ITG 142 - WVU Football Schedule Reaction
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - In the gun episode 142, I'm Skylar Kelley
00:08 and that is the signal caller, Jed Drenning.
00:11 We've got a schedule finally,
00:13 and we're able to talk about it here today.
00:15 We're gonna give our thoughts.
00:16 We're gonna look at the structure of it.
00:18 I don't know if we'll get into the predictions or anything,
00:21 but we'll take a look here
00:23 at some of the interesting notes on the schedule.
00:25 But first, as always, our show is brought to you
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00:42 So West Virginia, we already knew the opponents.
00:44 We didn't know the dates, which was what we were waiting on.
00:47 So today we find out that West Virginia will open up
00:52 Big 12 Conference play against Kansas,
00:55 following the Backyard Brawl,
00:57 which is the exact same scenario
00:59 that happened two years ago,
01:00 where West Virginia lost the Backyard Brawl
01:02 in a heartbreaker.
01:04 We all know what happened,
01:05 when we all thought the earth was coming to an end,
01:07 when West Virginia lost to Kansas in overtime,
01:10 in the JT Daniels-led Mountaineers.
01:12 So Jed, where do you want to start here?
01:15 I mean, we've got seven home games,
01:17 technically eight, if you really want to count
01:19 the pick game as a home game,
01:20 'cause I mean, that's an easy trip for West Virginia.
01:23 - That's right.
01:23 I say start at the top.
01:26 And the reason I say that,
01:27 when you look at the Penn State game,
01:29 developments in recent weeks in the coaching carousel
01:33 made that more intriguing,
01:35 in the sense that we're going to be facing
01:38 a Penn State team in the opener,
01:40 that's going to be rolling out a brand new offense
01:43 under a new OC in Andy Kotelnicki,
01:45 a brand new defense under a new defensive coordinator,
01:48 Tom Allen, formerly the head coach in Indiana.
01:51 So we're going to be trying to connect some dots
01:54 and play some guesswork.
01:55 If you have an opener against new coordinators like that,
01:58 you have to try and make your most educated guess.
02:02 Whereas Penn State kind of knows what to expect.
02:04 They're going to have a lot more tape to study.
02:06 So as Penn State comes to Morgantown
02:10 for the first time in three decades,
02:12 that ticket is going to be in such incredibly high demand.
02:16 It's going to be an incredible environment
02:18 to kick off the 2020-21 season.
02:20 A Penn State team that figures,
02:22 yes, they're going to lose potentially
02:24 even three top 20 picks in the NFL.
02:26 I mean, they could land three of those kids in the top 20.
02:29 We'll see how the draft goes, but they have a lot back.
02:32 They have a lot back.
02:34 They're going to be at least pushing the top 10,
02:36 if not in it.
02:37 We'll spend more time, as we've talked about in the past,
02:40 this off season discussing whether or not
02:42 West Virginia will potentially be a ranked football team
02:46 heading into that Penn State game.
02:47 So yeah, all eyes are going to be on Morgantown,
02:50 August 31st.
02:52 You hope that game's under the lights.
02:53 Who knows?
02:54 The TV powers that be will decide.
02:57 From that, you jump into Albany.
02:59 Pretty good FCS team.
03:00 We talked about Skyler.
03:01 They threw a scare into Marshall last year.
03:03 They were competitive on the road,
03:04 way out at Hawaii last year.
03:06 A playoff team that won a couple games in the FCS playoffs.
03:10 They come to town on September 7th,
03:13 the week before West Virginia returns to Pittsburgh
03:18 for the backyard brawl.
03:19 Now, what's interesting about that,
03:21 when you look at the schedules,
03:22 West Virginia heading September 14th to Pitt.
03:26 The way Pitt's schedule lays out,
03:28 the week before they play West Virginia,
03:31 they travel to Cincinnati to face the same Bearcats squad,
03:34 which beat them in Pittsburgh a year ago
03:36 and kind of sent them reeling.
03:38 And then the week after they play West Virginia,
03:41 they actually got the Youngstown State Penguins
03:43 coming to town.
03:44 So they got a rivalry game against this FCS team
03:46 that's beaten them in the past.
03:48 So who knows what to expect there.
03:50 But backyard brawl September 14th, as you talked about,
03:55 irrespective of what happens against Pitt,
03:57 you know it's going to be an emotionally charged game.
04:01 These rivalry matchups always are.
04:03 That's why it's a concern who you're playing a week later.
04:06 And so it's less than optimal to be playing
04:09 an incredibly dangerous Kansas team
04:12 with Lance Leipold's crew coming to town
04:14 to kick off league playoff September 21st.
04:16 So it's gonna be, I would imagine all hands on deck.
04:20 - Yeah.
04:21 - From there, I think this is an interesting little wrinkle.
04:24 When I first saw our schedule, depending on who you asked,
04:29 it was kind of sorted out yesterday.
04:31 So you had a bit of a peek at it.
04:32 It wasn't official.
04:34 Okay. So, but you had a sense that,
04:37 okay, this is the way things are gonna line up.
04:39 West Virginia is going to have a bye week
04:41 before going to Stillwater for the matchup
04:44 against Oklahoma State, October 5th.
04:47 Now let's frame this properly.
04:49 Oklahoma State returns just about everyone.
04:51 - Everybody.
04:52 - They're pushing 20 starters back.
04:54 So I'd say a lot of folks are gonna have them pegged
04:57 as the favorite to win this league,
04:59 at least among those teams that will be in the hunt.
05:02 So a loaded Oklahoma State team in Stillwater, October 5th.
05:06 But again, West Virginia will have a bye week
05:09 before going to Stillwater.
05:11 Today, when the other Big 12 teams' schedules
05:15 became available, there were a host of things
05:17 that I wanted to see out of the other schedules
05:20 in the sense that how's it line up
05:22 against when they play West Virginia?
05:23 What are they coming in of?
05:24 What are they coming out of?
05:25 What are they going into?
05:27 First thing I wanted to see,
05:28 I jumped to Oklahoma State's schedule.
05:29 Very first thing I checked with the other team's schedules.
05:32 I wanted to know, do they also have the same bye
05:35 that West Virginia has the week of September 28th
05:37 before that game?
05:38 And the answer is no.
05:39 Oklahoma State plays Kansas State.
05:42 So West Virginia, at least,
05:43 yes, we're going on the road to Stillwater,
05:45 but at least we will have a bye
05:46 whereas Oklahoma State won't.
05:48 It's not often we find ourselves, as a team,
05:51 receiving that benefit.
05:52 So when's the last time it happened, Skyler?
05:54 You know, I was trying to think of that.
05:56 I don't remember.
05:57 - I think it predates Neil Brown.
06:00 I mean, that's just the feeling of it.
06:02 I mean, it's been a long, long time.
06:04 And I mean, it does suck,
06:07 like what you said with the Kansas thing.
06:08 I mean, this is the most hype this team is going to have
06:12 going into a season, maybe ever.
06:14 I mean, I don't remember Kansas ever receiving
06:16 this much attention in the off season, rightfully so.
06:20 But this is a tough stretch that I mentioned to you
06:22 before we hopped on here,
06:24 was these first four games in Big 12 play.
06:27 I mean, obviously, any year you have the first four,
06:30 they're going to determine a lot,
06:31 but they're really going to be what is the barometer,
06:34 I feel, for this team in 2024,
06:35 because if you get out of that four-game stretch,
06:38 I'm not going to say you're smooth sailing
06:40 all the way to the finish line,
06:41 but things lighten up in the back half of that schedule
06:44 where you feel pretty good about your chances.
06:46 We'll get to that here in a second.
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09:01 - Who knows?
09:02 It's January 30th, right?
09:03 I mean, there's gotta be so much stuff
09:05 that happens between now and the time
09:07 they kick things off against Penn State on August 31st.
09:11 And note here too, which we did some investigating on,
09:14 this is our hunch, by the way.
09:15 We're not trying to ruin any spoilers
09:18 or anything like that or spoil anything, if you will.
09:21 But the backyard brawl,
09:23 probably not gonna be a night game.
09:25 Pirates play at 640 against the Kansas City Royals
09:28 that night.
09:29 Me and my wife are gonna go either that night
09:31 after the backyard brawl or the day before
09:33 because I'm a deranged Pirates fan.
09:35 I don't know why I do that.
09:36 But so they're playing at 640.
09:40 You can almost, you can almost--
09:43 - Skyler, it might please you to know
09:45 I'm a fully recovered Pirates fan.
09:47 - Well, I--
09:48 - In other words, I went from documenting every pitch
09:50 for years growing up
09:52 to I haven't watched a pitch in five years.
09:54 Fully recovered.
09:56 - Well, maybe I'll get there one day.
09:57 Maybe I will.
09:58 But I'm holding on by a thread right now.
10:00 So you can almost guarantee
10:02 that game's gonna be a noon kickoff.
10:04 There's no way in heck
10:05 that they're gonna wanna put that at the same time.
10:08 Traffic would be a nightmare.
10:09 So you can almost assume
10:11 that the backyard brawl is gonna be a noon game.
10:13 And I guess it could benefit West Virginia
10:16 just in case the Pitt faithful
10:19 like to show up for that one.
10:21 I don't think that they will.
10:23 But yeah, we'll see what happens.
10:25 So I guess those first four games here.
10:29 I mean, you look at the schedule.
10:31 I had it pulled up here.
10:34 So you have Kansas obviously to kick off Big 12 play.
10:37 You go to Stillwater.
10:38 You come back home for two
10:39 against Iowa State and Kansas State.
10:41 And I feel if you can just split
10:45 those first two home games
10:50 between Kansas and Iowa State,
10:51 or excuse me, the first two after Oklahoma State,
10:54 Iowa State and Kansas State.
10:55 If you at worst split,
10:57 I think you're in a really good spot.
10:59 Because you got Arizona,
11:00 which I don't know what they're gonna look like
11:02 by the time the season rolls around.
11:04 They say they're all gonna stay there, but who knows.
11:06 But I mean, you just look up and down the schedule.
11:08 There's a lot of yellow, which means home games.
11:10 There's the first road game is at Pitt.
11:13 And that's really a home game.
11:15 Like I just said,
11:16 you really don't hit the road until October.
11:18 You come back home for two.
11:19 You go to Arizona.
11:20 Cincinnati is a quick trip.
11:22 I mean, there's really no tough spot
11:24 in terms of the travel on the schedule.
11:27 - I wanted to see what kind of burden there would be
11:28 with these lengthy trips.
11:30 And first of all,
11:32 coming out of the Oklahoma State game,
11:34 returning home immediately with no time to recover
11:36 against that back-to-back slate
11:39 with Iowa State and K-State,
11:40 which figure to be two of the better
11:42 defensive football teams in the league.
11:44 So you like to think that through the month of September
11:47 against battle-tested competition,
11:49 against elite competition,
11:51 we'll come out of September,
11:53 hopefully humming on the offensive side of the football
11:55 and very well-oiled.
11:57 As opposed to facing those types of defensive teams
12:00 where you're still trying to work some of the kinks out,
12:02 maybe that could matter.
12:03 Of course, one of the storylines you figure
12:05 with Iowa State coming to town,
12:07 the last time they were here,
12:08 we handed them the Brocktober surprise
12:10 with Super Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy
12:12 suffering his first loss as a starter
12:14 in the month of October at Iowa State.
12:17 But now you have Rocco Beck.
12:18 So that's gonna be a heck of a storyline.
12:19 Rocco Beck played good football last year.
12:22 He's coming to Morgantown and Iowa State was a football team
12:25 that in true road games last year,
12:27 remember they recovered after losing to a Mac team early.
12:30 They recovered, they lost to Iowa.
12:31 They lost to a Mac team.
12:33 They bounced back and they were four and two
12:35 in true road games last year.
12:36 So something to contend with there.
12:39 You know, K State is gonna be an absolute handful.
12:42 What intrigues me, and I don't know,
12:45 that K State game is on October 19th.
12:47 I haven't decided if this is good news or bad news.
12:51 This is the week before the Sunflower Showdown
12:54 against Kansas, which is a big rivalry game for K State.
12:58 And with Kansas now humming, it's a true rivalry.
13:01 It's not what it was, let's say five years ago,
13:03 with this unilateral beat now, so lopsided each year.
13:07 So you would think that, okay,
13:08 is there going to be a distraction?
13:10 Is there gonna be a lack of focus from Chris Climon's crew
13:13 a week ahead of a rivalry game against Kansas?
13:17 So what I did was I went back and I looked.
13:18 Since Chris Climon got to Manhattan,
13:22 here is what Kansas State has done
13:24 the week before the Sunflower Showdown.
13:26 - Ooh.
13:28 - They won 59 to 25 last year.
13:30 Two years ago, they beat us in Morgantown, 48 to 31.
13:33 In 2021, they won 31 to 12.
13:35 In 2020, they won 21 to 14.
13:37 In 2019, they beat Oklahoma.
13:39 They're five and O under Chris Climon.
13:41 You talk about a focused football team.
13:43 So I'm not so sure we can hedge our bets
13:45 about getting a lack of advantage distraction,
13:49 you know, a lack of focus distraction advantage there.
13:51 So we'll see, but it's always interesting
13:53 to see what comes before, what comes after,
13:56 what kind of football team,
13:57 what version of that football team you can expect.
13:59 But apparently, K-State has a track record
14:03 under Chris Climon of remaining focused,
14:05 irrespective of who comes up on the schedule after that.
14:08 Now, the Arizona trip is probably the one
14:12 I was fearing the most.
14:12 I did not want a Thursday night game in Tucson, Arizona.
14:15 I just didn't for my own personal reasons.
14:18 So it is a Saturday game.
14:20 It's October 26th.
14:21 I'll be home for Halloween.
14:22 That's cool.
14:23 I can take my kid trick-or-treating.
14:24 But I think the Big 12 was somewhat kind to us here
14:27 because there's not a true bye week the following week,
14:30 but there's a half bye week.
14:31 So what plays out is we go to Tucson.
14:34 After back-to-back home games, we go to Tucson,
14:36 take the long journey out West.
14:38 We return home.
14:39 We don't have a game the following Saturday,
14:42 but we do have a game either the following Thursday night
14:45 or Friday night.
14:46 That part hasn't been decided.
14:47 It's scheduled as either Thursday or Friday.
14:49 And it's our shortest conference road trip
14:51 at Cincinnati to Nippert.
14:53 So we'll return to Nippert on campus
14:55 for the first time since 2009,
14:57 because the last time we were in Cincinnati,
14:59 of course, was '11.
15:00 We were in the Big East.
15:01 And we played that game at Paul Brown.
15:03 That was the game that Zach Kilaros got injured
15:06 when Bruce sacked him in the end zone.
15:08 Zach Kilaros, by the way, still winning great cups
15:10 in the CFL.
15:11 That blows my mind.
15:11 - Winner round forever.
15:13 - Yeah, Ian Smith blocked that field goal at the end.
15:15 Big win.
15:16 Started that stretch run for us to go to the Orange Bowl
15:18 that landed us in the Orange Bowl against Clemson.
15:21 So you have that.
15:22 And then we return home.
15:24 And here's our final stretch run.
15:26 We have Baylor at home on November 16th.
15:28 Now, of course, knock on wood, West Virginia unbeaten.
15:31 What is it now?
15:32 6-0 in Morgantown against Baylor.
15:36 So you hope that continues.
15:37 And you saw that Baylor,
15:39 irrespective of what their record might've been last year,
15:42 was a handful for us in that finale in Waco.
15:44 And I would expect something of a bounce back year
15:47 for Dave Miranda.
15:48 I think he's too good of a coach not to see that.
15:51 New coordination, of course, with Jake
15:52 on the offensive side of the football.
15:54 So again, November 16th,
15:55 we'll see how that plays out.
15:57 But another one, November 23rd, Central Florida,
16:02 our final home game of the regular season.
16:05 And if you had an opportunity to drag
16:07 a Central Florida team to Morgantown on any day,
16:10 make it your last home game of the season.
16:13 Now, of course, Morgantown can be finicky with the weather.
16:16 I remember one year playing UCF on Thanksgiving weekend,
16:18 it was like 60-something.
16:20 But you would expect adverse conditions
16:23 for the Knights coming up here to Morgantown.
16:24 You hope so.
16:25 Of course, the Knights will now be led
16:27 by Arkansas quarterback transfer, KJ Jefferson.
16:30 I'm just a nerd.
16:31 One of the things I had to do is I'm like,
16:33 "Hey, is KJ a cold-weather guy
16:34 or did he grow up in the South as well?"
16:36 He's a Mississippi kid.
16:37 So if we get adverse conditions in November,
16:41 maybe that will benefit West Virginia.
16:43 And then the trip that we, again,
16:47 another trip that I've dreaded traditionally,
16:48 it's just a tough, rugged road trip.
16:51 And that is November 30th to wrap up the regular season
16:53 in Lubbock at Texas Tech.
16:55 Now, under ideal circumstances,
16:58 I don't even think you can call that-
17:00 - You'd be fine to get into Dallas.
17:02 - That's just it.
17:03 Under some circumstances, you might look at this,
17:05 they wouldn't be ideal, and say,
17:07 "Well, hey, if you've got to play a game
17:08 while out there in Lubbock,
17:10 at least it's not going to impact
17:11 whoever you play the next week
17:12 because you have recovery time
17:15 and you don't have to travel again
17:16 or you don't have to worry about the impact
17:17 that that game traveling all the way to Lubbock
17:19 had on you."
17:20 Well, you're trying to play or vie for an opportunity
17:23 to turn around and go back to Dallas.
17:24 So that could be a kind of a rugged stretch,
17:26 going all the way to Lubbock,
17:28 most likely coming back to Morgantown,
17:30 turning back around, going to Dallas to play in Jerry World.
17:32 Let's hope that's an issue we have to deal with.
17:35 I really hope that's an issue we have to deal with.
17:38 But that's kind of just some of the initial notes.
17:41 Of course, we're sitting here with 90 plus kids
17:43 on scholarship and you're allowed 85, right?
17:46 So there's going to be a few changes
17:49 between this discussion in January
17:51 and the Penn State game on August 31st.
17:54 But as things stand now,
17:55 that's a kind of some of my initial reactions
17:58 in terms of checking to see,
18:00 like we talked about the bye week before Oklahoma State.
18:02 Remember that stretch?
18:03 We of course remember that long suffering stretch
18:06 against Texas Tech from 2018, or excuse me, 2019,
18:10 all the way through last year.
18:11 Last year was our first win against them
18:13 since the '18 season with Will Greer.
18:16 Well, part of that was he kept lining up for Texas Tech.
18:19 They had a bye week before they played us.
18:21 - Yeah, exactly. - And we didn't have a bye week.
18:23 So it was very beneficial to them.
18:25 The question is, will it be a benefit to us
18:27 in much the same way against a very talented
18:30 and loaded Oklahoma State team?
18:31 So I do have some questions,
18:33 but a lot of intrigue on the schedule.
18:35 Now I can finally submit my dates for my time off to Pfizer.
18:40 I mean, I remember back in the days,
18:41 this thing came out in November, you know?
18:44 And here we are almost into February,
18:47 but I'm just happy to have some dates before me.
18:49 Now I can start tinkering with the other team's schedules,
18:52 the other team's matchups, where they fall,
18:54 how that might land, but initial looks at all of them.
18:57 But what other thoughts do you have, Skylar?
18:58 - Yeah, so I mean, I think, well, first of all,
19:01 you brought this up.
19:03 I think you had some funny stories
19:05 from Lubbock a time or two before.
19:07 I wanted to ask, have you ever had a tortilla thrown at you?
19:10 - At me?
19:13 It's basically-- - In the direction, maybe.
19:15 - Throwing up mud on the wall, something's gonna stick,
19:17 but as I've written about before,
19:20 it's my understanding that they're technically contraband.
19:25 Okay?
19:27 So at least by virtue of policy.
19:31 So they have to be smuggled in.
19:33 So my first question, I don't think they're openly carrying.
19:35 I'm not up there in the gates watching the fans roll in.
19:39 So if in fact it is contraband,
19:42 they have to be smuggled in, where are they being smuggled?
19:44 - Right.
19:45 - That's always been my first question.
19:47 And I don't know what that tortilla has touched,
19:50 but they do good with wine.
19:52 I mean, it should be a competition down there.
19:55 Those things cover some ground in the air.
19:57 And I remember, Owen had said
20:01 when we lost the game down there,
20:03 of course, that week, two years ago, he said,
20:06 "Hey, if we win the game, bring one home, I'm eating it."
20:09 And I'd already decided, you know what?
20:12 If we win the game, I'm gonna bring one home,
20:13 but it's gonna be from the shop in Saving Davis.
20:15 It's not gonna be from what we got.
20:17 I'm not having a salmonella or who knows what.
20:20 But it's a, when Texas Tech is in a good place,
20:25 and a lot's expected of Joey Maguire's club,
20:31 they finished strong, they bounced back.
20:33 They had high expectations last year
20:35 and kind of underachieved,
20:36 but they bounced back down the stretch.
20:38 They're gonna have some high expectations again this year.
20:40 They recruited very well.
20:42 He's a fan favorite.
20:44 - You think that's gonna be a meaningful football game
20:47 to close out the season at the end of November.
20:50 So if in fact it is a meaningful football game
20:53 on the Texas Tech side,
20:54 then that means that that crowd's gonna be a challenge.
20:57 I mean, it can be.
20:58 I mean, they get into it, they're passionate.
21:00 Now, it's one of those things that there's been times
21:03 we took them out of it when they were playing.
21:04 So football got a big lead
21:07 and the crowd wasn't much of a factor,
21:08 but if they're humming,
21:10 that's one of those crowds that plays a role.
21:12 So yeah, just to envision,
21:16 hopefully you're in a situation
21:18 where you're making that trip
21:20 with a ton of stuff on the line.
21:22 That's what you're hoping for.
21:23 - Yeah. - That's what you're hoping for.
21:25 - To me, I mean, you always wanna be playing,
21:28 this is the one thing that we've been talking about,
21:30 really, over the last couple of years,
21:31 is playing meaningful football in November, right?
21:34 And to me, that's the one area I always look at
21:37 on the schedule was November, what do you have?
21:38 So you have the short trip to Cincinnati,
21:41 you have Baylor and UCF at home.
21:42 Baylor's trying to find answers,
21:44 they're trying to get back on track.
21:45 UCF, they're still trying to get back
21:48 into their days pre-Big 12.
21:51 They got a lot to do in terms of building
21:53 that depth down there.
21:55 Again, you're-- - Let's get to
21:56 the other things I point to, Skylar.
21:57 With both Cincinnati and UCF, this came to mind as well.
22:01 We get both of them in November.
22:03 If depth's gonna matter,
22:05 it's gonna matter later in the year.
22:07 And they're still working towards
22:08 building Big 12 caliber depth.
22:10 So that could serve as an advantage as well.
22:13 And let me ask you this, do you remember the last time,
22:18 'cause once again, we're on the road
22:19 to close the regular season.
22:20 Do you remember the last time
22:21 we closed the regular season at home?
22:23 - I'm gonna say,
22:27 it doesn't, does it go all the way back to Kansas?
22:33 It seems like it's been a while.
22:37 - Baylor. - Wilbury or Color Murray.
22:39 - Oh, that's right, that's right.
22:41 I was gonna say Baylor, Tyler Howard,
22:42 but that's right. - Here's what's interesting.
22:45 Five consecutive seasons now,
22:47 we've closed the regular season on the road.
22:48 Four of those were Thanksgiving weekend.
22:50 I know because I had to fly on Black Friday,
22:52 leave my family behind.
22:53 But what's interesting, in those five games,
22:57 we've closed the regular season,
22:58 five straight years on the road, this will be the sixth.
23:01 We're four and one in those five road games.
23:03 - So what you're saying is--
23:06 - Yeah, so interesting, it's just, it's interesting.
23:08 It all started with that 2019 win at TCU,
23:11 as double-digit underdogs, but yeah.
23:15 So what did you want?
23:18 - The one thing that I also wanted to know too
23:20 is 'cause you guys did a really good job
23:22 of talking about it each and every week
23:23 after you guys come back.
23:25 We talk to Big Daddy every Monday
23:27 and you talk about the venues and stuff.
23:29 Last year was almost like every week
23:30 we were talking about this,
23:31 you guys' first trip to this venue.
23:33 This year, you got one new venue, that's Arizona.
23:36 And you have also one new head coach,
23:39 and that is also Arizona.
23:41 So there's a lot of continuity here
23:44 with the schedule and familiarity.
23:46 - I think it's two.
23:47 I've never been to Jerry Ward, so let's hope it's two.
23:50 - There you go, wise guy.
23:52 - I like to take a frying pan fishing with me.
23:54 - Right? (laughs)
23:55 - So let's hope it's two.
23:57 - So there you have it, the West Virginia schedule.
24:00 Starting things off August 31st against Penn State,
24:04 kicking off Big 12 play against Kansas,
24:07 and then rounding things out at the end of the year,
24:10 senior day against UCF on November 23rd,
24:12 and then to end the season November 30th against Texas Tech.
24:15 And as Jed just noted, a week before they make the trip
24:18 back out there to Fort Worth for the Big 12 Championship.
24:20 So we'll see how things all shake out.
24:23 Obviously a lot of things moving and shaking
24:25 between now and then.
24:26 Also wanted to note too,
24:28 those that are not on the schedule this year,
24:30 but will be in the upcoming years,
24:33 Utah, Colorado, Arizona State, BYU, Houston, and TCU,
24:38 and then back on the slate, as we already mentioned,
24:40 Iowa State, Kansas State, and Kansas.
24:42 So 16 teams, it's crazy to believe
24:46 that we've gone from 10 to 12,
24:47 to back down to 10, to back up all the way up to 16.
24:50 And who knows where this thing will be come June
24:53 when that's just typically the time of year
24:56 that it always happens, so.
24:58 - 14 minus two plus four divided into six.
25:00 Yeah, there you go.
25:01 - Yeah, all the big, big--
25:02 - But we're gonna have to get Charles Wesley Godwin's
25:06 thoughts on the schedule.
25:08 - Yes, see what games he's gonna be--
25:09 - As he appears on the show.
25:11 Yes, as we drop Friday, he tapes Thursday night with us.
25:15 I'll tell you what, I've been watching
25:17 the Joe Rogan episode with CWG.
25:22 - I've caught a few minutes of it, it's pretty interesting.
25:24 - He continues to be an impressive cat, he really does.
25:27 He's just impressive.
25:28 Two weeks ago, three weeks ago, he's on Joe Rogan.
25:31 And usually that is kind of a launching pad
25:34 to bigger things as it is now for him,
25:36 all the way up to "In the Gun", so.
25:38 (laughing)
25:39 - Exactly, so he is gonna be "In the Gun", that is right.
25:44 So make sure you hit that subscribe button on YouTube
25:46 at "In the Gun" podcast, get notified when that video
25:49 drops with Charles Wesley Godwin, Mr. 14 himself.
25:54 Also another thank you to Fortis and Johnston Equipment.
25:58 Be sure to stop by Johnston Equipment on exit 99, route 33.
26:03 And we'll have everything for you covered.
26:05 We're gonna talk a lot about the schedule
26:07 coming up here soon.
26:08 This isn't gonna be the final time.
26:09 We're probably gonna get into way too early predictions.
26:11 Lord knows what we're gonna get into.
26:12 It's a long off season.
26:14 But yeah, definitely make sure you catch
26:16 that Charles Wesley Godwin episode.
26:17 It's gonna be a lot of fun.
26:19 Who knows, maybe he'll even play a song or two.
26:20 We'll see, we'll see if we can get him to do that.
26:22 - Or no one can talk him into.
26:23 - Yeah, with Owen maybe singing, right?
26:26 That would be kind of cool to see a little bit of that.
26:29 - But incredible.
26:31 Yeah, he's gonna be an amazing guest.
26:34 And we brainstormed some other guests to come
26:37 in this off season as well.
26:39 But yeah, I tell you what, he did Tony's pod.
26:43 He did Joe Rogan.
26:45 He's just an impressive dude.
26:47 When you have a chance to listen to him talk,
26:50 he is just an insightful guy.
26:51 He's just a very sensible, deep thinking dude.
26:55 Which, how's he buddies with Owen?
26:56 I mean, how did that arrive, right?
26:58 - Right.
26:59 (laughing)
27:02 Well, we're taking shots of that.
27:04 But yeah.
27:05 - He's not here to defend himself, right?
27:06 Why not?
27:07 - He's a great dude from what I gather.
27:10 And I can't wait to meet him and talk to him here
27:12 when we record tomorrow.
27:13 It's gonna be a lot of fun.
27:14 You can just tell he's a much better guy.
27:16 Yeah, I mean, he is.
27:16 - I mean, really, Owen has known him
27:19 - For years.
27:19 - Literally his first days of playing.
27:22 Like back when Owen had the saloon
27:24 and CWG was playing his first notes.
27:26 I mean, he would pop into the saloon
27:29 and sometimes Owen, a lot of times Owen
27:30 would play with him, you know?
27:32 'Cause Owen does have a musical background.
27:34 We're gonna have to get him moving a little bit.
27:35 - Believe it or not, yeah, he does.
27:37 - Yeah, he does.
27:37 He does and he's a Renaissance man.
27:40 Old Big O is, yeah.
27:41 - Yeah, so we'll make sure to hit that subscribe button.
27:44 Like I said, "In the Gun" podcast.
27:45 We'll be back with another episode dropping.
27:48 Oh, I'm trying to think of my days here.
27:50 Thursday, right?
27:51 Or no, Friday.
27:52 It'd be one Friday.
27:52 - I think Thursday it'll drop Friday.
27:53 That's the plan.
27:54 And unless, again, CWG, very busy man.
27:58 - Exactly.
27:58 - So you gotta assume something might come up.
28:00 I mean, if it does, it's not the end of the world.
28:01 - Tentatively speaking here, he will be here on Friday
28:06 on YouTube and all your podcast platforms
28:09 that you get us at.
28:10 So make sure you hit that subscribe button.
28:13 You follow us, give us a like.
28:14 And as always, be in here and tell in here
28:18 about your favorite new WWE football podcast.
28:20 You have been "In the Gun."
28:22 (door opening)
28:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]