3 Guys Before The Game

What a difference two weeks can make.West Virginia was searching for answers after three consecutive losses. Now, the Mountaineers are riding a two-game winning streak into their bye week with renewed confidence and four games remaining in the regular season.The turnaround continued Saturday in Fort Worth, where WVU stunned 10-point favorite TCU with just enough offense and one final, decisive...

The Big 12's most productive rushing offense is about to meet its toughest run defense.Something has to give.West Virginia leads the conference in rushing. TCU leads the league in stopping it. Saturday's collision in Fort Worth will test the strength of both units — and could go a long way toward determining the direction of each team's season.For the Mountaineers, another victory would keep...

Irish eyes were smiling on the West Virginia football team Saturday.Jack Cassidy, a kicker from Derry, Ireland, who admits he didn't know the rules of American football when he arrived, became the unlikely hero of the Mountaineers' thrilling 45-42 victory over Cincinnati.In a game filled with offensive fireworks and defensive frustration, it was a single stop that ultimately made the...

Cincinnati is rested. West Virginia is restless.The Bearcats and Mountaineers enter Saturday's matchup in Morgantown from very different places, but both have something to prove.WVU is desperate to end a three-game losing streak fueled by historically poor defensive performances. Cincinnati, meanwhile, returns from a week off looking to rebound from its first loss of the season at Arizona.Both...

The frustration is growing. The answers remain elusive. And the numbers are becoming impossible to ignore.West Virginia's 52-31 loss to Arizona on Saturday was another painful chapter in a season increasingly defined by defensive struggles.The Mountaineers have now surrendered a staggering 138 points in their last three games. Three consecutive Big 12 losses have transformed early-season optimism...

Opportunity and urgency will collide Saturday in Morgantown.After consecutive Big 12 losses, West Virginia returns home needing a response. Waiting for the Mountaineers is Arizona — and one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in college football.Noah Fifita is already the Wildcats’ all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes. He now gets his opportunity against a WVU defense that has...

Saturday was memorable for the West Virginia football team — for all the wrong reasons.The Mountaineers scored 42 points on the road and still came home without a victory.Iowa State repeatedly overwhelmed the WVU defense on its way to a 45-42 win, handing West Virginia its second consecutive Big 12 loss and turning an early-season concern into an increasingly urgent question.Can the Mountaineers...

October has arrived, and with it comes West Virginia’s first Big 12 road test.The leaves may still be on the trees, but Saturday’s trip to Iowa State could tell us plenty about where the Mountaineers fit in the conference landscape.Was last week’s disappointing loss to Oklahoma State simply a bad night? Or did it expose problems that must be corrected before WVU can establish itself in the upper...

Well, that was painful.One week after West Virginia energized Mountaineer Nation with an impressive victory over No. 25 Virginia, the momentum disappeared in a 41-24 loss to Oklahoma State.The result was more than a disappointing start to Big 12 play. It exposed problems that must be addressed quickly and left the Mountaineers facing an unavoidable question:Now what?There’s little time to dwell...

Things are about to get very interesting for the Mountaineer football team.Saturday night’s Big 12 Conference opener against Oklahoma State gives WVU a chance to match last season’s win total before September is over.It’s a clash of contrasting styles—and two teams that have recorded statement wins. WVU’s run-heavy attack blossomed in last week’s victory over No. 25 Virginia, while Oklahoma State...