:38 Because when you can force them to be a little more one-dimensional than they like to be
43:43 in terms of throwing the football, that's not Emory Jones at his best.
43:48 When you look at the number of times they've thrown the football and their wins, and their
43:52 three wins, he's thrown it 23 times, 26 times, and 16 times.
43:57 When you can get him up in the low or mid 30s or even 40 times throwing the football,
44:01 they're way out of sorts in terms of what they're comfortable doing.
44:05 So that all starts with a fast start.
44:07 But that's some of the challenges I see, Owen.
44:10 You've got two big hosses at those guard spots, anchoring them down.
44:14 They're going to throw some inside zone at you.
44:16 Corey Conner's going to try and lean on you.
44:18 He's physical, he's explosive.
44:20 And you're going to have a handful trying to corral Emory Jones at the quarterback run
44:24 game.
44:25 Yeah, we're going to have to play some of that front, the D-line front that we had kind
44:31 of at the beginning of the season when they were really playing well.
44:33 And hopefully Cutter and Koba have a lights out game, sideline to sideline.
44:41 Secondary, hopefully they can pick it up.
44:43 But it's going to be a brute.
44:46 This is a good battle, man.
44:47 This is a decent game when we played them back in the Big East days.
44:52 And they were always known for a physical, tough team, even back then when we played
44:57 them in the Big East.
44:59 So looking forward to the matchup.
45:01 I mean, it's going to be an upfront battle.
45:03 That's what it's going to be.
45:05 Like you said, both kind of same quarterbacks.
45:08 So who can really make the lead or make the most mistakes?
45:12 Yeah, that's what it's going to come down to.
45:15 And they're going to have a good plan defensively.
45:18 They're going to have a good plan with what Satterfield's going to dial up on the offensive
45:21 side.
45:22 They're going to want to play keep away.
45:24 And I wouldn't be surprised if they're in their staff meeting saying the same thing
45:27 I just said.
45:28 Guys, if we can get a fast start, if we can get up by 10 or 14.
45:33 Okay, we can kind of put them in a position of desperation and get them out of their element.
45:38 They're saying the same thing.
45:39 It's kind of like to some extent, it's like looking in the mirror, especially looking
45:43 in the mirror, the way we were playing football earlier in the year.
45:47 So they built this thing up.
45:49 And now they got it's nice to snap a losing streak, right?
45:53 I mean, they dropped seven straight then beat anybody since they've been pit beat pit early
45:57 in the year until last week when they went to Houston.
46:01 So now they got the monkey off their back.
46:03 They got that losing streak behind them.
46:05 They have a little bit of a leap.
46:06 They finally chalked up that first big 12 conference win, whether it was against an
46:10 old American conference counterpart or not.
46:13 So now it's a little bit of proof of concept and a coaching staff always likes, Hey, I
46:17 told you this would work.
46:18 Now you saw it last week work.
46:20 Let's just continue down this path.
46:22 Once more on the road, let's go, Hey, we're not a bad road football team.
46:26 Let's go and make it three and two.
46:27 We're already two and two.
46:28 Forget that three and seven stuff.
46:29 One more place.
46:30 We're not a mountain near field, tough place to win.
46:32 Let's go steal one there and show this conference what we're all about as we build this thing
46:36 up.
46:37 So there's some things as they're building this program, whether they're out of bowl
46:39 eligibility or not.
46:40 A lot of things to play for as they work towards the momentum to try and build into the offseason.
46:45 Yeah.
46:46 And we've, I mean, we've, we've seen that.
46:48 We saw that from the Mountaineers last year, right?
46:50 That carried into this year, I think.
46:52 And you're right.
46:53 It's always important to finish a season strong to carry momentum into your offseason.
46:56 Jed, I agree with you that the start in this one feels pretty important, which team can
47:01 kind of dictate the terms out of the gate.
47:04 And that, Hey, that at least gives me some confidence because I mean, correct me if I'm
47:09 wrong, right?
47:10 We've scored opening touchdowns in our last three games.
47:12 I know we did against Oklahoma.
47:13 I know we did against BYU and I'm pretty sure we did against UCF as well.
47:16 Or did we settle for three on that opening drive against UCF?
47:19 That's right.
47:20 Well, you're on points on your opening drive at least.
47:22 Yes.
47:23 And they did the same thing last week at Houston.
47:25 So that's one of the things when I watched the tape, I noticed their first, their first
47:29 drive was very efficient, well-scripted kind of like ours was.
47:34 So yeah, it's who blinks first, right?
47:37 I mean, that's part of what that's going to come down to.
47:39 So that's a great point on your part, because that's one of the things I wanted to mention
47:42 is they started playing really efficient football on the road, right out of the gates of Houston.
47:48 I liked the script they had together to attack that Houston defense.
47:52 And so there's, there's something to be said for that.
47:54 Well, Jed, as we start to wrap this thing up, any, anything on special teams that stands
48:00 out to you?
48:01 Well, again, in a battlefield position, which you kind of figure on some level, this is
48:08 going to play into that.
48:09 All right.
48:11 Ollie Straw, this is the type of game that if you pin them inside the 10 a couple times,
48:17 pin them inside the 24 times and tilt that hidden yardage in our direction, or for that
48:24 matter, Preston Fox can sneak off an 18 yard return.
48:27 I mean, those are the types of pennies that you might need to stack.
48:32 And I could see this being a game where the winner gets into the mid twenties and you
48:38 might spend the better part of a quarter trading blows back and forth, but the field position
48:44 doesn't change.
48:45 You might have to call around midfield and have to punt a couple of times before finally
48:48 something happens and somebody's back breaks.
48:51 And so, yeah, I think that from a special team standpoint, that's kind of what's going
48:55 to matter.
48:56 You know, Ollie needs to bring his best and, and win the battle of coffin corner kicks
49:03 and because every yard is going to matter.
49:05 And if you can do that sort of thing, I think that'll be one more thing that, that all,
49:09 cause he got a couple of pretty good place kickers too.
49:11 So that's, that's what I'm looking at.
49:14 But the only thing I would add West is not that it matters.
49:17 It's neither here nor there, but it always intrigues me to look back at previous matchups,
49:21 even in a past life, Neil face got Satterfield three times when he was at Troy.
49:27 Interestingly enough, Neil's first year, that rebuild year in 2015, one of the signature
49:33 games that nobody saw coming was they snuck up on happy state and almost beat him at a
49:37 44, 41 shootout.
49:39 And that really turned that Troy team into believers.
49:43 And and that, that kind of paved the way for what was the common, those three consecutive
49:48 10 win seasons, but, but they fell 44 to 21 there, despite Troy out gaining them in that
49:53 game.
49:54 And then the next year Troy upset him.
49:56 I think guys that was, if I'm not mistaken, that one over Troy or excuse me, what choice
50:01 went over happy state in year two between Neil and Satterfield might've been, that might've
50:08 been the game that propelled Troy into the top 25 for the first time in school history.
50:13 And then they didn't play a year and then they finished kind of with like a lot of the
50:17 line in terms of the conference championship and Troy starting quarterback was out.
50:21 So in this ugly defensive slug fest up in the mountains and boom, uh, at least state
50:26 one 21 to 10.
50:27 But these are the types of things, a lot of these memories were coming back as I was doing
50:31 kind of a post-mortem on, on Neil at Troy.
50:34 And I was remembering some of these storylines from those happy state games then, but, but
50:38 not that it matters a whole lot now.
50:39 It's just, uh, you know, different staffs, different, uh, uh, different rosters, but
50:44 philosophically I think there's still a lot of parallels between what Scott or Scott,
50:48 Scatterfield likes to do what Neil Brown, Neil Brown likes to do.
50:52 So that's why I think it's interesting to look back on some of those things.
50:55 Yeah.
50:56 Hey, tendencies are always important.
50:58 The past is always important.
50:59 And two coaches that are familiar with their, uh, with each other, uh, we'll see how that
51:03 plays out on Saturday.
51:05 Certainly it's going to be, it's going to be a fun one last listen.
51:08 I know the, I know the weather, you know, it's November weather, right?
51:11 So, you know, it's students are on break.
51:13 You're close to Thanksgiving.
51:15 You got, you got high school football games to go to.
51:17 You got some hunting that you want to do all this stuff.
51:19 I get it.
51:20 It's the last home game of the season.
51:22 All right.
51:23 Uh, it's an opportunity to get the seven wins still with another game to go.
51:26 You got Don Nealon getting immortalized at the end of the first quarter.
51:30 Um, let's, let's, uh, listen, I know, I know things didn't go the way we wanted to.
51:35 It wasn't the showing we wanted last week in Norman, but there's still a big opportunity
51:38 to, uh, to end this season with, with good vibes, with a better taste in our mouth.
51:44 And uh, and that starts two 30 Saturday against Cincinnati and old foe as well to where's
51:48 Keith Tandy when you need him to go out there and knock JD Woods on his Keister baby.
51:53 Come on.
51:54 I would say DJ Woods, whatever his, whatever his initials were.
51:58 What West, what West West was just talking about.
52:00 I mean, think about it.
52:02 If you go to a Mountaineer game, I don't know what your age might be.
52:06 If you go 20 years from now, 30 years from now, 40 years now, or 50 years from now, and
52:09 you bring your kids back, your grandkids, whoever it might be, you are forever going
52:14 to see Don Nealon's name, uh, above that terrorist looking down on the action on the field, on
52:20 the field.
52:21 Saturday's your chance to be able to say for the rest of your living days, I was there
52:27 the day they put that up the day that happened, I was there and it was pretty cool.
52:32 And you'll have that story for the rest of your life.
52:34 It's not often going into a game.
52:37 You know, you're going to walk out with a story to tell the rest of your life.
52:40 Normally you're kind of rolling the dice and if something cool happens, you'll have a story.
52:43 If you were at the Oh five Louisville game, you didn't plan on having a story the rest
52:47 of your life.
52:48 I wouldn't, but, but now everybody has a story the rest of her life.
52:50 But this is one that you kind of know going in, Hey, there's something all of it's talk
52:54 about from this football game for the rest of my life.
52:57 That's kind of cool.
52:58 Yeah.
52:59 And it's, and he's been a staple of West Virginia football for, for a very long time.
53:05 He's meant a lot to the program.
53:06 He's been a lot to the university.
53:07 He's been a lot to the state.
53:09 Um, I, you know, just quick story about coach Nealon before we get out of here.
53:15 Um, you know, when that debacle happened with rich, um, Joe mansion and, and coach Nealon
53:20 came and spoke with the team and kind of, uh, you know, just kind of put their arms
53:25 around us and just kind of let us know that, you know, you know, this whole state's behind
53:29 you.
53:30 So, uh, coach Nealon, and every time I see coach Nealon, he always gives me a big smile
53:35 and says, you know, uh, you know, you definitely could have played for me.
53:39 So it's always a cool thing seeing him and, um, for him to get enshrined in Mountaineer
53:44 history is, uh, is as it should be.
53:47 Well said.
53:49 Yeah, I think, I think that's, I think that's the best way to wrap it up there without a
53:53 doubt as it should be.
53:55 Don Nealon going to be enshrined where he belongs.
53:58 Uh, Saturday afternoon, be there or be square final home game of the year.
54:04 Last time till, you know, till Labor Day weekend that we'll get a chance to, to be back there.
54:08 So have some fun, enjoy it while it's gone and, uh, let's get the ball rolling here to
54:12 finish the season strong, uh, to two wins to close this thing out in the regular season
54:17 and hopefully a fun bowl game to sink our teeth into in a couple of weeks as well.
54:22 Gentlemen, this was a lot of fun.
54:23 Thanks to, uh, all of our presenting sponsors as always.
54:26 Thanks to our guy Skyler for putting this together.
54:28 Make sure you're all getting involved in our weekly pick them in the YouTube comments and
54:32 on our, on our Twitter account is where you can find that link as well too.
54:35 Um, and this is not it for the week.
54:38 Obviously tomorrow we've got Phil Steel Friday coming up.
54:40 Can't wait to see what Phil thinks about this one between two, uh, old big East foes.
54:45 So make sure you're subscribing on YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts in the gun,
54:49 that's where you find us.
54:50 And the one thing we ask of you is to be an ear and telling her about your new favorite
54:54 WVU football podcast for the signal college at draining and the beer truck.
54:59 Owen Schmidt, I'm Wesley Euler.
55:00 Thanks for listening, everybody.
55:02 Let's go beat the bear cats.
55:03 You've been in the gun.
55:05 [inaudible]