PREVIEW + PREDICTION: West Virginia vs. BYU
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00:54 - Hello everybody, welcome back
01:04 into the walkthrough game day show here on Mountaineers Now.
01:08 The show is brought to you by Country Roads AirDug
01:11 cleaning take me home to comfort.
01:13 That's Eugene Napoleon, I'm Skylar Callin.
01:15 It's Halloween week, it's happy Halloween.
01:19 Today is actually the day of Halloween,
01:21 the day we're recording this,
01:22 but West Virginia getting a win over UCF,
01:25 they're back in the win column,
01:26 they snapped their two game skid,
01:28 come back home, they faced BYU this week.
01:31 We're gonna dive into that game here in just a bit.
01:33 First, we're gonna talk UCF,
01:35 the win over the Knights down in Orlando.
01:37 We're gonna talk some Big 12 football,
01:40 some scores around the Big 12 this past week,
01:42 where West Virginia sits in the updated Big 12 standings.
01:45 And then of course, we'll get into our game preview,
01:48 Gene's fire me up segment and our picks for the week.
01:51 So, Gene, let's go ahead and talk about last week,
01:55 just real quickly, we discussed it in detail
01:58 on the post game show, but West Virginia 41-28,
02:01 they run for 286 yards and five touchdowns
02:05 down there in Orlando.
02:07 I know that had to make you pretty happy.
02:09 - Absolutely, you already know.
02:11 Whenever we get a win,
02:13 I don't get the way I said we playing against,
02:15 but when you're that dominant, like I said,
02:18 I'm excited about it because there's a lot of good film
02:21 to look at.
02:22 I know some of the fans from some of the quotes
02:24 I was seeing wasn't as excited as I thought
02:28 they would have been with a win.
02:30 I think they're a little bit tired of thinking
02:34 they don't want us to get too far ahead of ourselves,
02:36 because they're looking at a watered down schedule
02:40 and they're looking at teams that West Virginia should beat.
02:43 I guess I read one fan's quote,
02:45 and it was something to the effect of,
02:47 "Beat somebody that matter, and then I'll care."
02:49 It's pretty good.
02:52 - I mean, it makes sense.
02:54 Like I understand the thought process behind it.
02:57 I get where they're coming from.
02:58 And to some extent, like I agree,
03:00 like it's hard to really get behind this team
03:02 or Neil Brown until he does something significant, right?
03:06 And it's hard to even really truly put them
03:09 in that Big 12 picture,
03:09 which we'll touch on here in a second.
03:12 When they had a lighter schedule
03:14 than others around the league,
03:15 and you beat UCF who no one really cares about,
03:18 they get to win a Big 12 game.
03:21 You face another Big 12 newcomer this week
03:24 who has kind of struggled here recently.
03:26 So I get that, but at the same time,
03:28 it's like, look, you're five and three.
03:31 A couple of those games earlier in the season
03:33 against Texas Tech and TCU,
03:35 those things could have went the other way
03:37 and this season could have been a horrendous mess.
03:40 So you could look at it as the glass half full,
03:43 be thankful that you are where you are
03:45 and feel good about the win.
03:47 Because look, if you went down to Orlando and lost UCF,
03:50 this is a whole different feeling
03:52 that we're talking about around this team this week.
03:55 - This is, okay.
03:56 I'm this guy.
03:59 You can't have it both ways, all right?
04:02 - You just got to be real about it.
04:05 Just be real about it, but also understand,
04:06 I've said this many times in the past,
04:08 it's hard to win at this level.
04:11 I don't care who you're playing against.
04:13 It's hard to get a freaking victory at this level.
04:15 So if you go down, like you said, to Orlando,
04:19 you come back with a freaking loss,
04:21 now you're screaming the freaking sky is falling.
04:25 - Yeah.
04:26 - It ain't falling right now.
04:29 - Right, you get a win.
04:30 And see, for me, good teams or decent teams
04:35 find a way to win no matter who they're playing,
04:37 and they find a way to continue to remain competitive.
04:40 So I'm on that side of the fence.
04:42 - Yeah.
04:43 - Right now where we are at five and three,
04:46 I would rather be five and three than three and five.
04:50 - You can very well easily be three and five.
04:52 - Thank you, and that's my point.
04:53 We could have easily been the opposite of that,
04:56 three and five, and then forget about it.
05:00 So give me the five and three,
05:02 give me beating the teams that we're supposed to beat,
05:05 and let's pull out one that we shouldn't have won,
05:08 and then be competitive all the way through
05:10 for the rest of these games, and I'm fine with that.
05:12 - Yeah, and again, UCF,
05:14 they haven't won a game in Big 12 play yet,
05:16 but they present challenges.
05:17 Like, they're a decent football team.
05:20 It just may not look like it with the record,
05:22 but they gave Oklahoma a run for their money.
05:25 They should have beat Baylor with their backup quarterback.
05:29 I mean, they've been competitive for the most part,
05:32 and we talked about it last week on the preview,
05:34 they have speed all over the place, and that's a challenge,
05:37 and we saw that.
05:38 That was a challenge for us.
05:39 They did not tackle well in that game.
05:41 So they did win, but there's stuff that they have to work on
05:45 and get cleaned up before they take on BYU this week,
05:48 which is going to be an interesting matchup.
05:50 So let's go ahead and take a look here
05:51 around the Big 12 last week, some other scores.
05:54 Kansas knocking off Oklahoma 38 to 33.
05:58 We were actually watching this one
05:59 as we were taping the game day show last Saturday.
06:02 What a finish that one was.
06:04 I thought Oakland was going to find a way to pull it out,
06:07 as they always do, but that was not the case.
06:09 Kansas gets their signature win,
06:11 and for Lance Liefold, he continues to do great things
06:14 down there in Lawrence, Kansas State.
06:17 They absolutely poured it on Dana Holgerson,
06:20 41 to nothing over Houston.
06:23 Texas, 35 to six over BYU, this week's opponent.
06:28 And Iowa State goes over to Waco
06:32 and takes down the Baylor Bears, 30 to 18.
06:35 Baylor now on the season is one in five at home, Eugene.
06:39 I mean, that's just incredible to think that that team,
06:42 a team that won the Big 12 just a couple of years ago,
06:44 is now one in five in their own building.
06:47 And it's interesting.
06:50 But oh, and then the last one here,
06:52 obviously Oklahoma State routing Cincinnati, 45 to 13.
06:56 So thoughts on some of those games last week
06:59 before we take a peek at the standings?
07:02 - Well, I would like to go back to the Houston game.
07:06 - Yeah, absolutely, go ahead.
07:09 - Yeah, see, when you lose a game like that,
07:13 in one sense, it's kind of frustrating
07:16 because it's like, wait a minute,
07:18 that's what we should have done to them.
07:22 You understand?
07:23 But on the other hand, it goes to show you just,
07:26 there's levels to this.
07:27 And it goes to show you just how far away
07:31 some of these teams really are
07:32 in competing at this level consistently.
07:34 It shows you that.
07:36 Now, I'm not surprised that Cincinnati is struggling.
07:40 I'm not surprised that Houston got beat like that.
07:43 I'm really not.
07:44 But I am surprised with, to be honest with you,
07:46 because they've been somewhat competitive.
07:49 I don't know exactly what happened to Baylor.
07:51 I'm not sure.
07:52 - Yeah, that's a tricky one.
07:54 - I'm surprised about that.
07:55 I'm not sure if the transfer portal hit them that hard
07:58 because it hit everybody.
08:00 You know, it hit everybody.
08:02 So I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the culture
08:05 of what's happening there, but it is interesting.
08:08 I'm never at a loss for words or surprised
08:13 at what's going on with Lycle
08:15 and what he's doing at Kansas.
08:16 He is doing an incredible job.
08:21 - I mean, it's insane.
08:21 - They bring the play every time
08:23 they take the freaking field, man.
08:24 I love it.
08:25 I really do.
08:26 - The thing that I love about that whole situation
08:28 is you know you've really changed the narrative
08:31 of your program when before he got there,
08:34 if your team lost to them, it was an embarrassment.
08:37 It was the biggest joke around college football.
08:40 It was all over social media.
08:41 It was all over TV.
08:42 You wore the joke of the weekend if you lost to Kansas,
08:45 Texas a couple of times.
08:48 So that was the narrative, right?
08:51 Lance Eipel comes in, changes that thing on a dime,
08:54 and now it's not a joke.
08:57 It's like, oh wow, okay, they did it again.
09:00 They did it again.
09:01 It's almost like you're waiting for their downfall
09:03 or waiting for them to be humbled, and it's not happening.
09:06 This team and this program has truly turned the corner.
09:11 And again, this is kind of exactly what I've been talking
09:14 about for several weeks, several years.
09:16 It doesn't take this long to turn a program around,
09:18 especially in today's era of college football.
09:21 And if you look at Kansas, you look at West Virginia,
09:24 you look at Kansas State with Chris Kleiman
09:26 and the things that he's done there in Manhattan,
09:29 those are very comparable places
09:32 because they're not getting four and five-star talents.
09:34 They're not in states that have a rich talent pool
09:39 in terms of the high school rank.
09:42 So it's very comparable.
09:44 But I'm gonna say this again,
09:46 and people disagree all the time, and that's fine.
09:49 You don't freaking need four and five-star kids.
09:53 - No. - To be good.
09:54 What you need is a great staff
09:59 that knows how to develop talent.
10:02 And if you get consistent three stars
10:04 and occasional four star, you know,
10:06 I hate that old star crap system, whatever.
10:09 - It's bull crap.
10:10 - What will happen is you will consistently win games.
10:14 That's what will happen.
10:15 And these programs that do that,
10:18 they do it, and we've been saying this
10:20 for the last few years, it's poof in the pudding.
10:24 You just said, Kansas, Kansas State,
10:27 hell, I'll even go as far as to say Baylor
10:29 a few years ago when they won the big.
10:32 You can't tell me from top to bottom
10:34 that their roster was that much more impressive than ours.
10:37 - It's hard to argue.
10:40 It really is.
10:41 So-- - Come on.
10:42 It's very comparable.
10:43 Quick turnarounds are possible, West Virginia fans.
10:47 But hey, look, you're in your five.
10:49 Neil Brown's got this thing five and three.
10:50 Maybe this is just it.
10:52 Maybe this is the timing that he needed.
10:54 We'll see.
10:55 It'll all play itself out.
10:57 But let's go ahead and take a look here at the standings.
11:00 Boy, this is just an absolute mess.
11:02 I mean, from top to about the middle of the pack,
11:05 it is just a cluster of teams.
11:07 You got four, Eugene, four teams tied for first place
11:12 at four and one, and that's Oklahoma,
11:14 Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Texas.
11:17 Actually, check that, five teams.
11:19 Kansas State also in there at four and one.
11:22 And then you have Kansas and West Virginia
11:23 tied at three and two.
11:25 And if you take a look all the way down there
11:27 at the bottom, Eugene, you got three of the four newcomers
11:31 down there at the bottom.
11:32 You got Houston one and four, UCF,
11:34 and Cincinnati still searching for their first Big 12 win.
11:38 And Eugene, I mean, you look at the top of this thing.
11:41 Earlier in the season, I would have said,
11:43 there's no way in hell that Oklahoma State or Iowa State
11:48 would be anywhere near the top of this conference
11:50 because Iowa State lost to Ohio,
11:53 and they did not look good outside of that game.
11:55 Ohio's actually a pretty good group of five team,
11:57 but still, like, that's a game they should be able to win.
12:00 And then you look at Oklahoma State.
12:02 They got crushed at home to South Alabama,
12:04 but look what they've done since then.
12:06 It's like this every year with Mike Gundy.
12:09 He has a weird loss, and he figures it out,
12:11 and that team rips off eight, nine, 10 wins,
12:14 and they're in the thick of everything.
12:15 So despite West Virginia having two losses,
12:19 one of which you could have had, again,
12:21 with the Houston game, they're still kind of in the mix.
12:24 If they win out, they've got a chance,
12:26 but you've got to win out.
12:28 - You have to win out, which I'm expecting them to do that.
12:32 Yeah.
12:35 - Are we?
12:38 - Listen, I'm expecting them to get to eight wins.
12:43 - Yeah, I think that's reasonable.
12:44 I 100% think that's reasonable.
12:47 - I'm expecting that to happen.
12:49 Now, whether it happens,
12:51 that'll be laid out for another day,
12:55 which will be another story.
12:56 We will see.
12:58 - Yeah.
12:58 - We will see.
12:59 - And look, I've had a hard time
13:01 gauging this team all season long,
13:03 as you well know with my predictions
13:05 on these games every single week.
13:08 - Yes.
13:09 - But maybe I know a little something or two
13:12 about the Heisman front runners.
13:14 So let's see who's got the better list
13:16 of front runners here.
13:17 We've got a little bit past the halfway point
13:20 of the season here, and like Gene and I were talking before,
13:24 we were trying to figure out our list.
13:26 We're going to put three of our top guys on this list,
13:29 but there's really not that alpha dog, right?
13:31 There's not that Bryce Young out there, CJ Stroud.
13:34 There's not those guys
13:35 that are just truly separating themselves.
13:37 But there's a lot of really good players.
13:40 They're just not, they haven't had the Heisman moment yet.
13:43 Maybe that's going to happen here in November.
13:45 That's typically when these things are won.
13:47 So we'll kind of alternate back and forth here.
13:51 Actually, we'll list our whole thing at a time.
13:54 That way we can keep it up here on the screen,
13:56 so it's not too confusing.
13:57 So I'll go first with Bo Nix is my front runner.
14:05 The dude is completing passes at an insane rate.
14:08 He's pushing 80%.
14:10 This is Geno Smith-esque through that first half
14:14 of the season in 2012 type numbers that he's putting up.
14:16 Like, it is incredible.
14:18 He's going to have the schedule.
14:20 He's going to have the wins as long as they continue to win,
14:23 and they get to the Pac-12 championship.
14:25 Bo Nix is going to be right there in the thick of things.
14:28 Right now, he is probably my front runner,
14:31 and there's going to be a lot of guys on this list
14:34 that I'm leaving off.
14:35 I'm going to go ahead and tell you right now.
14:37 I'm leaving off Michael Penix.
14:38 I'm leaving off the two guys that everybody
14:40 probably thinks should be in this conversation
14:43 and has been in this conversation from the start,
14:45 and that's Caleb Williams and Drake May.
14:47 I'm going to go a little bit different.
14:48 I'm going to give some other people some love around here.
14:50 Gene, that's what we do.
14:52 So I'm going to go with two non-quarterbacks here,
14:56 and I'm going to go with one guy
14:58 who I think you may actually have on your list,
15:00 so I'm going to get this guy out of the way first,
15:02 and that is Marvin Harrison, Jr.
15:04 at Ohio State, the wide receiver.
15:06 In my opinion, he is the best player in the country,
15:11 but how often do we see a non-quarterback
15:13 win this award, right?
15:14 It's very, very, very rare,
15:17 so I think Harrison's done enough.
15:20 I think he'll continue to put up good numbers.
15:23 I just don't know that they're going to have the resume,
15:28 I guess, for Ohio State.
15:30 They're not going to put up huge, huge numbers
15:33 throughout this back half of the season, so I don't know.
15:36 If they lose to Michigan, if they lose a game here or there,
15:39 it could hurt his chances,
15:40 but the one guy that nobody's thinking about,
15:44 that we all know too much about, okay?
15:48 Here's my dark horse,
15:49 Ollie Gordon at Oklahoma State,
15:54 and you're probably sitting here thinking,
15:56 "What in the heck is Skyler drinking today?"
15:59 Listen, this guy, if you didn't know,
16:02 and it should not surprise you,
16:04 is the leading rusher in the country right now.
16:08 He's got over 1,000 yards.
16:10 He has a three-game stretch going right now
16:13 of over 200 yards a game.
16:16 - Game, yeah.
16:17 - The West Virginia game,
16:18 where it seemed like he wasn't getting touched
16:20 until 40 yards down the field,
16:22 that was the least amount of yards he had in that stretch.
16:25 That tells you how special that kid is.
16:27 He's only getting better.
16:29 Oklahoma State has seemed to have figured things out.
16:32 Look, if they beat Oklahoma this weekend,
16:34 there's a chance they could get the 10 and two,
16:36 like a legitimate chance,
16:37 and they can play in the Big 12 Championship game.
16:39 If that stuff all happens, he is going to be in the mix.
16:42 - Now, you know what's so funny,
16:46 and why I was laughing earlier when we were going,
16:50 before we started picking out our players, right?
16:53 So I had two.
16:55 To be honest with you, he was one of them.
16:58 - Ollie Gordon.
16:59 - Yeah, because anytime you have a back of his caliber
17:04 that can break a game wide open on a single carry,
17:09 no matter where he is on the field,
17:11 and again, don't get me wrong,
17:15 I played against arguably the best running back
17:18 to ever lace up a pair of shoes
17:21 who happened to have played at the same place
17:23 in Barry Sanders.
17:25 - Yeah.
17:26 - What made Barry so dangerous was,
17:28 I don't care where, he could have been in the bathroom,
17:30 and you gave him the football.
17:32 He's a threat to go--
17:33 - He's spawning it up.
17:35 - Yeah.
17:35 - Spawning away.
17:36 - Gordon is a kid that has that same type of ability.
17:40 He has that home run ability, no matter where he is.
17:43 That's dangerous.
17:44 You can't bottle that.
17:46 So he's dangerous every time he touches the ball.
17:50 You got to respect that.
17:53 And you're right, a three game stretch
17:54 where you're averaging 220 something yards per game,
17:59 that's kind of crazy.
18:01 And the way that they're playing,
18:02 and the way Gundy has him playing,
18:05 and the way they're positioning with the schedule,
18:07 he can probably have the rest of the season
18:10 averaging close to 200 yards a game,
18:13 which is not unlikely for him to do that, okay?
18:18 So he's on my list, and it's funny,
18:20 he too was my dark horse.
18:24 - Okay, so that was the one that I didn't know
18:26 that you would have on there.
18:27 Okay, I thought Marvin was going to be on there,
18:29 but, and maybe he is, maybe he is.
18:32 But I do want to say this real quick,
18:35 before we move off of Ollie.
18:36 I just talked about having your Heisman moment, right?
18:40 There hasn't been that guy that has had his moment yet
18:43 to really kind of separate himself.
18:45 Ollie Gordon's got his chance this week.
18:47 So last time, they're going to be playing Oklahoma
18:49 for a long, long time.
18:51 Everyone's going to have their eyes on this game.
18:53 If they beat Oklahoma and he runs all over those Sooners,
18:56 that's his Heisman moment,
18:57 and he's going to supplant himself in that mix.
19:00 - It's going to counter-pull, yeah,
19:01 it's going to counter-pull him on that list
19:04 in a big, big way.
19:06 If he has close to 100 yards, I mean, 200 yards,
19:09 and they win, forget about it,
19:11 because that will be the reason why they won.
19:14 If he rushes for 180, 200 yards,
19:17 a couple of touchdowns, forget about it, yeah.
19:20 - I mean, in five, six weeks,
19:21 you know, no one even knew who he was.
19:23 - Well, that's the beauty of it.
19:26 Isn't that the beauty of it?
19:27 So he's my dark horse.
19:28 Now, my number one guy is a guy
19:30 that you don't even have on your list,
19:32 and it is Michael Penix.
19:34 And the reason being, I told you prior too,
19:37 it was a joy watching him when he first came on
19:40 the college scene at Indiana as a freshman.
19:44 - He brought the Hoosiers to life.
19:47 - Woo!
19:48 I watched him light up everybody they played,
19:51 and I'm like, this kid is special.
19:53 So to see him go through all the adversity,
19:56 the knee injuries and the surgeries,
19:58 to come back and reinvent himself at Washington,
20:02 and putting up the numbers
20:05 that he's putting up consistently.
20:07 So without him, if you take him out of that lineup,
20:10 I don't know if they win three games this year.
20:13 I don't know if you find three wins
20:16 if he's not the starting QB.
20:18 So for me, that's kind of like,
20:22 he is their best player at any position, period.
20:27 Take a kid like him and plug him into any offense,
20:31 and that's, to me, that's like the dynamo,
20:35 the effect that you have with a dynamite player,
20:39 just a freaking next generation type talent.
20:43 So that's, he may not, but that's my guy.
20:47 And because I watched him for so long,
20:49 and it's a beautiful thing, it's a great story
20:52 to see him fight back from adversity, like I said,
20:54 and come from Indiana to Washington, I'm loving it.
20:58 Now, I do have Marvin Harrison Jr. on my list.
21:03 - I was gonna say.
21:06 - I do, and the reason being, once again,
21:10 you can't speak about his intangibles when it comes to,
21:16 if the ball is in his area and his catch radius,
21:20 it's gonna be caught.
21:21 And it doesn't matter who they're playing against.
21:25 He finds a way to make an unbelievable catch.
21:28 He finds a way to move the chains.
21:30 He finds a way to pick up, if they're struggling
21:33 in any way, shape, or form, they go to him.
21:36 He is the guy.
21:38 So for me, it's a shame that he's probably not getting
21:42 the type of love that he deserves,
21:44 but he is a heck of a talent.
21:46 I said it last year, that this year was gonna be
21:48 a breakout year for him.
21:50 And it's interesting to see, like I said,
21:52 when they need a big play, who do they go to?
21:55 - Marvin Harrison.
21:56 - They're not handing it off.
21:58 They're looking for their guy.
22:00 He is the guy.
22:01 So for me, that's who it is.
22:04 It's Gordon, it's Penix, it's Harrison.
22:07 That's Harrison Jr.
22:10 Those are my guys that I already know.
22:12 I could have went with Drake May, I do have him on my list.
22:15 I do have Jordan Travis, quarterback at Florida State,
22:20 that people are now finally starting
22:22 to talk about a little bit.
22:24 - I think before last week,
22:30 even after Carolina lost to Virginia,
22:33 I still had Drake May probably as the front runner,
22:35 because I kind of expected him to bounce back
22:37 and just rip off a bunch of wins.
22:39 Then you follow that up with another loss,
22:41 and it's really hard to kind of stay in that Heisman mix
22:46 when the losses start to pile up.
22:48 - Right.
22:49 - So we'll see.
22:50 Maybe he finds his way back in the thick of things,
22:53 but they've got a lot of work to do
22:54 and a lot of things to figure out.
22:55 So let us know who you think
22:57 who has the better Heisman list,
22:58 or just better yet, just let us know who you think
23:01 is the Heisman front runner here
23:04 at the Week 10 mark of the college football season.
23:06 Man, does that sound crazy to say.
23:08 It seems like we just started this thing,
23:10 and then boom.
23:12 We just talked about Penn State like it was yesterday.
23:15 And now here we are, Week 10, unbelievable,
23:18 heading into the month of November.
23:19 So stay with us.
23:21 We're going to be right back here
23:23 after we take a quick break.
23:25 We're going to do our West Virginia BYU preview,
23:27 Gene's "Fire Me Up" segment,
23:29 and our picks for the week here right after this word
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23:58 Take me home to comfort.
24:00 West Virginia and BYU getting together
24:02 for the second time ever here this Saturday.
24:06 The first meeting comes back in that 2016 year
24:09 where West Virginia won 10 games.
24:11 You remember that crazy thriller of a game
24:14 that they had over in Landover, Maryland
24:17 at the home of the Washington, now, Commanders.
24:19 35 to 32, I believe, was the final score of that one
24:23 where the Taysom Hill, like, quarterback,
24:26 my gosh, that seems so weird to even say.
24:29 Taysom Hill.
24:31 It feels like he's been in the NFL
24:32 for five to seven to 10 to 15 years.
24:36 Like, it just seems like he's been in there forever.
24:38 But when he was in college,
24:39 it also felt like he was around forever.
24:41 I don't know how the guy's still playing.
24:42 Gene, I think he played when you were back
24:45 at West Virginia in '88.
24:46 Like, it seems like he's been around forever.
24:48 But anyways, that crazy game.
24:51 Russell Douglas had the pick six in that one.
24:53 Then they also had the tip balls,
24:55 the interception at the end by Maurice Fleming
24:57 to seal the deal.
24:58 And interestingly enough, the head coach of that one
25:01 for BYU, Kalani Setaki, who is still at BYU
25:05 doing really good things.
25:06 I don't know if you caught it, Eugene,
25:08 but Kalani Setaki, did you see his press conference
25:12 earlier this week?
25:13 - I didn't, I missed it.
25:15 - Well, for you and for those who didn't,
25:17 we're gonna go and slip this clip in here real quick.
25:20 This is how you know that when you are,
25:24 the ever-changing game of college sports
25:27 is really taking its full effect.
25:29 You don't really know each other that well.
25:31 How about this joke right here?
25:33 - I like fans that care about their teams
25:36 and have a lot of passion for it.
25:38 And so I'm looking forward to hearing them all sing.
25:40 You know, it's gonna be nice to hear them sing,
25:43 you know, take, was it "Country Roads, Take Me Home"?
25:46 That's a cool song.
25:48 And I think there's a lot of really cool things
25:50 about college football,
25:51 and I'm glad that we get to go be in that environment.
25:54 - So Gene, what do you think about that?
25:57 - Let me tell you something.
26:00 I'm glad he doesn't know when they sing it,
26:03 because he's gonna find out when we sing "Country Roads."
26:07 That is hilarious.
26:09 - It is.
26:10 - That's hilarious.
26:11 - That just goes to show you right there, again,
26:13 like there's so much change,
26:15 there's so much unfamiliarity with all these programs.
26:18 These teams, again, only met one time,
26:20 and that, it's just funny.
26:23 That's the things you're gonna get
26:25 with this new world of college athletics.
26:27 - Did you forget?
26:29 - What's that?
26:30 - Did he forget when they sung it the last time we played?
26:32 - That's a good point.
26:34 That is a good point.
26:35 - I guess he forgot.
26:37 - Yeah, it was so good, he wanted to hear it one more time.
26:40 So maybe he gets his wish fulfilled on Saturday.
26:43 So about those Cougars and Mountaineers,
26:47 BYU's kind of struggling.
26:49 If you look at the way they started the season,
26:51 they were kind of surprising some people.
26:54 Maybe not at the start of the year,
26:55 they kind of took a little bit to get going.
26:57 They only beat Sam Houston in their opener,
26:58 14 to nothing, that was kind of alarming at the moment.
27:01 But Sam Houston's kind of proven over the season,
27:05 they've got a really good defense, they just can't score.
27:07 Southern Utah, they took care of.
27:10 Then it seemed to change the narrative a little bit
27:13 when they went to Arkansas and won that game.
27:16 But now Arkansas has not been that good.
27:18 They're two and six or something like that.
27:20 So from there on out, it's been struggle,
27:24 bus, valley for BYU.
27:27 They lose on the road to Kansas.
27:29 They beat Cincinnati, which was, you know,
27:32 it's Cincinnati, they played them at home,
27:34 nothing to write home about there.
27:36 They get crushed by TCU by 33.
27:39 They did beat Texas Tech at home.
27:42 And then they get walloped by Texas last week.
27:44 So it's a team that in Big 12 Conference play,
27:48 has played well at home, terrible on the road.
27:51 If that trend continues,
27:52 I think you'll like your chances on Saturday.
27:56 - I don't care where we play BYU.
27:59 - BYU.
28:00 - Doesn't matter.
28:02 - BYU.
28:03 - So I'm gonna save my piece for when I get in,
28:06 into what I wanna get into.
28:08 It doesn't matter.
28:09 Scott, listen, dude.
28:10 We have to take care of business with these first year
28:16 in teams in the Big 12 Conference period.
28:21 - After. - Period.
28:22 And I respect, trust me, I told you before,
28:25 out of all the teams that came in,
28:27 the one I respected the most was BYU.
28:31 Because looking back at the history of their pro,
28:34 they've always had a very solid program.
28:36 They've always had really good players.
28:38 All you gotta do is just go up and down the NFL rosters,
28:41 and you'll find a BYU player on there,
28:43 you know what I mean?
28:44 That's doing more than well at the NFL level,
28:48 which tells you they have a lot of good talent
28:51 that's developed, well-developed, coming out of BYU.
28:54 Over a course of a long period of time,
28:57 not just recent years, a long period of time.
29:00 So it tells you the kind of caliber of a program they are.
29:04 - Yeah. - It ain't gonna matter
29:07 come Saturday night.
29:09 - Yeah, it's, again, you look at this one on paper,
29:14 and it just screams West Virginia.
29:17 I mean, it really does.
29:19 And even after the win at UCF,
29:23 again, I probably felt like a lot of those fans
29:25 that you were talking about earlier in the show,
29:26 just like, eh, it's a win,
29:29 let's see what they do when they face better competition.
29:32 And the first thing I thought of with this BYU matchup is,
29:37 it's a really good test because they are a physical team,
29:42 they've played challenging schedules throughout the years.
29:46 They're not gonna be someone that just lays down,
29:50 you know what I mean?
29:51 It's gonna be a tough team to beat.
29:53 And I thought, you know, man,
29:54 BYU's gonna give West Virginia a run for their money.
29:57 They very well could, and they may win the game.
29:59 I don't know, we'll see my pick at the end.
30:00 But when I start to look at them deeper on paper,
30:04 this is a really, really bad team.
30:09 When you look at it on paper, again,
30:11 we've talked about this week after week,
30:13 the paper doesn't prove anything.
30:15 But when you look at them statistically,
30:18 offensively, they are one of the worst,
30:20 if not the worst offenses in the Big 12.
30:22 They only average 24.9 a game,
30:25 only 300 yards total offense per game.
30:29 West Virginia ran for 282 last week.
30:31 That doesn't even count whatever else they did in the air.
30:34 They're dead last in rushing with 81 yards a game,
30:37 which is not good when you have Keaton Slovis,
30:39 a quarterback who has not been particularly great.
30:42 Obviously the former Pitt quarterback who we saw last year.
30:45 Third down conversion rate has been atrocious for them.
30:49 They're at 29%.
30:51 I mean, that's just not, you're not gonna win games
30:53 when you're converting under 30% of third down conversions.
30:57 But the interesting thing, I think,
30:59 that really stands out to me is kind of their personnel
31:02 at the skill positions.
31:04 At running back, LJ Martin, Aiden Robbins,
31:06 they kind of split sometimes.
31:09 Robbins is not really the guy that's,
31:11 he's averaging like three yards a carry.
31:13 Martin's more their lead back, but they are big, big backs.
31:16 6'2", 205 and 6'3", 240.
31:19 So if those guys get downhill
31:23 and start finding some success,
31:25 that's gonna put a lot of wear and tear
31:27 on that West Virginia front seven
31:28 that has not tackled well over the last two weeks.
31:31 Do you think they're gonna wanna tackle these two big kids?
31:34 We'll find out.
31:35 When you go to the receiver position,
31:37 again, it's the size, it's the length,
31:40 and they've got a ton of it.
31:41 6'4", 210 Chase Roberts, Darius Lassiter, 6'3", 205.
31:45 And they got a tight end,
31:46 that is their third leading receiver, Isaac Rex,
31:49 6'6", 255.
31:51 So that to me is where there's a little bit of a problem
31:56 in terms of the matchups,
31:57 because yes, again, on paper, they don't look good.
32:01 But when you start diving into this
32:02 and you look at the problems that they may present
32:05 to just West Virginia defense,
32:07 again, there's some concerns there
32:09 because they haven't tackled well,
32:11 they're at a huge size disadvantage on the perimeter.
32:14 Offensively, I still think defense,
32:17 or West Virginia's defense should be able
32:19 to keep this offensive check
32:20 because they've seen Keaton Slovis before.
32:22 They don't really have a true consistent rushing game,
32:26 but you just never know.
32:28 So what's your thoughts on this side of the matchup?
32:31 - Well, the good thing is, listen,
32:32 paper doesn't win football games.
32:34 So at the end of the day, when you look at it on paper,
32:38 like you said, of course, they can potentially pose
32:43 some outside threats because of the size of their receivers.
32:46 But here's the thing, I've always said this,
32:48 it's hard for a quarterback to throw when he's on his back.
32:51 So we have to apply pressure.
32:53 And again, that could be a scheme thing,
32:54 that can be the offensive line is not that good.
32:56 You know, when you're rushing,
32:58 yeah, when you're averaging, you know,
33:01 less than 2.5 to three yards to carry,
33:03 obviously you're not gonna sustain
33:06 any type of running game.
33:08 That part of it's not gonna be a threat.
33:09 So you're gonna have to throw the ball.
33:11 See, not much of it.
33:14 When it comes to corralling
33:18 and keeping their receivers in check,
33:20 we just have to really get,
33:21 we have to get them to the ground
33:22 when they do catch the ball, number one,
33:24 we have to stop the running game before they even get started.
33:26 It can't be a business decision,
33:28 meaning that back because they got big backs.
33:31 No, we gotta bring it to them.
33:33 What I'm more interested in seeing, to be honest with you,
33:36 I wanna see our second level play well.
33:38 - That's the key.
33:39 - Either, that's gonna be,
33:41 because if your linebackers are doing
33:43 what they're supposed to do,
33:44 you should be able to control the flow of their receivers
33:50 with your linebackers.
33:51 Meaning that those crossing routes,
33:54 those, you know, third and fours,
33:58 and second and eights,
34:00 when you're trying to throw those short, you know.
34:04 - Nice concepts.
34:05 - Those rides.
34:06 That has to be controlled in the middle of the field.
34:09 That has to be controlled by your second level.
34:11 See, so for me, I'm looking at it through that vantage point
34:15 and this is a game, Scarlett, we should have three picks.
34:19 Yeah.
34:22 - You're good.
34:23 - This should be a three pick game
34:24 because they're gonna have to throw the football.
34:27 - Yeah, and I think with, again,
34:29 that's exactly what I was just about to say was,
34:32 when you don't have a run game like they do,
34:33 again, 80 yards a game,
34:35 and you have, and again, if you're Keeton Slovis
34:38 and you look out and you see Darius Robertson,
34:41 or excuse me, Darius Lassiter and Chase Roberts
34:43 and Isaac Rex, you see all these big, long guys,
34:45 and you see on film how much West Virginia's secondary
34:49 can be vulnerable and stuff like that,
34:52 it's gonna eyed in his wise a little bit.
34:54 He's gonna wanna take some deep shots down the field.
34:56 They're gonna have to.
34:57 That's the way they're gonna have to be able to move the ball
34:59 and score in this game
35:00 is they're gonna have to take some shots.
35:02 So yeah, the ball's going to be put in the air,
35:05 and if you make plays like you did last week,
35:08 you think you're gonna be able to make some turnovers,
35:10 for sure, so going to the other side of this thing,
35:13 BYU's defense, again, bottom of the league
35:16 in a lot of categories,
35:18 but the one that they do stand out pretty well,
35:21 and actually two of them,
35:22 is red zone defense and interceptions.
35:25 They have 12 picks this year,
35:27 so they may not be forcing a lot of punts,
35:31 but they're getting some turnovers,
35:33 so that is one thing that they've done well,
35:37 but conversely, that's also the one thing
35:39 that West Virginia has done well offensively,
35:40 is they've taken care of the football.
35:42 Garrett Green has not put the ball in harm's way.
35:43 He's made really good decisions,
35:45 whether it be in the pass game or the run game,
35:49 so I don't really think you really have to worry too much
35:51 about the ball being intercepted as much,
35:54 even though they are a decent secondary.
35:57 It's more of a defense that likes to take his chances,
36:02 because they do give up a bunch of yards.
36:04 So when you look at this team,
36:08 I think really on both sides,
36:10 this is a group that plays really bad between the 20s.
36:15 They let, on defense,
36:16 they let teams move the ball down the field,
36:19 and then when they get into the red zone,
36:20 they shut things down.
36:21 They're one of the best red zone defenses in the Big 12.
36:24 Offensively, they cannot, for the life of them,
36:26 move the ball, but when they do, they cash in.
36:29 They are one of the better teams,
36:31 again, in the red zone offense in the Big 12.
36:33 So the key to me in this one is those red zone opportunities
36:38 obviously limiting their opportunities getting there,
36:41 and then when they do, holding them to three,
36:43 and then West Virginia just continuing to pilot on them
36:46 as much as humanly possible in the start,
36:49 and that's the big thing
36:50 that I think West Virginia kind of
36:52 helped themselves with last week.
36:53 They've really struggled to get going early in games.
36:56 They came out guns a-blazing against UCF,
36:59 and I think that really kind of carried over
37:02 to their success throughout the rest of the game.
37:05 Last thing I want to note here for the defense,
37:08 maybe even a couple other notes here,
37:11 they've got an experienced linebacking unit, Max Tooley,
37:14 A.J., I'm going to screw this name up,
37:17 and there's a lot of these names that are out there
37:18 that are tough on this BYU roster.
37:21 A.J. Vongpachong.
37:24 Those two guys are really leaders.
37:29 They're experienced.
37:31 I think they can present some challenges.
37:34 The one guy you have to watch for on BYU,
37:36 they really only have one playmaker,
37:38 and it's this guy right here, defensive end Tyler Beatty,
37:40 37 tackles, three and a half sacks,
37:42 a couple of fours fumbles, six tackles for loss.
37:45 If there's a guy that's going to get in the backfield,
37:47 it's going to be him.
37:48 The good thing is you've got Wyatt Milam.
37:51 You've got Tomas Remak back on the left side.
37:54 Doug Nestor, we don't know what his status is going to be like.
37:57 It looks like he's going to be doubtful.
38:00 And then the last thing, I promise,
38:01 last thing I'll note here is the offensive line,
38:04 you did note for BYU, it is not very good.
38:07 It's kind of shaky, but they do have a first-round talent
38:11 in their left tackle, Kingsley Suamatia.
38:13 So he is one that's going to protect the quarterback
38:20 and give them some chances offensively,
38:22 and then Will Ferron, the kicker,
38:24 eight of eight inside 40 yards.
38:26 So pretty good special teams, at least in that aspect of it.
38:30 So your keys for West Virginia's offense
38:33 going up against BYU defense.
38:36 Honestly, listen, if you've got a dominant defensive player,
38:42 I'm running at him.
38:44 That's always been my philosophy, even as a coach.
38:48 I'm running at him.
38:50 If he's a dominant defensive end,
38:52 dominant defensive linebacker, dominant linebacker,
38:54 whatever, defensive lineman, we're
38:58 going to run at him because I'm not letting
39:00 you beat me with pursuit.
39:03 That's not going to happen.
39:04 So you have to show me that you're that good.
39:06 So once again, my thing is the game plan
39:10 shouldn't change that much from what we did last week.
39:13 We're going to run the ball effectively.
39:16 We're going to run it often.
39:18 And I think if you do that, once again,
39:20 you're going to control the clock.
39:21 But I also think it takes a lot of pressure off of green
39:26 to have to come up and do some things that, for whatever
39:30 reason, it doesn't seem like we want
39:33 him to throw the ball down the field past 30, 40 yards.
39:37 So if you're not going to do that,
39:38 then you definitely have to control the line of scrimmage
39:41 and the run game.
39:42 Me, personally, I'm going to take some shots this game.
39:46 I'm going to regroup.
39:48 That's the word right there.
39:49 We're going to regroup.
39:50 We're going to reorganize this thing.
39:51 I want to take a few shots down the field.
39:53 I think we can.
39:54 And I know they got 12, 11, whatever picks.
39:58 I get all of that.
39:59 But I don't think personnel-wise,
40:02 they're better than we are in our skill positions.
40:05 You understand?
40:06 So for me, I want to test that theory this week.
40:10 Yeah, and again, you found another weapon in your offense
40:13 last week with Jaheim White.
40:15 Absolutely.
40:16 We've been talking about this kid for a while,
40:18 but he finally got his opportunity.
40:20 I think it was like nine carries, 85 yards.
40:23 Got a touchdown.
40:23 Should have had a second.
40:25 Was wiped off the board.
40:26 So you've got some really interesting pieces
40:30 in that backfield.
40:31 The receivers, even though Devin Carter left a few catches
40:33 out there, they're starting to come alive.
40:35 Rodney Gallagher is starting to get more involved.
40:37 So I think this offense is really in a good spot
40:40 right now.
40:40 Seems like they're finally clicking out.
40:42 Since the bye week, the offense has been great.
40:44 Defense, not so much.
40:45 But again, when you look at the matchup,
40:48 if you can get past the disadvantages in terms
40:51 of the size and the length and stuff like that,
40:53 that doesn't always mean anything.
40:55 But if you get past that and you execute,
40:58 you like your chances in this one.
40:59 So let's go ahead and get into your Fire Me Up segment, Gene.
41:04 So fire us up for this weekend's game against BYU.
41:08 Listen, again, BYU?
41:11 I'm not interested in what they have to think.
41:14 First off, when you got the head coach talking about,
41:16 no, he really likes country roads.
41:18 He can't wait to hear it again.
41:20 You're going to hear it again.
41:21 Oh, you're going to hear it again.
41:22 And I'm looking forward to hearing it myself.
41:25 The funny thing about a game like this,
41:28 you have a team coming in that should be well-respected.
41:32 They have a pedigree to be well-respected.
41:35 But I'm not too sure if they really
41:38 understand where they're coming.
41:39 I don't get it.
41:40 Because if you listen to the head coach who don't know when,
41:44 cue me up, country roads, then that
41:47 means the players in their head, they
41:48 don't know what's going on either.
41:50 That's a beautiful place to be right now.
41:52 Your head coach will know what he's doing.
41:53 Your players will know what they're doing.
41:55 Hell, I hope they fly to the right place.
41:57 Don't fly to Pittsburgh.
41:58 Let's meet me at the airport.
42:00 So for me, this is a great opportunity for the Mountaineers
42:04 to come and do what they normally would do at home.
42:07 We got to protect our home, first off.
42:09 I don't like to say we lose at home.
42:11 We don't lose at home.
42:12 So let the Cougars bring their ass into Morgantown.
42:15 Let them leave.
42:18 Cue up, obviously, country roads.
42:21 And I'm hoping the coach has a big smile on his face
42:24 when they're playing it.
42:25 Then he might remember, oh, snap.
42:27 They're playing it when they win games.
42:30 Oh, man.
42:31 He might look at his team and say, I'm sorry, fellas.
42:34 I got it all wrong.
42:36 I don't really like country roads right now.
42:38 They're playing it because they just kicked our ass.
42:42 So I'm hoping everybody get that realization at the same time.
42:46 Could you imagine when they look up at the scoreboard
42:48 and we win by three touchdowns?
42:50 And the head coach, the rest of the staff,
42:54 the cheerleading group, the band, and all the players
42:57 at the same time in unison do this?
43:01 All at the scoreboard, and they're hearing country roads.
43:06 I can't wait to see what that looks like.
43:08 And I hope ESPN, they take the clip that we just played,
43:12 and they play that clip side by side with all of them
43:14 in unison at the scoreboard, Scholar,
43:18 as they're playing country roads.
43:21 We will win this football game by at least 10, 17--
43:27 should be three touchdowns.
43:29 Honestly, it should be a three-score game, honestly.
43:32 They have no business coming into the Big 12,
43:34 coming to Morgantown, West Virginia, and getting a win
43:36 when they've been struggling the whole damn season.
43:40 I'm not even thinking about us losing this game.
43:44 They are going to make us bowl eligible.
43:46 Thank you, B-Y-Hoo.
43:48 We appreciate you.
43:49 Let's go, Mountaineers.
43:51 B-Y-Hoo, I love it.
43:53 So let's go ahead and transition into--
43:56 I don't even know how you follow that up,
43:57 but we'll try and make it work.
43:59 So let's go ahead and transition here into our weekly pick-ems.
44:04 And, Gene, yes, we don't have to remind everybody
44:07 you went freaking 5-0 last week, but we're
44:09 going to do it anyways.
44:10 But yeah, 5-0 for you last week.
44:15 I was 2-3.
44:16 It's been a struggle for your boy.
44:20 So you're 22 and 18.
44:22 My record is the opposite of that, 18 and 22.
44:25 So to me, it feels like this is championship week.
44:28 This feels like this is my opportunity
44:30 to either get back in it or absolutely watch you
44:33 from the basement from the rest of the way out.
44:35 So let's go ahead and dive in here.
44:37 There's a lot of Big 12 match-ups in this one.
44:40 Let's go ahead and start with number 25, Kansas State,
44:43 at number 7, Texas, noon on Fox.
44:46 No Quenya viewers in this game.
44:48 They're going to start Malik Murphy again.
44:52 As much as I really like this Kansas State team
44:56 and I think they can win this game, I got to go with Texas.
45:01 And I don't know why.
45:02 I just feel like they're--
45:04 it tripped me up last week when I said
45:07 I went with Utah over Oregon.
45:09 And I knew in the back of my head I should have went Oregon.
45:12 This is kind of the same feeling where
45:13 I'd want to go Kansas State, but I'm just
45:15 going to go with Texas here because I
45:17 think that's the better play.
45:19 So I'm going to go hook them horns over Kansas State.
45:22 And I think you're doing it right because I'm
45:23 doing the same thing.
45:24 I think brand-wise, we're not talking about just
45:27 a brand between Kansas State and Texas,
45:28 but we're talking about top-to-bottom talent.
45:30 And I think Texas simply has a better roster.
45:33 So it's a logical thought.
45:35 They should win this game.
45:36 I'm going Texas.
45:38 Battle them for the last time in Lord knows how long.
45:41 Number 10, Oklahoma, at Oklahoma State, 330--
45:45 yeah, 330 on ABC, not ESPN.
45:49 But look, Oklahoma State, they have turned the corner,
45:51 like we mentioned earlier in the show.
45:53 They got Ollie Gordon, who's, again, one of my dark horse
45:58 Heisman favorites.
45:59 I like their chances in this one.
46:01 I really do.
46:03 I just don't see Oklahoma losing back-to-back games.
46:05 I think they're going to find a way to win this one.
46:08 It's going to be ugly.
46:09 I think Oklahoma State may even lead for most of the game.
46:12 And again, probably want to go with Oklahoma State,
46:15 but I'm going to keep going against my gut here,
46:17 because obviously my gut has not worked in the past.
46:20 So I'm going to go Oklahoma.
46:22 And that's the reason why you are where you are.
46:25 No, you're going to go with the Pokes?
46:27 Oklahoma State will win this game.
46:30 I'll tell you right now, Gordon is going to have probably
46:34 north of 160.
46:36 And he's going to be the reason why they beat the Sooners.
46:40 Let's go Cowboys.
46:42 Right, and that's why I am where I am.
46:46 So number five, I'm almost worried and sick to my stomach
46:51 any time you disagree with me now, because, ugh.
46:54 Anyways, number five, Washington at number 24, USC 730 on ABC.
46:59 Big one here in the Pac-12 for both parties.
47:03 Caleb Williams, if he wants a chance
47:05 to repeat as a Heisman winner, he's got to win this game.
47:08 If USC wants to do anything special this year,
47:10 they have to win this game.
47:12 Washington, on the other hand, they've
47:14 got bigger things in mind.
47:15 College football playoff, and for Michael Panics,
47:18 we already talked about that, the Heisman.
47:22 Ugh, I just can't get there with Washington.
47:26 They're a really good football team.
47:28 Winning on the road is tough, even if it is at USC.
47:31 Caleb Williams, I just don't think
47:36 he's going to lose three games this early in the season.
47:39 So I'm going to go USC.
47:41 These are tough games this week.
47:43 These are tough games, but I agree with you.
47:45 I'm going with USC.
47:46 I don't see them losing three games in a row,
47:48 and I don't see him not playing well in this game.
47:51 He understands.
47:51 He's a kid that has a lot of moxie with him.
47:53 He knows how good Panics is, and he
47:55 wants to showcase talent for talent.
48:00 And I think he's going to play his butt off to win this game.
48:04 So no, I think you're safe here.
48:06 You're good.
48:07 It's a good pick.
48:09 LSU at Alabama, 13 versus 18, 745 on CBS.
48:14 Alabama's not quite what they were here in recent years.
48:18 The offensive line's a mess.
48:20 They really don't have great quarterback play.
48:24 They're not as dominant as they used to be.
48:26 But when you've got a home game here and a rivalry game
48:29 against LSU, I think they'll find some answers,
48:33 whether it's in the passing game with Jaylen Millrow
48:36 or their defense just shows up and plays lights out.
48:39 I'm going to roll tide.
48:40 I mean, look, Nick Saban, his record at home,
48:43 his record against LSU is pretty good.
48:46 So I'm going to go with the crimson tide here.
48:49 I was getting ready to say, man, don't even
48:51 make it harder than what it needs to be.
48:52 You already know roll tide, man.
48:54 Roll tide.
48:55 And so now for the game that you are all here for,
48:57 West Virginia and BYU, it's the second time
49:00 these folks have faced off against one another.
49:04 As we mentioned earlier in the show,
49:06 Kalani Setaki, he wants to hear that country roads,
49:09 take me home to the place.
49:13 He might hear it.
49:15 He might hear it.
49:16 West Virginia, BYU coming up 7 o'clock on FS1.
49:20 Here's a few thoughts from the head coach.
49:22 Glad to be back home.
49:24 We need to redeem ourselves after the fourth quarter
49:26 versus Oklahoma State.
49:27 And looking forward to getting in front of their home fans.
49:30 It's a true blue game.
49:31 It's military appreciation, military appreciation.
49:34 Very proud program.
49:35 Our fans really need to show up and be loud.
49:38 We need their support here.
49:40 BYU is a national brand.
49:41 They travel well wherever they go.
49:43 I think this is their only real East Coast game of the year.
49:46 So I'm sure there'll be a lot of their fans here.
49:48 Neil does a great job coaching his guys.
49:50 And you can see his background is on the offensive side.
49:53 And so they're very explosive offensively.
49:55 They could do so many things to you.
49:57 And I think that's his background
49:59 as an offensive guru, being coordinator at the highest
50:03 level, and then also being head coach.
50:05 I think he's establishing their identity on the field.
50:08 And you can see that they can punish you
50:11 in so many different ways.
50:13 Really balanced team.
50:14 They have a passionate fan base, loves their team.
50:18 And I know from talking to a lot of different people,
50:21 being out there, it's a hard place to play.
50:24 All right, West Virginia, BYU.
50:26 Let's see, Gene.
50:28 I have been the hex for this game for seemingly a month
50:32 and a half or so.
50:33 I go West Virginia.
50:35 They lose.
50:36 I go against West Virginia.
50:38 They win.
50:40 What do you guys want me to do?
50:43 You want me to pick BYU?
50:44 Because I'll go BYU.
50:46 I know where I believe the winner in this game,
50:49 or who the winner in this game is going to be.
50:52 I don't know if I can do it, though.
50:55 I really don't.
50:56 Because I'm a little nervous.
50:58 I feel like I'm the hex at this point.
51:01 So I think I'm going to go with--
51:03 This guy.
51:11 Oh, this guy.
51:12 Nope.
51:13 Not quite, my friend.
51:19 Give me the Mountaineers, baby.
51:24 West Virginia wins this one 41 to 23.
51:29 Garrett Green has another 300-yard day, all-purpose.
51:33 And the Mountaineers go to 6 and 3.
51:35 They get to ball eligibility.
51:37 And we are off and running.
51:39 Mountaineers.
51:41 And they're good--
51:42 You already know.
51:44 You see where I'm at with it.
51:46 You already know.
51:47 Let's go, Mountaineers.
51:48 BYU.
51:50 BYU.
51:52 And I can't even see in this dang thing.
51:55 It's like the kid from the Little Giants in this.
51:57 He's got his helmet like this.
51:59 I love it.
52:00 I love it.
52:01 So for Eugene Napoleon, I'm Skylar Callahan.
52:04 Or the kid from the Little Giants.
52:06 We thank you for watching the Walk Through Game Day
52:08 show presented by Country Roads Air Duct Cleaning.
52:11 You can catch us back here on Saturday night
52:14 as we will recap the game against the Cougars
52:17 on the Mountaineers Now post-game show.
52:19 So thank you guys for watching.
52:20 Hit that Subscribe button on YouTube at Mountaineers Now.
52:22 And we'll see you back here on Saturday.
52:24 Take care.
52:25 Cue Country Roads.