Between The Eers: The Morning After Mayo
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Happy Thursday, everybody.
00:11 Happy Mayo Thursday.
00:14 Here on Between the Years, West Virginia winners
00:17 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, 30 to 10
00:20 over the North Carolina Tar Heels,
00:23 used the Mountaineers,
00:24 end their 2023 season with a nine and four record
00:28 and a ton of momentum heading into the month of January
00:33 and then into spring ball.
00:36 This is a very interesting time, I think, for West Virginia.
00:40 It's an opportunity for this team
00:42 to really kind of take its next leap,
00:45 or really the first major leap
00:48 under head coach Neil Brown.
00:49 And this is arguably the first time
00:51 that such hope has existed in his tenure.
00:55 So we're going to talk a lot about that, obviously,
00:59 over the next several weeks, months, and the off season.
01:04 But I want to specifically keep this episode,
01:08 at least for today, around the game.
01:11 And we'll start diving into all that stuff,
01:13 what this win means moving forward,
01:16 probably starting with tomorrow's episode.
01:18 But let's just start off with the,
01:22 I wouldn't say the elephant in the room,
01:24 but just the number one thing
01:27 that stood out to me in this game, had to be the fans.
01:32 I mean, just an incredible showing for Mountaineer Nation.
01:35 We all knew that this was going to be happening,
01:39 but until you actually see it, you hear it,
01:42 you experience it,
01:44 you really can't appreciate it for what it is.
01:48 And to see the city of Charlotte just covered
01:53 with folks in old golden blue,
01:57 all up and down the streets, and restaurants, and bars,
02:00 and walking to the stadium,
02:02 it's nothing but a sea of gold.
02:04 I mean, it was a sight to be seen.
02:08 And I mean, as someone that also covers
02:11 the Carolina Panthers, I see this on a week-to-week basis,
02:14 where the opposing team kind of comes in
02:17 and takes over Bank of America Stadium.
02:20 But of course, you still have your segment
02:24 of Panther fans that come in and cheer their team on.
02:28 And it's not ever really heavily dominated,
02:32 even though you might see 50, 55% of the fans
02:36 in the stadium be for the away team.
02:39 But this is something I've never seen at Bank of America.
02:44 I mean, it was ridiculously overwhelming
02:49 how many West Virginia fans were there
02:52 to take in the Dukes-Mayo Bowl,
02:56 a game in which was in the backyard,
03:00 not even in their backyard, it was their house,
03:04 essentially, in North Carolina, playing in their own state.
03:08 It was just incredible.
03:12 I mean, I understand Carolina had a lot of hopes
03:15 and expectations that they didn't quite meet this season,
03:18 and I'm sure a lot of that played into the decisions
03:21 of fans to not go to this game,
03:23 along with many players sitting out,
03:27 most notably Drake May and Tess Walker.
03:29 But nonetheless, I mean, we have to give credit
03:33 where it is due, and for West Virginia to show up,
03:37 that was really, really incredible,
03:40 and not surprising, to say the least.
03:42 But we'll start there.
03:43 So, moving to the game.
03:47 I thought this was a fun one from beginning to end.
03:52 I thought the crowd was in it
03:53 from the very first play of the game,
03:56 and they gave them something to cheer about
03:58 on the first play of the game,
03:59 with the 75-yard touchdown,
04:02 from Garrett Green to Traylin Ray.
04:04 And, you know, honestly,
04:07 I didn't think the offense played extremely well.
04:11 And yes, they put up 30 points.
04:15 You take the touchdown off the board
04:17 from the punt return from Beanie Bishop, that's 23.
04:21 I mean, it was an okay outing.
04:25 But again, it's a bowl game.
04:27 You haven't played in over a month.
04:30 You've got some different pieces out there.
04:31 You don't have Zach Frazier at center.
04:34 You're all-American center.
04:36 You don't have C.J. Donaldson in the backfield
04:38 to kind of offset the speed and versatility of Jaheim White.
04:44 So, taking all that into consideration,
04:49 I think they managed pretty well.
04:53 Like I said, it wasn't a polished product,
04:55 and I don't think anybody really expected that
04:57 to be the case,
04:58 but I think Brandon Yates did an admirable job,
05:03 for the most part,
05:05 sticking in there and paving some paths in the running game,
05:10 did well in pass protection.
05:12 From what I saw, I haven't gone back
05:14 and re-watched the game just yet,
05:16 but my initial thought was that I didn't notice
05:20 that Zach Frazier wasn't really in the game
05:21 because he played pretty well, that Yates.
05:25 So, obviously, the fumble by D.J. Oliver,
05:29 you hate to see it for that kid
05:31 'cause obviously he's been really eager and anxious
05:33 to get in the backfield and get some reps,
05:37 but for him to fumble his first carry,
05:41 I hate it for him,
05:42 but he did get a couple more opportunities,
05:46 and he's a guy that they're still very high on.
05:47 So, I don't expect his confidence to be wavered at all.
05:52 I mean, stuff like that's going to happen.
05:54 Could have just been too anxious, too nervous,
05:58 and I also got to credit the defender for Carolina, too,
06:01 for making the play,
06:03 but overall, offensively, it was okay.
06:08 I thought they did well.
06:10 Had a nice balance.
06:11 They didn't really, didn't have the same approach,
06:15 I think, offensively, as they've had all season,
06:17 where they've kind of just held onto the football
06:20 and dominated time of possession,
06:23 which, in this game, they actually got out-dominated,
06:28 out-timed in possession, and pretty significantly.
06:33 So, for them to be able to only have the ball,
06:35 I think it was for 24, 25 minutes, and win by 20,
06:40 I did not have that on my Duke's Mayo bingo card,
06:44 by any means.
06:44 Defensively, what an out.
06:49 I mean, for a team that has lost so many pieces
06:54 from the portal, from a depth perspective,
06:58 had a couple of injuries,
07:00 that unit played extremely well,
07:04 again, considering that Carolina,
07:07 you really didn't know what you were going to get
07:09 out of Connor Harrell, a quarterback,
07:12 because he had hardly any college tape.
07:15 He had to go back to his high school tape at Alabaster
07:18 to even kind of get an idea of what this kid might do.
07:24 And I think he showed some flashes,
07:26 and I think Carolina fans are going to be excited
07:28 about his future, because he is a true
07:30 dual-threat quarterback.
07:31 Kid's got a lot of speed, real arm talent, a live arm.
07:36 I think he's got a chance to be a good quarterback
07:41 at this level.
07:42 But that front seven for West Virginia
07:46 just ate all night long,
07:50 and it was never the same one or two guys.
07:54 It was a multitude of people just really living
07:57 in the Carolina backfield.
07:59 And Tommy Wadurajia got in there a few times,
08:05 Jared Bartlett, Tyron Bradley,
08:07 with the crazy one-handed interception.
08:09 Again, probably something I didn't have on my bingo card,
08:13 but unbelievable play that he made
08:16 in a very critical part of the game
08:18 where it was 17 to 10, Carolina's driving,
08:21 looking like they're about to go and tie the game up,
08:24 and then all of a sudden he snatches it out of the air.
08:26 And obviously they didn't do anything
08:29 after that interception,
08:31 but it still at least took the momentum away,
08:32 took Carolina and their points off the board.
08:36 But just a huge momentum swing.
08:40 Lee Koba in his final game playing back in his home state
08:44 has 12 tackles, a tackle for loss.
08:46 Anthony Wilson played big.
08:49 I mean, Jared Bartlett had two TFLs in a sack.
08:52 Eddie Vesteren played extremely well.
08:55 I just think this whole group from top to bottom,
08:59 from front to back, really played a sound football game.
09:02 There's only a few plays that I think
09:04 they would have liked to had back,
09:06 but I mean, to keep Amarian Hampton in check,
09:09 I mean, this is one of the top backs in the country
09:12 we're talking about now.
09:13 I mean, to keep him to 3.3 yards a carry,
09:17 that is impressive.
09:21 I mean, and I don't think we can understate
09:24 or underscore that enough.
09:25 I mean, he is by far
09:27 one of the best running backs in the country.
09:32 Maybe top 10, maybe top five.
09:35 Outside of Ollie Gordon,
09:36 West Virginia did not face a better running back
09:39 all season long.
09:41 So, to keep him in check was impressive.
09:48 Connor Harrell, again, a dual threat quarterback,
09:52 had a couple of big runs, but for the most part,
09:54 they were able to kind of corral him,
09:56 keep him from busting loose some big runs.
10:01 And, you know, obviously the only touchdown
10:04 that Carolina had was kind of questionable,
10:06 in my opinion, because I thought JJ Jones
10:08 kind of pushed off of Beanie in that corner,
10:12 the end zone, to kind of go up and make the play.
10:14 But I think, you know, either way,
10:18 you throw that play out,
10:19 it was a very well-executed game defensively.
10:24 And then lastly, special teams,
10:26 couldn't have played any better.
10:27 I mean, the one missed field goal from Hayes,
10:30 it was a pretty lengthy kick,
10:33 but he was perfect from there on out.
10:35 You had the fake field goal,
10:36 where Leighton Bechtel damn near scored.
10:41 And then you had the, well, not the muff punt,
10:44 but the punt that kicked off the heel of a tar heel.
10:47 You get good field position.
10:49 You had Beanie Bishop's punt returned for a touchdown,
10:52 the first since Tavon Austin.
10:54 And for him to go in there and return a touchdown,
10:58 hold on, to return a punt for a touchdown,
11:01 and this is a guy that hasn't done it all year.
11:06 Preston Fox has been back there,
11:08 and for him to go and do that,
11:10 that was, I think, really kind of cool,
11:13 and honestly has to have helped his stock for the NFL.
11:18 And that was another reason why they threw him back there,
11:20 to help increase his value.
11:22 And boy, oh boy, did he take advantage.
11:26 So, terrific game all the way around.
11:30 West Virginia won this game in all three phases,
11:32 pretty handily.
11:34 Carolina just did not play well.
11:36 Also, I think it was a mixture of the two,
11:39 but huge win for West Virginia, 30 to 10,
11:44 over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
11:46 They finished the year nine and four,
11:48 as we spoke about earlier.
11:50 So, a lot of fun, a lot of fun episodes to come here
11:55 on Between the Ears, and on our family of shows
11:59 that we have here on Mountaineers Now.
12:01 Be sure to subscribe to Mountaineers Now on YouTube,
12:05 and follow us on X at the same handle.
12:09 Go and send your questions in.
12:12 We do a mailbag, usually once a week.
12:14 We've got one live going on my X account right now,
12:18 at Callahan_.
12:19 You'll see the GIF there, it says the mailbag is open.
12:23 Drop your questions there,
12:25 or you can drop your questions here
12:27 in the comments section on YouTube.
12:28 If you've got questions about the football team,
12:31 regards to player retention, recruiting, anything,
12:36 just shoot your questions
12:37 in the YouTube comments there as well.
12:39 So, I'll get around to those and put them in the article.
12:42 Maybe we'll do a mailbag here on the show at some point.
12:46 I know we did one over the summer.
12:48 So, get your questions in.
12:50 I'll get them answered here within the next 24 hours or so.
12:54 And we'll be back with another one of these tomorrow.
12:57 (upbeat music)
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