ITG 134 - West Virginia/North Carolina Bowl Preview
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00:00:00 (bells ringing)
00:00:02 - In the Gun, episode 134.
00:00:06 It's time for a Mayo Bowl preview.
00:00:09 We're all dukesed out, baby.
00:00:10 We're all Christmased out here
00:00:12 on your favorite WVU football podcast.
00:00:15 I am Wesley Uhler, flanked today
00:00:17 by the signal caller Jed Drenning himself,
00:00:20 and the two of us.
00:00:21 Little Christmas banter here, Jed,
00:00:23 and a obviously deep dive look at the Mountaineers
00:00:25 and the Tar Heels coming up here in just a few days.
00:00:28 As we get started, of course, you always know
00:00:30 this episode of In the Gun,
00:00:32 brought to you in part by our friends at BedOnline.
00:00:36 Jed, Merry Christmas, good to see ya.
00:00:39 I love your sweater.
00:00:40 If people are watching on YouTube,
00:00:41 I've got the WVU holiday sweater here.
00:00:44 Jed's got the--
00:00:45 (upbeat music)
00:00:47 I find your lack of Christmas cheer disturbing.
00:00:53 The Darth Vader sweater.
00:00:54 - Oh, exactly.
00:00:55 - Looking good over there, partner.
00:00:57 - I got my Lord Vader ugly Christmas sweater
00:01:01 game going on here.
00:01:02 I didn't think this thing would still fit me.
00:01:04 We wore it, I think I wore it
00:01:06 in a family Christmas picture many years ago.
00:01:09 - You would.
00:01:10 - I didn't know if this thing,
00:01:11 my wife dug it out, and I wasn't sure if it would even fit,
00:01:14 but I'm surprised it does.
00:01:15 These things are pretty flexible.
00:01:18 That's a good thing with these cheap sweaters.
00:01:19 - No doubt.
00:01:20 Well, I would disagree with you.
00:01:21 You said it's an ugly sweater.
00:01:22 I think it's a gorgeous sweater, right?
00:01:25 I walked into the studio at work today,
00:01:27 and everyone was like, "Oh, of course,
00:01:28 "Euler's wearing his WVU ugly sweater."
00:01:30 I was like, "Whoa, hold on, hold on, gang.
00:01:32 "Nothing with the flying WV on it is ugly, baby.
00:01:35 "It's all beautiful."
00:01:37 So, yes.
00:01:39 If you're, maybe you're listening to this podcast
00:01:41 as you're traveling around for Christmas
00:01:43 from family to family, from place to place, whatever,
00:01:46 safe travels, Merry Christmas, happy holidays.
00:01:48 We'll get into maybe a couple of those quick hitters
00:01:50 before we get out of here, Jed.
00:01:52 But I am happy to see as well, too,
00:01:54 that you've survived another National Signing Day
00:01:56 in the books.
00:01:58 Great stuff with you and TC,
00:02:00 you and Tony breaking it all down, as you always do.
00:02:03 Awesome stuff.
00:02:04 And just for me to plug it here just for a second,
00:02:07 our previous episode of ITG, episode 133,
00:02:10 if you want the full breakdown of the class,
00:02:13 our guy Jed and Skyler, I tell you what,
00:02:16 I don't know between you and Skyler
00:02:17 if you could find two more people more qualified
00:02:19 to talk about and more researched and in-depth
00:02:22 with Signing Day every single year.
00:02:24 So tip of the hat to both of you on another job well done.
00:02:27 Appreciate it.
00:02:28 I always am eager to pull the plug and move on
00:02:31 because I'm not one of these recruiting aficionados
00:02:35 who tracks this 12 months a year.
00:02:37 I mean, basically there's a two week window.
00:02:40 It's like you're cramming for a test when you do this, Jed.
00:02:42 It's like me at midterms, you know what I mean?
00:02:44 Me at finals.
00:02:45 Exactly.
00:02:47 I commiserate with the staff.
00:02:48 I can't even begin to imagine what the travel
00:02:50 that they're subjected to
00:02:52 and all the different things they're forced to balance
00:02:54 with this new crazy calendar.
00:02:56 But my window is a couple of weeks.
00:02:59 In other words, when the regular season ends,
00:03:02 I take some time off from my day job
00:03:05 and I kind of just dive in for a good solid couple weeks
00:03:09 of really intense film study, evaluation,
00:03:13 looking into once we whittle the list down,
00:03:15 have a pretty good sense of who it's going to be.
00:03:17 In other words, what I don't want to do
00:03:19 is spend part of my year evaluating a linebacker
00:03:22 who's going to sign with Clemson.
00:03:23 No doubt.
00:03:24 In fact, we think, so I don't want to get into that.
00:03:26 So once we get a sense of what's going to happen,
00:03:28 yeah, I communicate with the staff
00:03:31 and then I start reaching out to the high school coaches.
00:03:34 After I do my film study,
00:03:36 I have a chance to reach out
00:03:37 to a lot of the high school coaches
00:03:38 and that part of it I look forward to.
00:03:39 I mean, just talking football,
00:03:41 these high school coaches talking ball with those guys
00:03:44 about their kids, they take great pride in them.
00:03:46 I know that.
00:03:46 I know that appeals to the football dork in you.
00:03:48 Yeah.
00:03:49 Absolutely.
00:03:50 And, but it's a lot of heavy lifting for a couple of weeks
00:03:54 to kind of jam into that three hour broadcast
00:03:58 that Tony and I do for MSN.
00:04:00 And so it makes good sense that,
00:04:02 because Skyler's doing his own version of that with SI.
00:04:05 Right.
00:04:06 So it makes sense for us to kind of compare notes
00:04:08 and put an episode together.
00:04:10 And we will, I've talked to Trey and I,
00:04:12 our recruiting coordinator about this.
00:04:14 We will, when the dust settles
00:04:16 and our lives get back to normal to some extent in January,
00:04:20 and it makes more sense when you're more starved
00:04:23 for content in the off season.
00:04:25 Sure.
00:04:25 We'll get Trey on the show, just like we did last year.
00:04:27 Last year, we didn't have a bowl game.
00:04:28 I mean, that was the difference.
00:04:29 There was a void to fill because we had no bowl preview,
00:04:32 but we'll get Trey Nye on the show again.
00:04:34 He and I talked about it at the show the other day
00:04:37 at the facility.
00:04:38 Awesome. Awesome.
00:04:39 And he's going to be more than happy to sit down with us
00:04:40 and break down the class.
00:04:41 And it's always awesome getting his insights
00:04:43 because he's become very good at what he does.
00:04:46 He really has.
00:04:47 And that's important.
00:04:48 And the cooperation that he gave me really helped.
00:04:51 Awesome. Yeah.
00:04:52 We love Trey.
00:04:53 Like you mentioned,
00:04:54 we obviously had him on the podcast last year.
00:04:55 I thought I heard some of what,
00:04:56 when he joined you and Tony,
00:04:58 I was watching the Facebook live stream as I could.
00:05:01 Saw a little bit of him on with you and Tony.
00:05:03 Yeah. He's a wealth of knowledge.
00:05:05 We really appreciated him coming on last year.
00:05:07 And yeah, something for you guys to look forward to.
00:05:10 We'll be catching up with Trey again here
00:05:12 before too much longer.
00:05:13 But like I said,
00:05:14 Jed and Skylar are great,
00:05:15 like 70, 80 minute breakdown that they did
00:05:17 on the entire class.
00:05:19 You can find that on YouTube,
00:05:20 wherever you get the podcast.
00:05:22 Again, like I said,
00:05:22 that's the previous episode of In the Gun, episode 133.
00:05:26 We are going to talk about that bowl game
00:05:28 because we do have a bowl game here in just a second.
00:05:29 But first another thank you to our friends at Toothman Ford.
00:05:32 We all know cars cost less in Grafton.
00:05:35 They do yeoman's work in the NIL department,
00:05:37 supporting our student athletes.
00:05:39 So make sure you support those who support us.
00:05:41 Big thank you to JR and Toothman Ford,
00:05:43 as always for presenting this podcast.
00:05:45 All right, Jed, let's jump right into it.
00:05:48 Real quick, speaking of mayo too,
00:05:49 looking forward to this video of Ren Baker,
00:05:51 now that the Country Roads Trust has hit their goal
00:05:53 before the bowl game.
00:05:54 I don't know if you saw this, Jed,
00:05:56 but Ren Baker will be taking a bath in mayonnaise
00:05:59 as a little wager that he made with WVU fans.
00:06:01 Great stuff by WVU fans,
00:06:04 answering the call,
00:06:05 answering the bell as always,
00:06:07 and getting those Country Roads Trust numbers up.
00:06:09 And so we will be looking forward to Ren
00:06:12 getting his mayo bath here, I think before the bowl game.
00:06:14 And then of course, Neil Brown getting his
00:06:17 after the bowl game.
00:06:18 But let's talk about how the Mountaineers get there.
00:06:21 The low hanging fruit joke, of course, is Jed,
00:06:23 hey, coach Brown is gonna get a mayo bath after the game.
00:06:26 I guarantee it because both head coaches are coach Brown.
00:06:30 You see what I did there, Neil Brown and Mack Brown,
00:06:33 of course.
00:06:34 But this one, it feels like, listen,
00:06:37 this could be arguably the juiciest quarterback matchup
00:06:41 in all the bowl games,
00:06:42 if Drake May were going to play,
00:06:44 we know that he is not.
00:06:45 He's on his way to being a, I think for sure,
00:06:48 top five pick, certainly top 10 in the NFL draft.
00:06:51 In a few months, he will not play the talented signal caller
00:06:54 for the Tar Heels.
00:06:55 So Jed, I wanna leave this up to you.
00:06:57 I normally like to do this when we do our game previews,
00:07:00 because you're so well researched
00:07:01 and prepared for these things.
00:07:03 What's kinda the biggest thing to keep an eye on?
00:07:06 What's the five-star matchup that we're looking for?
00:07:08 When you're breaking down this game,
00:07:10 where do you think it begins?
00:07:13 - Oh, a lot of interesting storylines
00:07:16 with the way this has played out.
00:07:17 First of all, who saw this coming?
00:07:19 I mean, we spent the week leading up
00:07:21 to the end of the regular season
00:07:23 with all the bowl projections,
00:07:24 looking at, of course,
00:07:25 the bowls directly affiliated with the Big 12,
00:07:28 and wondering which of those West Virginia might land in.
00:07:32 And as it turns out, it's a bowl
00:07:33 that's not directly affiliated with the Big 12.
00:07:35 So the Mayo Bowl was obviously happy
00:07:38 to get its hands on West Virginia,
00:07:40 because we're gonna turn out in big numbers in Charlotte.
00:07:43 I have zero doubt about that.
00:07:45 And to get North Carolina nearby as well,
00:07:48 it's a great matchup for them.
00:07:49 So the Dukes-Mayo Bowl has to be incredibly excited
00:07:53 about this opportunity, the way things have landed.
00:07:55 And it's a battle between two quality teams
00:08:00 that both stand at eight and four.
00:08:01 Now, the paths we took to get there,
00:08:04 as you arrange your Dukes-Mayo,
00:08:07 one's in my fridge upstairs.
00:08:09 I've been eating it for a couple of weeks.
00:08:10 I made it a point.
00:08:11 Yep, I was at Kroger in Morgantown.
00:08:13 That's the Gucci Kroger, and I picked some up.
00:08:15 But, so, those in Morgantown, if you know, you know, right?
00:08:20 - You know the Gucci Kroger.
00:08:22 - The Gucci Kroger.
00:08:23 But yeah, two teams that landed at eight and four,
00:08:26 different paths in getting there, right?
00:08:29 North Carolina, at one point, was six and O,
00:08:33 ranked in the top 10.
00:08:34 And much like last year, Wes,
00:08:38 I mean, last year, they were at nine and one,
00:08:40 pushing the top 10.
00:08:42 And the wheels kind of came off,
00:08:44 and some things went against them.
00:08:46 And this year, it was a similar story.
00:08:47 But they landed at eight and four, as did West Virginia.
00:08:51 And I think what we have to do,
00:08:55 we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about the opt-outs,
00:08:57 or the injuries, because,
00:08:59 especially on the offensive side of the ball
00:09:02 for, you know, North Carolina,
00:09:04 we're gonna talk about their numbers at large,
00:09:06 and the production that they've had
00:09:08 under offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsay.
00:09:10 Which, that's probably a good starting point.
00:09:12 I think it's interesting.
00:09:14 Finally, we get a bowl game against Chip Lindsay.
00:09:16 And what I mean by finally, the Cactus Bowl,
00:09:19 I remember one of the storylines in the Cactus Bowl was,
00:09:22 Arizona State had literally just hired Chip Lindsay,
00:09:25 because they had an outgoing offensive coordinator.
00:09:28 And there was actually some chatter.
00:09:30 Chip Lindsay, is he gonna arrive fresh on campus,
00:09:33 and have his hands on the game plan
00:09:35 against West Virginia in the Cactus Bowl?
00:09:37 Of course, that didn't happen,
00:09:39 even though he was technically on staff
00:09:41 for the Arizona State team that we beat in the Cactus Bowl.
00:09:44 So here we face Chip Lindsay,
00:09:46 who's been at North Carolina for a year.
00:09:48 And he's done a good job.
00:09:51 He was brought in to replace Phil Longo,
00:09:54 who moved, a very coveted offensive coordinator
00:09:57 on Mac Brown's staff, who moved in the off season
00:09:59 to take the OC job at Wisconsin.
00:10:03 And what Mac Brown hoped to do,
00:10:06 with the pieces that he had in place,
00:10:08 of course he had, you mentioned Drake May,
00:10:11 and he had a lot of bells and whistles
00:10:12 and fun toys on the perimeter, a lot of offensive skill.
00:10:15 He said, we wanna maintain what we have going for us
00:10:18 in the pass game, but we wanna become much more formidable
00:10:22 in the run game.
00:10:24 Because they were a middling team
00:10:25 running the football last year,
00:10:27 as dynamic as they were throwing it.
00:10:28 Well, mission accomplished,
00:10:29 because North Carolina this year ran for 200 yards a game,
00:10:34 give or take, threw for 300 yards a game, give or take.
00:10:38 So they were burning the candle from both ends
00:10:40 and very effectively doing so.
00:10:42 But again, that was with Drake May.
00:10:44 So let's talk about some of the changes.
00:10:47 I wanna go through, when you look at the number of kids
00:10:51 that Carolina has in the portal, it's significant,
00:10:53 but some of their kids, they have a couple of kids West
00:10:55 that are in the portal that are actually gonna participate
00:10:57 in the bowl game.
00:10:58 So let's talk about the opt-outs and the injuries
00:11:01 and the impact that that's had.
00:11:03 I'll just talk about it on both sides of the ball,
00:11:05 we'll get it out of the way at the top.
00:11:06 So North Carolina's opt-outs include seven starters,
00:11:10 either by opt-out or by injury.
00:11:12 Starting obvious with Drake May, as you touched on,
00:11:15 definitely top five, certainly top 10,
00:11:17 I think maybe a top two pick, right?
00:11:19 - No doubt. - In the NFL draft.
00:11:20 Some people say number one.
00:11:21 - He could be, he could, that would not surprise me.
00:11:24 I still think it probably ends up being Caleb Williams,
00:11:25 but that would not surprise me.
00:11:28 Which we said before, a year ago,
00:11:30 that would have sounded like blasphemy,
00:11:31 to suggest that anything other than Caleb Williams
00:11:34 could be number one overall,
00:11:35 but Drake May's kinda starting to make the case
00:11:37 or has made the case.
00:11:39 So Drake May opting out.
00:11:41 So we're gonna get to his replacement
00:11:43 and what that'll look like and what we might expect.
00:11:47 Ted Walker, their leading receiver,
00:11:49 who was a transfer, who was very productive
00:11:51 for them this year, 41 catches for almost 700 yards,
00:11:55 you know, seven touchdowns.
00:11:56 He was a real productive player for them this year.
00:11:58 Kobe Paysore won't be playing in the game.
00:12:01 Another productive wideout for them at 22 catches.
00:12:03 What I think's interesting is Corey Gaynor, their center,
00:12:08 who for the last couple of years
00:12:10 has really been the anchor of that offensive line.
00:12:12 He had over 900 snaps,
00:12:14 which was the most on the entire offensive line.
00:12:17 He's a very consistent football player
00:12:20 in both the pass and the run game.
00:12:22 And he's been the vocal leader of that offensive line.
00:12:25 So the thing you gotta wonder about,
00:12:26 they're gonna do some shuffling
00:12:27 on the interior of the A-line,
00:12:29 but the thing you gotta wonder about is communication.
00:12:30 Same type of thing West Virginia's dealing with
00:12:32 without Zach Frazier.
00:12:33 We got Brandon Yates sliding in there
00:12:35 for different reasons, right?
00:12:37 So both sides will have communication tested
00:12:40 at the point of attack.
00:12:42 Corey Gaynor, the center for North Carolina.
00:12:44 Now here's where the plot really starts to thicken.
00:12:46 Yes, you have Zach Rice out.
00:12:48 He's kind of a sub on the offensive line.
00:12:49 He's injured, but they're tight end room-less.
00:12:53 And this is where the plot really starts to thicken,
00:12:55 if you ask me.
00:12:57 John Copenhager, injury, he's out.
00:13:00 Very productive tight end, had 18 catches,
00:13:02 279 yards, four touchdowns.
00:13:04 Big part of their ground game as a blocker.
00:13:07 Bryson Nesbitt, I should say, another tight end.
00:13:11 Also injured, caught 41 balls
00:13:14 for almost 600 yards and five scores.
00:13:16 West, they're going to be
00:13:18 without a scholarship tight end in this bowl game.
00:13:22 And here's why I think that's interesting.
00:13:24 It's not like they're a big 10 personnel team.
00:13:27 They haven't been.
00:13:28 They've been a big 12 personnel
00:13:30 and sometimes even 13 personnel team.
00:13:32 That of course means one back, two tight ends,
00:13:34 one back, sometimes three tight ends.
00:13:37 So I do think that is going to have a significant impact
00:13:41 on how they approach things philosophically
00:13:43 in this football game.
00:13:44 They're going to have to get pretty creative
00:13:46 with some other body types filling some of those roles.
00:13:49 So we'll double back to that
00:13:50 when we talk about their offense.
00:13:53 Cedric Gray, linebacker.
00:13:55 Easily, I think their most significant defender.
00:13:58 267 tackles the last two years, leads all of power five.
00:14:03 He's going to the NFL, he's out.
00:14:05 So right there as a creature of the box,
00:14:08 a downhill defender, very good against the run.
00:14:13 He is out.
00:14:14 So Cedric Gray, and we'll talk about
00:14:16 what they're going to try and do to replace him.
00:14:18 Elijah Hussey, 727 snaps on the back end of corner.
00:14:22 He's going to be out.
00:14:24 Defensive back, Will Hardy, played quite a bit
00:14:27 on the back end for them.
00:14:29 He will be out.
00:14:30 DJ Hardy, another defensive back.
00:14:34 In the portal, but will play.
00:14:36 As will their backup quarterback for this game,
00:14:38 Jefferson Bowe, as a big six foot seven kid.
00:14:41 He's in the portal, but he will play.
00:14:44 So I thought that it was incumbent upon us
00:14:47 to before we get into anything else,
00:14:49 you have to first start talking about
00:14:50 the absences on their roster,
00:14:52 because they seem pretty significant.
00:14:53 - And that's significant, without a doubt.
00:14:55 I love that stat of no scholarship tight end.
00:14:58 I mean, a lot of their perimeter playmakers as well too,
00:15:02 their signal caller, their heart of their defense.
00:15:06 I mean, those are some significant absences
00:15:08 as you laid out there.
00:15:10 - They absolutely are.
00:15:11 Now let's rehash how productive they've been
00:15:14 from an offensive standpoint.
00:15:16 With the pieces they had in place,
00:15:18 and then we'll transition into what they don't have in place
00:15:21 and what they're gonna try and do about it.
00:15:23 Offensively, they were first in the ACC
00:15:25 with 500 yards a game.
00:15:27 Incredibly productive, 37 points a game, second in the ACC.
00:15:30 Pass offense with Drake May, 307 yards a game,
00:15:33 good for first in the ACC.
00:15:35 And also tied for first in the ACC
00:15:37 with 197 yards a game on the ground.
00:15:41 So I think that's very intriguing.
00:15:43 Again, Chip Lindsey did a great job.
00:15:46 I'd like to give a shout out to my guy, Freddy Kitchens,
00:15:48 who I was on staff with at Glenville State.
00:15:51 He was our running back coach when I was the OC.
00:15:53 We lived together.
00:15:54 Freddy, of course, is a former head coach
00:15:55 to the Cleveland Browns,
00:15:56 bounced around the NFL several jobs.
00:15:58 He's now on staff at North Carolina with Mike Brown
00:16:01 as their running game coordinator.
00:16:03 And Freddy does a good job.
00:16:04 But as is Lonnie Galloway,
00:16:06 former Mountaineer White House coach.
00:16:08 They got a very talented offensive staff.
00:16:11 And we'll get back to Randy Clements,
00:16:13 their offensive line coach.
00:16:14 And the bearing that may or may not have
00:16:17 on how they game plan against West Virginia.
00:16:20 A little teaser alert there.
00:16:21 But when you look at their offense,
00:16:23 everything is going to be built around.
00:16:26 Drake May out of the equation.
00:16:28 O'Marion Hampton, their feature back.
00:16:31 He's their bell cow.
00:16:33 He led the ACC with 1,442 rush yards.
00:16:36 That was good for number four in the country.
00:16:38 That's the most by a tar heel since Elijah Hood
00:16:40 way back in 2015.
00:16:42 So Hampton has been a consistently productive feature
00:16:46 of this offense.
00:16:47 And you have to figure with Drake May out
00:16:50 and Connor Harrell, the dual threat freshmen recruit in,
00:16:54 who's had limited snaps this year.
00:16:57 They're going to lean on the run game
00:16:58 with O'Marion Hampton.
00:17:00 You've got to figure that's going to happen.
00:17:01 But again, how tricky will that get
00:17:03 without those tight ends as part of the equation?
00:17:06 Hampton leads all FBS runners with 1,023 yards
00:17:11 after contact.
00:17:12 And that's one of the things,
00:17:13 when you watch this kid on tape,
00:17:15 it really stands out how physical he is.
00:17:18 He's tough to bring down.
00:17:19 Eighth in the country in broken tackles with 33.
00:17:23 Yeah, he's a little shifty and he's a little slippery,
00:17:27 but that's not his forte.
00:17:28 His forte is he will plow through you.
00:17:31 He's just physically imposing and runs hard.
00:17:34 He runs angry.
00:17:36 He's tough to get to the ground.
00:17:37 So you better get a lot of hash to the football.
00:17:41 Don't give up on the play.
00:17:42 Play to the whistle and get as many defenders to him
00:17:45 as you possibly can.
00:17:46 So the question becomes, how will in fact they feature him?
00:17:51 I mean, he's going to get his touches.
00:17:53 There's no doubt about it.
00:17:55 But is it going to be as obvious as just a downhill run game
00:17:59 from O'Marion Hampton,
00:18:01 setting up some max protect play action opportunities
00:18:05 for the young quarterback, Connor Harrell?
00:18:07 When I watched Connor Harrell,
00:18:10 the games that he played most significantly,
00:18:13 he got to play some against Syracuse.
00:18:14 He got to play some of the blowout against Campbell.
00:18:17 And he had a stretch against Campbell West.
00:18:19 I think it was like three plays in a row
00:18:21 where he made a very athletic play in the throw game.
00:18:26 As he was absorbing a hit, made a great throw.
00:18:29 And then he made an incredibly athletic play
00:18:32 in the run game, 40 some odd yard touchdown
00:18:35 by making guys miss.
00:18:36 And the next thing you know,
00:18:38 60 yard touchdown pass, three consecutive plays.
00:18:40 So when he gets heated up, he's a handful.
00:18:43 I mean, the skillset is there.
00:18:45 There's a reason that he was as highly recruited
00:18:48 out of the state of Alabama as he was.
00:18:49 So he's a handful.
00:18:51 So you can get creative.
00:18:52 Now let's start to wonder.
00:18:54 Let's put these pieces together.
00:18:55 Chip Lindsey has an offensive plate caller,
00:18:58 has bounced to run.
00:18:59 He's a Gus Malzahn guy, okay?
00:19:02 Most recently, last year was at UCF.
00:19:06 And his plate caller at UCF was JRP, John Rhys Plumlee.
00:19:10 Okay?
00:19:11 Another athletic dual threat type guy.
00:19:13 Well, he wasn't afraid.
00:19:16 150 some odd times, Plumlee ran the football at UCF
00:19:19 last year under the tutelage of Chip Lindsey,
00:19:22 who was directing traffic and calling plays.
00:19:25 So even when you saw Connor Harrell in the game
00:19:29 late in these blowouts,
00:19:31 you did see Chip Lindsey using him
00:19:34 in the called quarterback run game.
00:19:36 So I would certainly expect that to be a dimension
00:19:39 of what we're going to see.
00:19:40 Now, we talked about their leading receiver being out,
00:19:44 but they have some other talented kids on the perimeter
00:19:47 that will participate,
00:19:48 including JJ Jones, son of a former Mountaineer, John Jones.
00:19:52 So they have some kids on the perimeter
00:19:54 that can make plays,
00:19:55 including a slot receiver who had 15 grabs
00:19:58 early in the season against Minnesota.
00:19:59 So it's not as though they're without talent
00:20:01 in that receiver room.
00:20:03 So there's some creative things they can do.
00:20:05 Now you're going to ask yourself,
00:20:08 how do they address the absence of those tight ends?
00:20:11 Do they find some fullback body types,
00:20:15 move into H-back types?
00:20:17 You're going to obviously have to run the football,
00:20:19 but then if you, under ordinary circumstances,
00:20:22 usually run the football,
00:20:23 max protect with eight man protections,
00:20:26 simplify routes and push the football vertical
00:20:28 to those playmakers and make life easy for Connor Harrell,
00:20:31 but you don't have your tight ends.
00:20:32 So that's where the question comes into play.
00:20:35 I would almost even expect
00:20:38 maybe some different personnel sets,
00:20:39 a little more two-back.
00:20:40 We talked earlier that they've been a big 12 personnel,
00:20:45 two tight ends, and sometimes even 13 personnel,
00:20:47 three tight ends team.
00:20:48 That's not going to be the case in this football game.
00:20:51 So now let's talk about Randy Clements.
00:20:53 Randy Clements, a very well-respected
00:20:55 and well-established offensive line coach.
00:20:58 And I think it's an interesting wrinkle
00:21:01 that he's on this North Carolina staff for this reason.
00:21:04 Let's think about this.
00:21:06 So because the regular season ended
00:21:10 and they are fundamentally transformed as an offense
00:21:13 from a personnel standpoint,
00:21:14 Drake May's gone, the tight ends are gone,
00:21:17 your center's gone.
00:21:19 So you're going to have to reinvent
00:21:21 some of what you do offensively,
00:21:23 by hook or by crook, one way or the other.
00:21:25 Well, for those listening or watching,
00:21:28 do you remember back in the 2015 Russell Bowl?
00:21:32 You had a situation where Baylor was facing,
00:21:35 ironically enough, North Carolina.
00:21:37 I remember we were actually in a bowl game
00:21:39 and I was watching this up in the press box
00:21:41 during our pregame.
00:21:42 Well, Randy Clements was on staff
00:21:46 for that Baylor football team with Art Briles.
00:21:50 Now, I don't know if y'all remember,
00:21:52 but what Baylor did, Art Briles revisited
00:21:55 and doubled back to his high school pedigree
00:21:57 and his high school background.
00:21:59 And they went from a pitch and catch air raid team.
00:22:02 And that's exactly what Chip Lindsey's background is.
00:22:04 He has an air raid background,
00:22:06 but with the mouths on wrinkles.
00:22:08 So in that particular bowl game,
00:22:11 Baylor had their quarterbacks out because of injury.
00:22:14 They were missing some wideouts because of injury.
00:22:16 So they couldn't be this top heavy, pass heavy team
00:22:19 that had carried the day for them offensively
00:22:21 throughout the course of the year,
00:22:22 when they were one of the better offenses
00:22:24 in all of college football.
00:22:25 So you start to see some parallels here.
00:22:28 North Carolina has been one of the better offenses
00:22:30 in all of college football all season,
00:22:32 just like Baylor was in 2015.
00:22:35 Well, what did Baylor do?
00:22:37 Baylor actually got so creative with their personnel,
00:22:40 they ended up playing some receivers at quarterback.
00:22:43 And they doubled back to what Briles did
00:22:45 back in his high school days in Texas
00:22:47 and started going option heavy offensive football.
00:22:51 They ran 84 times against North Carolina,
00:22:54 ambushed them for 645 rushing yards.
00:22:57 North Carolina had no answers.
00:22:59 It had, it kind of reminded me in watching that game, Wes,
00:23:04 of, of course, it's become legendary
00:23:07 what West Virginia did in 1969 in their bowl game,
00:23:10 installing the wishbone with Jim Carlin
00:23:14 to do kind of the same thing to a bowl win in 1969.
00:23:17 Well, again, Randy Clements, the offensive line coach
00:23:22 at North Carolina was on staff when Baylor did that,
00:23:24 completely reinvented themselves offensively
00:23:27 in the span of about three weeks.
00:23:29 Now, what he had to do to find the athleticism
00:23:32 behind center that he needed to do that,
00:23:34 what Baylor had to do was put receivers at quarterback.
00:23:37 Well, in this instance, North Carolina's
00:23:40 at least not gonna have to do that
00:23:41 because Conor Harrell is that skillset to begin with.
00:23:44 Their backup quarterback, Conor Harrell,
00:23:46 can already run like a scullered dog.
00:23:48 So you can afford to get creative.
00:23:51 Now, I'm not suggesting Carolinas can come out
00:23:54 and run the ball 84 times,
00:23:56 but who knows what you might expect,
00:23:58 especially without these tight ends as part of the equation,
00:24:01 because you're gonna have to do it with some 10 personnel.
00:24:04 So do you start running empty sets with more motion?
00:24:08 Is that how you address this?
00:24:09 And you stress the perimeter,
00:24:11 maybe with some option components, with some slot motion?
00:24:15 I don't know.
00:24:16 I'm just thinking as a former plate caller,
00:24:18 without my tight ends,
00:24:20 with the personnel that you're being handed,
00:24:21 how do you play to your strengths?
00:24:23 With Omarion Hampton as the bell cow,
00:24:26 as the feature player in your offense,
00:24:28 what exactly might you hope to do?
00:24:31 So I find that intriguing.
00:24:33 I find that compelling.
00:24:35 And the fact that North Carolina has been a tempo offense,
00:24:40 again, with Drake May.
00:24:42 I mean, this is an offense that's averaged 74 snaps a game.
00:24:45 That's second most in the ACC.
00:24:47 So maybe what you need to do
00:24:49 is give West Virginia a dose of its own medicine.
00:24:52 West Virginia is an offense that likes to play keep away,
00:24:55 likes to play ball control,
00:24:56 likes to limit its snaps defensively,
00:24:58 and win the time of possession battle.
00:25:01 So is that what we see out of North Carolina?
00:25:04 Maybe.
00:25:05 Again, something to consider,
00:25:07 but the North Carolina offense,
00:25:09 as dynamic and as explosive as it's been,
00:25:12 they average 7.8 yards per play.
00:25:14 That's the second highest among all offenses
00:25:17 that West Virginia has faced.
00:25:18 I don't know, but that's not the same offense
00:25:24 that West Virginia is about to face.
00:25:27 Now, North Carolina, and this is where it gets interesting,
00:25:31 was two and four when converting less than half
00:25:35 of their third downs in the 2022 season,
00:25:38 tied for 36th worst in the FBS,
00:25:41 and they didn't get much better this year.
00:25:45 It's so difficult to forecast what's going to happen
00:25:48 without Drake May.
00:25:50 I mean, that's where we find ourselves, right?
00:25:53 So finally, in closing,
00:25:55 the last thing we can talk about
00:25:57 is when you look at West Virginia defensively,
00:25:59 with a defense that's led by Beanie Bishop,
00:26:03 recently anointed, consensus all-American,
00:26:06 freshly minted consensus all-American, Beanie Bishop,
00:26:09 who does still need a couple passes defended,
00:26:12 pass breakups to break the school record.
00:26:15 Let's look at third down situations.
00:26:17 West Virginia has forced the opposition
00:26:21 52% of the time into third and long.
00:26:24 When they get them into third and long,
00:26:27 they're pretty productive, obviously, holding them at 26%.
00:26:29 Overall, West Virginia is fifth in the Big 12
00:26:32 in third down defense, allying a conversion rate of 38%.
00:26:37 The way I typically look and break this down
00:26:39 is I want to see how often from each yardage metric
00:26:43 the opposition is placed into that metric.
00:26:47 So when you look at third and short,
00:26:50 third and one to three yards, 45% of the time,
00:26:54 excuse me, one to three yards is 24% of the time.
00:26:57 West Virginia has faced offenses that 24% of the time
00:27:01 find themselves in third and one to three yards,
00:27:04 and they've given up almost half those conversions.
00:27:06 So what this is going to come down to,
00:27:08 we'll flip this and go to the other side of the ball,
00:27:10 but what this is going to get down to
00:27:11 is how often can West Virginia force a team
00:27:15 that I'm convinced is going to run it
00:27:16 more than they have already throughout
00:27:18 the course of the season into some third and longs?
00:27:20 Because I do believe if you can force Connor Harrell
00:27:24 into some third and long situations,
00:27:27 you can potentially force him into some mistakes
00:27:29 and give him some looks he's probably not expecting.
00:27:31 But how often are you going to be able to do that
00:27:34 against one of the most dynamic and consistent
00:27:36 and physical backs in the country,
00:27:39 but he doesn't have his tight ends,
00:27:41 but he doesn't have his center.
00:27:43 So there's a lot to kind of project,
00:27:47 forecast, a lot of guesswork.
00:27:49 So, you know, when we did the recruiting show the other day,
00:27:53 we had a chance to talk to a couple of members
00:27:54 of the defensive staff, and they said,
00:27:56 "Look, we kind of got a hunch of what we think
00:27:58 "we might expect from them offensively,
00:28:01 "and I would have to think it's some version
00:28:03 "of what we said earlier.
00:28:04 "Run the football, try and do what you can
00:28:07 "to get creative and max protect
00:28:08 "and take some shots downfield
00:28:10 "to make life easy for Connor Harrell."
00:28:12 But I also think you're probably going to want to go empty.
00:28:15 You're probably going to want to run some 10 personnel sets
00:28:18 without those tight ends and get the football
00:28:20 out of Connor Harrell's hands as quickly as possible
00:28:24 with easy reads to let him be decisive
00:28:26 and build some confidence.
00:28:27 But the wrinkle-west to me that makes this most interesting
00:28:32 is no scholarship tight ends for a team
00:28:36 that's so heavy on 12 personnel.
00:28:39 It makes it very interesting.
00:28:41 There's a lot of guesswork involved.
00:28:43 - Oh, I mean, there absolutely is, not only for us,
00:28:45 but I'm sure for them as well, too,
00:28:46 as they've been trying to patch this thing together
00:28:49 over the last couple of weeks.
00:28:51 Listen, that's a tall task for any offense,
00:28:53 but like you mentioned, one that likes to run 12 personnel,
00:28:56 sometimes even 13 personnel as much as they do,
00:28:59 that's going to loom large, without a doubt.
00:29:02 Jed, what do you say we take a break here,
00:29:04 get to our break of the show,
00:29:06 and then we will, on the other side,
00:29:07 put a bow on this thing.
00:29:09 Final thoughts on the Mayo Bowl,
00:29:10 final thoughts on Christmas, all that good stuff.
00:29:12 Sound good to you?
00:29:13 - Works for me.
00:29:15 Let's talk the other side of the football
00:29:17 and wish everybody a happy holidays and move on, right?
00:29:19 - That's it, and we will do that in just a minute.
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00:29:52 - For more West Virginia Mountaineer football content,
00:29:57 be sure to follow us on Twitter @InTheGunPodcast.
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00:31:35 - Back in the gun here,
00:31:36 and it is time to look at the other side of the football
00:31:39 as we continue this Mayo Bowl preview.
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00:31:55 All right, Jed, we know it's the Mountaineers.
00:31:56 It's the Tar Heels 530 on December 27th.
00:32:00 Let's spin that block
00:32:02 and get to the other side of things here.
00:32:03 What you got?
00:32:04 - Well, let's look at North Carolina
00:32:06 on the defensive side of the football
00:32:08 under defensive coordinator Gene Chizik,
00:32:10 traditional even front defensive play caller.
00:32:13 You know, he's bounced around some high profile spots.
00:32:17 I mean, a lot of people remember the success he had
00:32:19 at Auburn with an unbeaten season
00:32:20 as the defensive coordinator in 2004 with Tuberville.
00:32:23 He was actually the defensive coordinator on staff with Mac.
00:32:26 I mean, they have a lot of history together.
00:32:28 Back when they beat USC in that famous Rose Bowl game
00:32:31 to win the national championship,
00:32:33 you know, he ended up being the head coach
00:32:36 at both Iowa State and Auburn,
00:32:37 but didn't have a tremendous amount of success,
00:32:39 kind of a 500 careers a head coach.
00:32:42 But Mac Brown thought he might be the answer
00:32:45 for a defense that had ailed them.
00:32:48 And he brought him in last year
00:32:50 and it didn't really work out.
00:32:51 And so they were hoping over the course of the off season
00:32:54 to rectify some of the issues they had
00:32:56 and some of the leakage they had last year.
00:32:59 And it didn't shape up that way.
00:33:01 For all the success they've had
00:33:03 on the offensive side of the football,
00:33:05 they've struggled on the defensive side of the football.
00:33:07 When you look at, again,
00:33:08 we talked about some of the moving parts,
00:33:10 some of the pieces that won't be in place,
00:33:13 including their leading tackler
00:33:14 because he's off the NFL.
00:33:16 Total defense, they're 12th in the ACC,
00:33:19 averaging over 400 yards a game.
00:33:21 Scoring defense, they're ninth in the ACC,
00:33:23 so almost middle of the pack.
00:33:26 Rushing defense, they're 11th, giving up 163 a game.
00:33:30 But defensively, on the back end is where they've struggled.
00:33:34 14th in the ACC, dead last in pass defense.
00:33:39 So they've really struggled there.
00:33:42 Now, from a rhythm standpoint,
00:33:45 they let opposing offenses find their rhythm.
00:33:49 We always talk about those 10-plus yard plays, Wes,
00:33:51 as being rhythm-based plays.
00:33:53 Well, they've allowed the most 10-plus yard plays
00:33:56 in the entire ACC.
00:33:58 So they've struggled to knock opposing offenses off rhythm.
00:34:02 That's kind of what this comes down to.
00:34:05 And West Virginia has made a living
00:34:07 throughout the course of the season,
00:34:09 playing time of possession, playing keep away,
00:34:12 protecting its own defense.
00:34:14 But later in the season, we started finding some pop,
00:34:19 and we started finding some rhythm
00:34:21 and some big playability.
00:34:22 So for a West Virginia offense,
00:34:25 that is going to be without C.J. Donaldson.
00:34:27 And we're going to lean in large measure.
00:34:31 When you look at the run game, Jaheim will get the start,
00:34:34 but you're also gonna get a lot of reps out of D.J. Oliver.
00:34:37 I think fans will be excited to see him.
00:34:39 Jalen Anderson's gonna be part of the equation.
00:34:41 But the straw that started the drink for West Virginia
00:34:44 the last half of the season offensively
00:34:46 has obviously been Garrett.
00:34:47 Garrett is starting to find his stride
00:34:49 as both a runner and a passer.
00:34:52 Now, North Carolina,
00:34:54 getting into some interesting trends here,
00:34:56 they opened the season, ironically enough,
00:34:59 in the Dukes-Mayo kickoff classic in Charlotte,
00:35:01 same stadium, against South Carolina,
00:35:04 against Spencer Rattler in South Carolina,
00:35:07 and looked pretty good in going so.
00:35:09 I mean, defensively, they came out
00:35:10 and they were playing lights out.
00:35:12 They had nine sacks in that opener.
00:35:15 They looked like the 85 Bears against Spencer Rattler.
00:35:17 Nine sacks in that opener held South Carolina
00:35:20 with a field goal in the second half.
00:35:22 Won decisively.
00:35:24 That was an impressive win.
00:35:25 Again, that kind of set the tone for this 6-0 start
00:35:28 that saw them land or climb into the top 10
00:35:30 that we talked about.
00:35:32 But some things have happened to them since that game
00:35:36 that they haven't been able to overcome.
00:35:39 In fact, they had nine sacks in that game,
00:35:42 but only 13 sacks in the 10 games
00:35:45 versus FBS opponents since then.
00:35:48 So they've been unable to get to
00:35:50 or even impact opposing quarterbacks.
00:35:53 And for a West Virginia team
00:35:56 that wants to first and foremost run the football,
00:35:59 you kind of got to wonder what this is going to look like.
00:36:01 Now, we talked about those 10-plus yard plays, right,
00:36:05 and how they're rhythm-based.
00:36:07 Now, how does the peg fit into the hole?
00:36:11 Well, look at West Virginia
00:36:13 and what we're trying to do
00:36:15 with a combination of both our zone schemes
00:36:16 and our gap schemes.
00:36:18 We've become, you've heard Elwynn and I talk about it
00:36:20 all the live long day,
00:36:21 how effective we've become with that stretch play.
00:36:24 And now with you have that dual-threat quarterback
00:36:26 and Garrett that can read that backside defender
00:36:30 and make you pay if you overplay it,
00:36:32 well, you're facing a defense that has struggled
00:36:35 to knock teams off rhythm
00:36:37 because it's giving up so many 10-yard plays.
00:36:40 So as an offense, you want to find your rhythm.
00:36:43 Well, West Virginia, let's look at some rushing numbers.
00:36:46 West Virginia, Garrett Green has run the football
00:36:49 111 times.
00:36:51 28 of those have been for 10-plus yards.
00:36:54 So basically, once every four times
00:36:56 Garrett runs the football, it's a first down, okay?
00:36:59 It's a 10-plus yard game.
00:37:00 Jaheim White has run the football 97 times.
00:37:04 27 of those have been for 10-plus yards.
00:37:07 - Wow. - So facing a defense
00:37:10 that allows more 10-plus yards than any defense in the ACC,
00:37:14 and that was with its leading tackler,
00:37:17 West Virginia has had success in getting those types
00:37:20 of rhythm-based chunk plays, mini-chunk plays,
00:37:24 M-I-N-I by many, right?
00:37:27 As a team, West Virginia, 90-plus plays
00:37:30 on the ground of 535 --
00:37:32 or excuse me, 10-plus yards.
00:37:34 - That's good. - Garrett Green --
00:37:35 - Listen, you need to take a second there.
00:37:37 You need to cough. You all right there?
00:37:38 Are you okay?
00:37:40 - I was fighting a cough there, wasn't I?
00:37:41 - Your face is getting red on the broadcast.
00:37:43 I can't -- Listen, I can't lose you in the middle of this, Jed.
00:37:47 - I have my fishermen's friend out,
00:37:48 and they're working overtime right now.
00:37:51 But -- And I'll close with this portion, with this.
00:37:55 Garrett Green, 44% of his runs --
00:37:58 and this is a Sports Info Solutions metric --
00:38:00 44% of Garrett's runs have resulted in a first down.
00:38:03 That's number one among all P5 rushers.
00:38:06 - That's crazy. - That's number one.
00:38:08 So the production has been there, all right?
00:38:12 Now, teams have really made hay against North Carolina
00:38:17 throwing the football.
00:38:19 If you go back and track the last two years
00:38:21 under Gene Chizik, North Carolina,
00:38:25 when they don't allow you to throw the football defensively,
00:38:28 that's when they have success.
00:38:30 Seven times in the last two years under Gene Chizik,
00:38:32 they've held the opposition under 200 yards passing.
00:38:36 And in those seven games, they're 6-1.
00:38:39 That's when they've had success.
00:38:41 So it's incumbent upon West Virginia to,
00:38:43 yes, run the football, but bring a balanced enough attack
00:38:47 that you can consistently enough throw the football
00:38:50 to kind of exert your will on North Carolina from both ends.
00:38:55 And that's how you can get into those 10-plus yards,
00:38:57 rhythm-based plays.
00:38:59 Now, let's get a little more granular about this, okay?
00:39:05 We talked about Gene Chizik
00:39:06 traditionally being an even front guy, all right?
00:39:09 He is an even front guy,
00:39:10 and he plays a lot of man-free coverage behind it.
00:39:13 He'll pick his spots and take his shots
00:39:15 and see what he can do from a pressure standpoint,
00:39:17 but a lot of four-man rushes.
00:39:21 In fact, North Carolina has allowed the most passing yards
00:39:25 in the ACC out of a four-man rush configuration.
00:39:29 So you're going to have your opportunities
00:39:31 when he's bringing just those four, right?
00:39:35 Because here's what's going to matter.
00:39:37 When they start bringing more than four,
00:39:39 when they start dialing up some man coverage,
00:39:43 we talked earlier about since that opener
00:39:46 against South Carolina,
00:39:47 they've struggled to pressure opposing passers.
00:39:50 They have 27 sacks all year.
00:39:51 Well, nine of them came that opener, all right?
00:39:54 Well, of those 27 sacks,
00:39:57 here's what you got to watch out for.
00:39:58 If they run a four-man pressure
00:40:00 or a four-man pass rush and stay base, okay,
00:40:03 they've given up a ton of yards.
00:40:05 But when they start dialing up some pressure packages
00:40:08 and run man-free coverage behind it,
00:40:09 my man-free, we call that cover one,
00:40:11 that's basically a free safety park tie.
00:40:14 You're splattered man coverage across,
00:40:16 and that means you're probably going to be bringing
00:40:17 some element of pressure.
00:40:18 They actually lead the ACC in sack rate
00:40:24 when going cover one at 15.6%.
00:40:28 So that's their most effective look defensively
00:40:30 when trying to pressure you.
00:40:32 So you got to make hay
00:40:33 when they only bring a four-man pressure
00:40:35 because they're going to find more effective ways
00:40:38 to get to you.
00:40:39 15 of their 27 sacks, they only have 27,
00:40:42 but 15 of them have come from man-free cover one looks,
00:40:46 which is the most in the ACC.
00:40:49 So be ready for that.
00:40:51 They will give you some opportunities to make some plays.
00:40:55 A lot of times, Wes, when you see man-free coverage,
00:40:57 you're going to convert to different routes.
00:41:00 And the man-beating routes oftentimes
00:41:02 either break quickly out or break quickly in.
00:41:05 Depending on the leverage that you're going to see
00:41:07 from the defensive backs.
00:41:08 So let's say for instance, that you have a man-beater
00:41:11 that's a slant configuration.
00:41:13 All right, first, can our wideouts be good enough technicians
00:41:16 on the perimeter to get a free release
00:41:19 and get that inside leverage?
00:41:20 Because in man coverage, they don't want to give that up.
00:41:24 So if you can battle to win the inside leverage portion
00:41:27 of that route, you're going to have some success
00:41:29 against these guys.
00:41:30 Because when you look at what's happened,
00:41:33 when teams do successfully run those slant routes
00:41:36 against them, they've allowed over 300 yards,
00:41:38 which is the most in the ACC on that particular route.
00:41:41 And they've allowed five touchdown passes.
00:41:43 So when they go man-free,
00:41:46 that's when they have the most success
00:41:47 impacting the opposing passer.
00:41:49 But they're going to give you some opportunities
00:41:51 if you're a good enough technician on the perimeter
00:41:52 to break free with a clean release
00:41:55 on those inside breaking, quick cutting routes.
00:41:57 So the man-beater type of route.
00:41:59 So Garrett will be alert to that.
00:42:01 The wideouts will be alert to that.
00:42:03 Something to keep an eye on.
00:42:04 And now when North Carolina defensively,
00:42:10 here's something else that's interesting.
00:42:13 They're the only team in the ACC
00:42:15 to not allow an opposing running back
00:42:17 to catch a touchdown pass.
00:42:19 Now what that speaks to is their effectiveness
00:42:22 from the linebacking core and the nickelbacks.
00:42:25 So for a West Virginia offense,
00:42:28 we've seen the game-breaking ability
00:42:30 of Jaheim White in the past game.
00:42:32 I mean, think of the Cincinnati game,
00:42:33 the game-breaking 75 yarder,
00:42:35 think of the game-winner against Baylor.
00:42:37 So it's something to keep an eye on
00:42:38 once we get down into the red zone.
00:42:41 They've done a good job of bottling that up.
00:42:43 But again, this is without their maestro,
00:42:45 without their leading tackler,
00:42:47 who was also pretty good in coverage.
00:42:48 That gray kid's also pretty good in coverage.
00:42:51 So something to keep an eye on there,
00:42:53 especially when we get down to the red zone.
00:42:56 Now, if you want to look at areas that they have improved,
00:42:59 and even if it's minor strides,
00:43:02 they've taken a couple strides since last year.
00:43:04 From a takeaway standpoint,
00:43:07 they're more opportunistic.
00:43:08 Last year, they like forced 14 turnovers.
00:43:11 This year, they're a little more grabby.
00:43:13 They have 21 takeaways.
00:43:14 So ball security will matter.
00:43:16 They will have the ability,
00:43:19 or they have had the ability,
00:43:20 to steal a possession now and then,
00:43:21 and help the offense out.
00:43:23 So you, you know, high alert for a West Virginia offense
00:43:25 that's done a good job protecting the football,
00:43:27 knock on wood, continue to do that.
00:43:29 And then from a TFL standpoint,
00:43:32 at least when they're picking their spots
00:43:33 from a run blitz perspective,
00:43:35 last year, they're not an incredibly disruptive defense,
00:43:39 as we talked about,
00:43:40 but at least against the run game,
00:43:43 more so than last year.
00:43:44 Last year, they were only managing
00:43:45 about three and a half TFLs a game.
00:43:48 So not often knocking you off script.
00:43:50 This year, it's up to almost six,
00:43:52 still only 10th in the ACC,
00:43:54 but they've at least made some progress there.
00:43:58 But this isn't the type of defense
00:44:00 that's gonna force you into a ton of third and longs.
00:44:02 If you break it down,
00:44:04 we faced some defenses earlier in the year, Wes,
00:44:06 that will force you into third and seven or longer,
00:44:09 60 plus percent of the time, right?
00:44:12 That's a tough way to make a living.
00:44:13 That's not the case with this defense.
00:44:16 North Carolina defensively,
00:44:18 one of the reasons they've struggled,
00:44:19 when I break down the metrics on third down,
00:44:21 do you know how often they force you
00:44:23 into third and seven or longer?
00:44:25 Only 42% of the time.
00:44:27 So by and large, you're going to live ahead of the sticks.
00:44:32 27% of the time, it's gonna be third and one to three yards.
00:44:36 And then from a third and intermediate standpoint,
00:44:39 you're looking about one and a four times.
00:44:40 So more than half the time,
00:44:42 it's gonna be intermediate or better.
00:44:44 And only 42% of the time is it truly third and long.
00:44:47 So that's one of the reasons that they've struggled.
00:44:50 Now, West Virginia has started to turn a corner
00:44:52 with some of these third down conversion metrics.
00:44:55 We at least climbed to the point where we're seventh
00:44:58 in the Big 12, because early in the year,
00:45:00 we were really struggling to move the chains.
00:45:03 So, at ball game, all bets are off,
00:45:05 and it might be a four down proposition anyway.
00:45:08 But if West Virginia can play into what North Carolina
00:45:13 has allowed other offenses to do,
00:45:16 stay ahead of schedule,
00:45:18 create some manageable third downs,
00:45:20 and then maybe even roll the dice
00:45:22 a couple of times on fourth down,
00:45:23 I think that will serve us incredibly well.
00:45:26 But finally, when you look at small ball situationally,
00:45:29 let's look at it from a red zone standpoint.
00:45:33 North Carolina, defensively, from a touchdown,
00:45:35 allowed in the red zone standpoint,
00:45:37 they're middle of the pack in the ACC.
00:45:40 So it all depends what you make of it.
00:45:43 West Virginia, earlier in the year, was more effective,
00:45:45 but we ended sixth in the Big 12
00:45:48 from a touchdown scoring rate standpoint in the red zone.
00:45:51 I don't look at red zone scoring.
00:45:52 I only look at touchdown rate in the red zone.
00:45:54 That's what matters to me.
00:45:55 And then from a third down,
00:45:57 it's kind of an even fight from a third down standpoint.
00:46:00 We talked about the numbers at large,
00:46:01 but they're middle of the pack overall,
00:46:03 eighth in the ACC, we're seventh in the Big 12.
00:46:07 But I think the key there is to,
00:46:08 can we stay ahead of schedule?
00:46:10 Can we stay ahead of the sticks
00:46:12 and play into some of what they've allowed
00:46:14 some of these other offenses to do
00:46:16 by running the football, finding our rhythm
00:46:18 with those 10-plus sharp plays,
00:46:19 and the next thing you know,
00:46:21 you pop a couple of those 10-plus sharp plays,
00:46:22 you can take a shot downfield
00:46:24 and you got a big play and a splash play,
00:46:25 maybe even a cheap score.
00:46:26 So that's what I see.
00:46:28 - Well, I'll tell you what,
00:46:31 after what you just laid down there,
00:46:33 I know, listen, I'll preface this by saying,
00:46:35 I feel like this is a lot of times
00:46:38 a cliched thing to bring up,
00:46:40 'cause of course, every team and every game
00:46:42 wants a fast start,
00:46:43 and how you start the game is always important
00:46:45 for how the first 15 minutes
00:46:48 are kind of the first chapter
00:46:49 of how the next 45 are gonna play out,
00:46:52 but it feels like a fast start for WVU
00:46:55 and this one would go a long way.
00:46:57 A offense and a defense that's missing some key pieces
00:47:00 that like you mentioned,
00:47:01 probably wants to slow this thing down a little bit
00:47:03 and lean on the run game and try and keep it close
00:47:05 and limit plays and possessions and things like that.
00:47:09 It feels like this would not be a team
00:47:11 that would be built to be playing down 10 points,
00:47:14 down 14 points, something like that.
00:47:17 - I agree with that.
00:47:19 And again, North Carolina,
00:47:21 what you need to some extent,
00:47:22 this is Zach Fraser injury
00:47:24 and there's a couple other situations we've talked about,
00:47:26 but North Carolina is gonna be forced
00:47:28 from a personnel standpoint to make some adjustments.
00:47:31 A big one to me is the absence of Cedric Gray,
00:47:35 because he's off to the NFL,
00:47:36 so he's opting out as their leading tackler
00:47:39 and the leading tackler among all P5 defenders
00:47:41 the last two years.
00:47:42 What they're gonna do is,
00:47:44 they have another battle tested veteran in power, Echols.
00:47:47 He's gonna slide into Cedric Gray's spot
00:47:50 and then Amari Campbell is going to slide
00:47:52 from a linebacker standpoint in a power Echols spot.
00:47:55 So they're trying to make some adjustments there,
00:47:58 but they have some guys down on the back end.
00:48:00 They had their leading tackler out
00:48:02 among their linebacking core.
00:48:05 So they're gonna have to make some adjustments.
00:48:07 I am curious as to how that might impact
00:48:10 what he does or doesn't do
00:48:11 from a rolling the dice standpoint.
00:48:13 We talked about how critical his,
00:48:15 cover one man free blitz opportunities are.
00:48:19 I don't know, are we gonna see more quarters coverage,
00:48:22 more cover three out of him?
00:48:23 I don't know the answer to that.
00:48:25 It depends how much they,
00:48:26 they have talked about, they've recruited well.
00:48:29 For the fifth straight time,
00:48:30 they have a top 25 recruiting class.
00:48:31 So it's not like they don't have some untested talent
00:48:35 and reserve spots.
00:48:37 So the coverage is not there.
00:48:38 And you heard Neil talk about it, Wes.
00:48:40 Yes, they're gonna have to play some youth,
00:48:43 but to some extent, there's a silver lining
00:48:45 for North Carolina to be found in that
00:48:47 because bowl season is all about
00:48:48 who's most excited to be there.
00:48:50 And you gotta figure,
00:48:51 if you're some of these starters like Drake May,
00:48:54 if you were six and O in the top 10,
00:48:56 how excited are you to play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl
00:48:59 at eight and four?
00:49:00 But if you're an untested freshman, you're really excited.
00:49:03 I mean, Conor Harrell's making his first career start
00:49:06 at quarterback, he's tremendously excited.
00:49:08 So there's something to be said for that.
00:49:10 Which team will be the most excited?
00:49:12 I do fully expect West Virginia to come out fired up
00:49:15 seeing the opportunity this is.
00:49:17 And I expect our fans to turn out and help us.
00:49:20 So as we said, there's a lot of storylines here.
00:49:24 It makes this for a compelling matchup
00:49:25 for a host of reasons.
00:49:27 A lot of question marks.
00:49:28 I wonder how they're gonna handle things
00:49:29 from a game planning perspective offensively.
00:49:32 I wonder how they're gonna handle things,
00:49:34 whether or not they roll the dice
00:49:35 and gamble as much defensively with Chiswick
00:49:37 with some of these guys.
00:49:38 I don't know.
00:49:39 So it's gonna be interesting.
00:49:41 - Well, I tell you what, I'm excited.
00:49:44 I know Mountaineer Nation's excited.
00:49:46 You mentioned that game in Charlotte
00:49:47 being ideal for the Mayo Bowl.
00:49:48 I think they opened up more tickets for sale
00:49:51 on the WVU side of the stadium
00:49:53 because there was such a demand.
00:49:55 So should be a fun atmosphere.
00:49:57 Opportunity to get to a ninth win, right?
00:49:59 I mean, a number that we haven't hit, what, since 2016,
00:50:02 when Dana's team went 10 and two in the regular season,
00:50:05 10 and three overall.
00:50:06 So opportunity for young players, like you mentioned,
00:50:10 opportunity to really, listen,
00:50:11 this team's gonna carry momentum into next season,
00:50:14 but this I think would really put a stamp on that.
00:50:17 - Yeah. - And it's a big one.
00:50:19 - Last thing I would add was,
00:50:22 Mack Brown is a very well-established,
00:50:24 well-expected coach for a long list of reasons.
00:50:27 He's actually, he has five bowl wins,
00:50:29 which is more than any head coach in North Carolina history.
00:50:32 He has the national championship of Texas.
00:50:33 So you can't question his pedigree.
00:50:36 He's been there and done that.
00:50:38 One of the small things that I would say, pay attention to,
00:50:40 and again, from a forecasting standpoint,
00:50:42 because you're inserting so much youth
00:50:46 into the lineup for North Carolina.
00:50:47 North Carolina was already the most penalized team
00:50:50 in the ACC at 67 yards a game.
00:50:53 And that was with their veterans.
00:50:55 What impact does inserting these freshmen
00:51:00 or these younger players have on that?
00:51:02 Does that help that or hurt that?
00:51:05 I mean, running fewer snaps you would expect,
00:51:07 does that help?
00:51:08 I don't know, but if you can take that,
00:51:11 they've struggled from a discipline standpoint,
00:51:14 avoiding penalties.
00:51:15 So if you can use that, even a false start,
00:51:18 all of a sudden a second and seven becoming a second and 12
00:51:21 with a young quarterback
00:51:22 really helps West Virginia defensively.
00:51:24 So if you can start stacking penalties
00:51:27 and if we can avoid penalties
00:51:29 and let them hurt themselves and shoot themselves in the foot
00:51:32 as the most penalized team in the ACC,
00:51:34 it's little things like that that tend to add up.
00:51:37 And I'm gonna make a prediction here, Wes.
00:51:41 I've seen it posted sometime in the last couple of weeks.
00:51:44 West Virginia has never had a football game
00:51:48 end with the final score 28 to 21.
00:51:50 I'm gonna say this will be the first.
00:51:54 West Virginia wins this 28 to 21.
00:51:56 - Ooh, I think that might be the first time.
00:51:58 In the 134 episode history of this historic podcast
00:52:03 that is also your new favorite WVU podcast,
00:52:06 even though we're wrapping up year two here.
00:52:09 I don't know if you've ever made
00:52:09 a specific score prediction before.
00:52:11 I like that from you, babe Ruth, calling your shots.
00:52:14 There you're pointing,
00:52:15 pointing to the outfield and calling your shots.
00:52:18 That is interesting 'cause you feel,
00:52:18 I mean, that's a pretty common score, right?
00:52:20 Four touchdowns against three touchdowns, 28, 21.
00:52:22 - Never happened.
00:52:23 - Jed calling a little score-agami.
00:52:25 I absolutely love it.
00:52:27 - I think there's a WVU score-agami account, Wes.
00:52:30 I think that's where I saw that.
00:52:32 That posted that that's never been a score.
00:52:34 - I'll tell you what, if it ends up happening,
00:52:37 we'll go back, we'll cut up this part of the podcast here
00:52:40 and we'll tweet it at those guys
00:52:42 and maybe we'll have some fun back and forth
00:52:44 with WVU score-agami.
00:52:46 And that would also kind of play,
00:52:48 spread right now WVU's favored by six and a half points.
00:52:50 So seven point victory, you're right in range there,
00:52:53 dear signal caller.
00:52:55 A final thank you to our new friends at Johnson Equipment.
00:53:00 Make sure you're visiting their new location, Route 33,
00:53:02 Route 33, right outside of Weston.
00:53:05 Big thanks to Johnson Equipment for joining the party here.
00:53:08 - We're outside of Weston.
00:53:09 I just saw Tim Johnston a couple of days ago
00:53:12 and we wished each other a happy holiday.
00:53:14 - I love it. I love it.
00:53:15 All right, Jed, as we wrap this up, before we go,
00:53:18 couple quick hitters Christmas for you, okay?
00:53:20 - Yes, please.
00:53:21 - The people needs to know, favorite Christmas movie.
00:53:26 - Well, I tell you what,
00:53:29 that is a tough one.
00:53:30 I just recently, two nights ago,
00:53:33 watched for the thousandth time, "It's a Wonderful Life."
00:53:37 - It's a great one.
00:53:38 - Now without getting way out into the weeds,
00:53:39 there is a festival in Seneca Falls, New York.
00:53:41 I don't know if I ever told you about this.
00:53:43 Seneca Falls claims for a million reasons.
00:53:46 Bedford Falls in the movie is based on Seneca Falls.
00:53:48 It's up in the Finger Lakes of New York.
00:53:50 It's a really quaint, cool town.
00:53:52 They have a festival.
00:53:54 This movie was first released on December 15th, 1946.
00:53:57 I know that it's 'cause it's the day my dad was born.
00:54:00 So he just had his birthday.
00:54:01 - That's cool.
00:54:01 - So the weekend closest to December 15th,
00:54:06 they always have their "It's a Wonderful Festival."
00:54:08 We went up to it in 2014 and it was flat out awesome.
00:54:11 - That's cool.
00:54:12 - It's tough to beat "It's a Wonderful Life,"
00:54:14 but at the same time, it's tough to beat a Christmas story,
00:54:19 which plays all day every Christmas now on TBS and TNT.
00:54:22 And then for that matter,
00:54:24 I'll tell you the one that's the most recent.
00:54:27 Classic, and that is "Elf."
00:54:29 I mean, "Elf" has only been around for a couple decades,
00:54:31 but it's absolutely an entrenched classic now, right?
00:54:34 - And I know you love "Will of Fama" too.
00:54:35 - There's a lot of good ones,
00:54:36 but those are the ones I give shout outs to.
00:54:38 - Those are good.
00:54:39 My wife would like that.
00:54:40 My wife would say "Home Alone" or "Elf,"
00:54:41 so she would be on board with you.
00:54:43 Listen, I mean, the answer's "Die Hard," right?
00:54:46 We all know that, but I think Jed and I are going more.
00:54:49 I think Jed and I are going more
00:54:50 in the vein of classic Christmas movies.
00:54:55 I think "Christmas Vacation" deserves a shout
00:54:57 along with those that you said,
00:54:58 but mine would be "The Grinch,"
00:55:00 and specifically the Jim Carrey "Grinch."
00:55:03 Jim Carrey was my favorite actor growing up.
00:55:05 Like, I think I've told you this before.
00:55:06 Like, I grew up on the Ace Ventura movies.
00:55:09 I wore those two VHSs out,
00:55:11 both of them, "When Nature Calls" and "Pet Detective."
00:55:14 So I loved Jim Carrey growing up.
00:55:15 And that "Grinch" movie with Jim Carrey came out
00:55:17 when I was like nine or 10 years old,
00:55:19 like right at that perfect Christmas age.
00:55:21 So that's always, that one hits me right in the nostalgia.
00:55:25 Every time that that's on, I'm sitting down and watching it.
00:55:27 No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
00:55:30 Christmas song, Jed?
00:55:32 - "Silent Night."
00:55:35 - That's a great one. - First performed
00:55:37 on Christmas Eve, 1818.
00:55:40 It's "Silent Night."
00:55:42 It just gives me the chills.
00:55:44 - It's a great one.
00:55:46 There's something about doing "Silent Night" at church
00:55:48 on Christmas Eve when everybody's holding the candle.
00:55:50 You're right.
00:55:51 It just, it gives you the chills every single time.
00:55:54 I'm gonna go with "Run, Run Rudolph" by Chuck Berry
00:55:56 is my favorite.
00:55:58 But man, really anything by Andy Williams or Nat King Cole,
00:56:02 you know, or Gene Autry,
00:56:03 like any of those classic Christmases.
00:56:05 - I gotta insert my favorite Chuck Berry song,
00:56:09 "Brown Eyed Handsome Man."
00:56:10 Go ahead. - There you go.
00:56:11 There you go.
00:56:12 I love me some Chuck Berry, I do.
00:56:13 Favorite Christmas tradition?
00:56:17 - Ooh, that's a very good one.
00:56:21 You know, a lot of times what we've done is,
00:56:24 and it depends, it's sometimes four weeks,
00:56:25 sometimes six weeks before Christmas,
00:56:28 we buy different versions of hot cocoa.
00:56:31 And once a week-
00:56:33 - I like where this is going.
00:56:34 - Once a week as a family,
00:56:37 and we haven't been as compliant with it this year,
00:56:40 but as a family, once a week, excuse me,
00:56:45 fisherman's friend, kick in please.
00:56:47 We'll have the hot cocoa leading up to Christmas
00:56:49 all the way, we'll map it out for Christmas Eve
00:56:51 and backdate it.
00:56:53 And you get like a variety pack of like four or five
00:56:56 or six different kinds.
00:56:57 Now, Mav, my young guy and I,
00:56:59 we're the only ones in the family
00:57:00 because Dylan and Chrissy are not fans
00:57:01 of any kind of peppermint and chocolate, but we love it.
00:57:04 So we can count them out for that one.
00:57:06 But yeah, all the other different flavors of hot cocoa,
00:57:09 that's been a fun tradition of ours.
00:57:10 And historically, I always read the kids,
00:57:14 'twas the night before Christmas,
00:57:18 on Christmas Eve as they go to bed,
00:57:20 as we're finalizing things with the presents
00:57:21 out under the tree and everything.
00:57:23 And then we, and this has become more fun through the years.
00:57:27 Yes, with Dylan, it was fun when he was younger,
00:57:29 but he's older now.
00:57:31 But the technology wasn't quite to the point
00:57:32 that it was then,
00:57:33 but the NORAD tracking Santa stuff on Christmas Eve,
00:57:38 it was at least to the point where he and I could enjoy it
00:57:41 together when he was a kid.
00:57:43 But now Mav and I are just, it's massive.
00:57:45 You know, it's one of his favorite things to do.
00:57:47 So that's a big part of it.
00:57:49 And we'll be in Charlotte for Christmas this year.
00:57:51 - That's right. Yes, you will.
00:57:53 That's fantastic.
00:57:54 So ours are kind of evolving, you know what I mean?
00:57:59 Now that, you know, I've got two girls, two months old,
00:58:02 or sorry, two years old and seven months old.
00:58:04 So we're just kind of like really scratching that surface.
00:58:08 But one that I've always loved, like my wife and I,
00:58:11 you know, the five years that we were married
00:58:14 before we started having kids, we would, on Christmas day,
00:58:17 we would make brunch and watch "Goodfellas."
00:58:19 Okay?
00:58:20 That was our tradition.
00:58:23 And we've now morphed that to now with the girls,
00:58:26 we put the girls down and we watch "Die Hard"
00:58:29 in the evening,
00:58:29 because it's tough to watch "Goodfellas" in the evening.
00:58:31 It's like a three-hour movie, all right?
00:58:33 I mean, that's a late night.
00:58:34 So we've morphed it into get the girls down,
00:58:37 pour something cold to drink,
00:58:39 and watch "Die Hard" in the evening.
00:58:41 But you'll like this, Jed,
00:58:42 I'm starting a new Christmas tradition, hopefully.
00:58:45 Christmas Eve, I'm doing prime rib this year
00:58:48 for the first time ever.
00:58:49 We're gonna do, we're doing a prime rib dinner.
00:58:52 I'm doing the pan gravy.
00:58:53 I'm doing the horseradish aioli.
00:58:55 I'm doing it up, you know, homemade mashed potatoes,
00:58:58 broccoli and green beans.
00:59:01 So hopefully that'll be-
00:59:01 - How strong is the horseradish?
00:59:03 - Say that again?
00:59:04 - How strong is the horseradish?
00:59:06 - Pretty strong, because my dad and I
00:59:07 are the only ones who ever have any of it, so.
00:59:10 - I always say that horseradish is best
00:59:12 when a borderline knocks you unconscious.
00:59:14 I mean, that's it.
00:59:15 It's gotta clear your sinuses out and all that good stuff.
00:59:18 Yeah.
00:59:19 So I think we got a new tradition, hopefully,
00:59:21 of Christmas Eve prime rib,
00:59:22 one that it's not quite Whoville Rose Beast,
00:59:25 but I think it'll stick.
00:59:26 I think it'll stay.
00:59:27 Okay, last one for you.
00:59:29 I'm gonna put you on the spot here a little bit,
00:59:31 and I'll answer first on this one,
00:59:32 just to give you a second to think about it.
00:59:34 Your 2024 Christmas wish
00:59:37 for West Virginia University athletics.
00:59:40 You know, you can go football specifically,
00:59:42 you can go bigger overall, whatever you wanna do.
00:59:44 Like I said, I'll give you a second to think about this one,
00:59:46 but mine's real simple, Jed.
00:59:47 It's just the continued boom of the Country Roads Trust.
00:59:51 You know, like, it's such a big deal
00:59:54 in this new world order that is college football
00:59:56 to have those strong collectives,
00:59:58 and I think we are on,
01:00:00 I think we have one that's ahead of the curve
01:00:01 in a lot of ways.
01:00:02 I think we're on our way to building one
01:00:04 with a very strong foundation here
01:00:06 in its first couple years.
01:00:07 I love how Ren Baker has embraced that early on
01:00:10 in his tenure at WVU.
01:00:11 So that's my Christmas wish for WVU athletics.
01:00:14 Nothing crazy, but just, actually,
01:00:17 maybe for all the voodoo around the basketball program
01:00:19 to finally stop, please, dear God,
01:00:21 but just for overall, the continued growth and support,
01:00:25 and yeah, and progression of the Country Roads Trust.
01:00:29 - Or Josh Eilert.
01:00:30 I mean, come on, man.
01:00:31 - My goodness, man. - Come on, right?
01:00:33 - Finally get your waiver guys back,
01:00:36 and then Jesse Edwards fractures his wrist,
01:00:38 and he's out for a month.
01:00:39 You get Raekwon Battle back,
01:00:40 but he misses his first game with the flu.
01:00:42 Like, it's just incredible.
01:00:45 - So, let me tie a couple together.
01:00:48 There's another quasi tradition that I didn't mention.
01:00:53 We spend a weekend in Pittsburgh Christmas shopping,
01:00:57 and a lot of times what we like to do
01:00:59 is it's the weekend of December 10th-ish,
01:01:02 because that's when the Steel City Con is.
01:01:04 We're a family full of sci-fi and comic book geeks,
01:01:07 so they bring all these B-level celebrities in,
01:01:10 and this year actually, 'cause we don't really plan it.
01:01:13 It's kind of impromptu.
01:01:14 We just show up and buy the tickets and go in.
01:01:16 Well, this was the first time ever it was sold out.
01:01:17 We couldn't get in.
01:01:18 So we showed up and couldn't get in.
01:01:20 Yeah, so we're like, wow, this is getting too big for us.
01:01:23 But I mean, you'll see everybody
01:01:24 from Ralph Mouth to Carmen Electra.
01:01:27 I mean, it's Oscar from the Oscars.
01:01:29 - John Bernthal's been there in the past.
01:01:32 - Oh, they had the station wagon
01:01:34 from the Griswold movies.
01:01:36 It's great, but it's part of our Christmas shopping weekend
01:01:39 in Pittsburgh.
01:01:40 Well, I'm hoping that next year,
01:01:45 we have to pivot, adjust,
01:01:47 and do a different weekend in Pittsburgh,
01:01:49 because I hope to be in Jerry World that weekend next year.
01:01:53 That's what I'm hoping for.
01:01:55 For the Big 12 Conference Championship.
01:01:58 - Dang it, I love that one.
01:01:59 All right, can I redo my answer?
01:02:00 Can we cut that from the, and I'll say the same thing.
01:02:03 I'll say it first to make it seem cooler.
01:02:05 No, that's a fantastic answer.
01:02:06 That's a great answer.
01:02:08 Cheers to that one.
01:02:09 I'm with you on that one.
01:02:10 And it's funny, you know how like every year
01:02:14 when the Steelers schedule comes out for my job,
01:02:16 it's like, I look at it through the lens
01:02:18 of how does this affect my WVU games and everything, right?
01:02:22 And obviously number one on that list still for me
01:02:26 is to be able to go to the backyard brawl, right?
01:02:27 Just that I'm not traveling on the Saturday
01:02:30 to Houston, Texas or Minnesota or whatever
01:02:34 on the day of the backyard brawl.
01:02:36 'Cause I've only missed one backyard brawl game
01:02:38 since I was seven years old.
01:02:40 And, but the second one is gonna beat, man,
01:02:43 Jed, I would love it if like the Steelers
01:02:46 ended up playing on a Thursday or a Monday
01:02:49 that week of the Big 12 Championship game.
01:02:51 So that if the Mountaineers do find themselves
01:02:52 at Jerry World, I can find myself at Jerry World
01:02:55 as well too, so.
01:02:56 - Imagine if it's a Thursday in Dallas.
01:02:57 - That's a great one.
01:02:59 Even better, and then I'll just stay
01:03:00 and keep the party going.
01:03:01 Yeah, the Steelers do, and you know what sucks
01:03:03 is the Steelers do play the Cowboys next year,
01:03:05 but it's slated to be in Pittsburgh, not in Dallas.
01:03:08 Or else that would have been the dream scenario.
01:03:11 - Yeah, absolutely.
01:03:12 - Getting to do those back-to-back days
01:03:14 or something like that would be fantastic.
01:03:16 But I love that.
01:03:17 That'll be fun.
01:03:17 Let us know in the comments, let us know your traditions,
01:03:20 any of those that you wanna throw out there
01:03:21 that I posed, or your WVU.
01:03:24 I'd be very interested to know people's WVU wish
01:03:27 for a new year, Christmas wish for a new year.
01:03:29 So let us know those as well too.
01:03:31 For Big O, and as always, a thank you
01:03:34 to our producer Skylar Callahan.
01:03:36 I am Wesley Uler with the signal caller Jed Drenning,
01:03:39 and the one thing we ask of you is to be an ear
01:03:41 and tell an ear about your new favorite
01:03:43 WVU football podcast.
01:03:44 We're also gonna ask you for one or two more things
01:03:45 right now, okay?
01:03:46 That's to have a very Merry Christmas.
01:03:48 And like I said, if you're listening to this podcast
01:03:50 while you're out traveling over the holidays,
01:03:52 near or far, 10 minutes down the road,
01:03:54 or maybe a few hours crossing state lines,
01:03:57 make sure you're staying safe out there,
01:03:59 and safe travels, enjoy the holidays, enjoy the family.
01:04:02 And Jed, I always like to say with these things too,
01:04:05 I know the holidays for a lot of people are rough.
01:04:07 Whether for losses that you've experienced,
01:04:09 going through the holidays for the first time
01:04:11 without somebody significant in your life,
01:04:13 whether it's you didn't come from families
01:04:16 where holidays were a celebrated thing,
01:04:19 maybe it's not always been easy for you,
01:04:20 whatever the case may be,
01:04:22 I just always like to say that for those people too.
01:04:24 Hold on tight 'cause it goes quick.
01:04:27 That's the gift and the curse of Christmas.
01:04:29 If you love it and you look forward to it all year,
01:04:32 hold on tight 'cause it goes quick.
01:04:34 If you're somebody who doesn't look forward
01:04:36 to this time of year, hey, just hold on tight,
01:04:38 it goes quick.
01:04:39 - Well said, that's a great point.
01:04:41 I was thinking of a friend who we lost this year,
01:04:45 just a couple of days ago about that very thing,
01:04:47 and I was thinking of his family,
01:04:48 so I'm glad you said that.
01:04:50 - So that's how we'll end this.
01:04:52 Merry Christmas, beat the hell out of North Carolina.
01:04:55 Let's go get that ninth win.
01:04:56 Take care, everybody, and we'll talk to you soon.
01:04:59 As always, you've been in the gun.
01:05:00 (upbeat music)
01:05:03 (upbeat music)