WVU-UNC 2nd Half Liveblogish

If anything, WVU has been a 2nd half team this year. That trend will need to continue, obviously! Let's see what White and the offense can do to start the second half, and what plan Casteel comes up with to stop Nicks.

9:30 WV moved the ball down the field with ease, but the drive stalled at the UNC 8. Pat McAfee makes the 25 yard field goal. White was sharp and even hit Tyler Urban for a couple first downs. The running game wasn't much help in the drive, though. That needs to change if we can hold UNC on their next drive. Time for some separation, Bill! 24-23 WVU

6:23 Nicks just made the sickest catch you are likely to see this bowl season, trapping the ball with one hand against his back and then bring it around his back to the other hand and running for the first down. I hate him!

4:29 Yates makes a great effort to stretch the ball over in the corner of the end zone to give UNC a 30-24 lead. He just made my hate book as well, considering he's the one throwing to Nicks most of the time.

3:13 The WVU drive stalled in UNC territory, and McAfee drops the ball on the two yard line. Let's see something, defense!

1:38 Wow, we got a huge break on 3rd and 10 when Little dropped a perfect pass that could have gone for a TD. UNC punts and the Mountaineers will take over at the WVU 48.

:42 Arlic Arnett fumbles after a catch and UNC takes over. The play is being reviewed, but I'm not sure he had the ball or not. At first glance you think he does, but a close up shows the ball bouncing around in his hand. But it was a fumble. UNC 30-24 at their own 41.

End of the Third

4th Quarter

14:17 WVU defense holds again and UNC has to punt. Jock Sanders muffed the punt near the goal line, and probably should have let it go. He barely made it out of the end zone and ended up at the 4 yard line.

9:01 The WV drive stalls at the WVU 44 and the Mountaineers call time out facing a 4th and inches. Work that magic, Bill! It's a bowl game, you're down 30-24 in a game that means more to the kids playing than any standings or other measurables. Let them win it!

Another reason to not listen to me as White is pulled down behind the line. When you can't move the ball a few inches, it might as well be a mile.

8:19 Fumble and the Mountaineers recover! Woot! UNC had moved into field goal range. Play under review. Looks like it came out before he was down...the play stands. And on the first play, White hits Sanders down to the UNC 30.

7:14 White hits Arnett for a 20 yard TD! Are you getting sick of the !!!!? WVU takes the lead back, 31-30.

4:24 On third and 10, John Holmes (sure to get me more google porn hits) makes the sack to force the punt. WV takes over and needs to run some clock and score if possible. But we must hold on to the ball!

3:27 It's third and about 5 for WV, and UNC is using their timeouts now. So we need to get a first down and the game is virtually over. But I mean that in a please don't jinx the team kind of way.

3:21 White is sacked again on a corner blitz and WVU will have to punt. Hopefully the punt coverage won't be as bad as the kickoff. We need UNC to have to go the entire field. Fair catch at the UNC 25, yippee!

1:53 Pat Lazear picks off the pass and hopefully secures the win for WVU!

Final WVU31 UNC 30

You sir, are awesome!!

332 yards passing (career high!), 3 TD's. 55 yards rushing. An awesome post game interview that I'm sure will make the Youtubes over the next few days. Thank you, Pat! Thank you!!

WVU-UNC Liveblogish

The game is about to get underway. Stew is fired up and wants Mountaineer fans to take over the city of Charlotte. We don't quite know what that means, but we just nod our heads and go along to get along. Right? Right!

West Virginia kicks off to start the game. Full house, which is nice for a second tier bowl. Thanks to some timely penalties on the Tar Heels, WVU's D forces a three and out 13:06.

8:56 WVU moves the ball down the field after the punt for a 7-0 lead. It was a good mix of run and pass. We could use a little less high snap, thank you. Jollah and Devine both broke some tackles to turn short gains into big ones. Devine's being a 17 yard TD in which he broke several arm tackles. Let's hope arm tackles are the word for the day!

8:29 Chris Spielman, in a rare goof on the ESPN playbook is complimenting WVU on their speed and focus while pointing out the lack of focus for UNC. And just that quick, Nicks catches a tipped ball and carries a WVU defender into the endzone for a 73 yard TD. 7-7. Shit!

5:11 OMG!!!1! Alric Arnett with a 43 yard beautiful one hand TD catch. Boom Mother F'ers! We could be in for an offensive shootout. 14-7 WVU

4:57 Shit!!!!1! Nicks on one play ties the game up at 14. What was I saying about the defense earlier? Forget I ever said it. Not really, but shit man!!

2:23 Bradley Starks catches a 35 yard bomb from White to put WVU up 21-14. Yeah, we're still in the first quarter. White is 7-7 for 140 yards so far.

1:03 Nicks catches a pass that doesn't go for a TD. The D is stiffening up now, yes? No. UNC is moving the ball just as easily as WVU.

End of First Quarter: WVU 21-14 with UNC on the WV 2 yard line. WVU 180 yards of total offense, and UNC 202. WVU no penalties, UNC 3-31. With everything else looking equal, penalties might tell the tale if WV can keep this up.

2nd Quarter

13:27 UNC goes for it on 4th and goal and WVU's number one ranked Red Zone defense comes through again holding UNC on four straight plays from inside the two yard line. And of coulay is being rerse UNC gets the safety on the next play. Shit! 21-16 WVU.

10:43 Kickoff coverage is killing WV. No shit, we would be better off onside kicking every time. At least we would have a good shot at getting the ball. UNC couldn't start in any better field position than what they already are. The seem to be starting in WVU territory way too much. Thankfully, UNC is countering this play with drive killing penalties. 3rd and 11 from the WVU 26.

10:37 That Nicks guy scores on an easy pitch and catch. UNC leads 23-21. Shit! It was a nice route, though. Bastard! He's killing us Bill! Get someone on him! Oh, that guy you were going to put on him is out for today's game? OK, keep scoring!

8:54 Mountaineers first punt of the game. Now WVU defense needs to figure this thing out or it could get ugly. We have to keep it close so we can go out in the second half and take the lead if not sooner. But we have to get back in this game. We can't let UNC get a big lead and try to pass our way back into the game. We pass well when the game is close, not when we're behind.

7:21 The D holds and UNC will make their second punt of the game.

2:30 WVU is moving the ball down the field with short plays, just enough for the first down. With 3rd and 3-4 at the UNC 35, that trend needs to continue. Now if we can score to end the half and again to start the second half, the game will be in our hands. Our defense could use the break as well. I've seen quite a few hands on hips on defense.

1:30 Pat White is just out of his mind, passing for 160 yards on 15-17 passing with 2 TDs. I say this because we average 135 yards passing a game. No matter. This is exactly the type of game you want to see him have in his last game.

:52 Of course the next play is an interception! That's the way the karma thing works, right?

End of the Half UNC runs the clock out up 23-21. New post for the second half

Because We Car Care

Hey, we'll be liveblogging the WVU-UNC game today. We might do the WVU-tOSU basketball game later today. It really all depends, ya know?

We're most likely going to go without Sidney Glover and Brandon Hogan on defense. But we are deep at safety and cornerback, and by this time of the year if you don't know what you are supposed to do there are bigger problems than injuries. I don't expect a drop off because we have a pretty good defensive coordinator in Jeff Casteel. He and the 3-3-5 have taken a lot of crap over the years, but he's really proven himself this year after losing eight starters.

Something that doesn't matter at all but worth mentioning, WVU is 1-5 against Butch Davis and 0-1 against UNC.

We're not into doing a big preview of the game. We'd rather just go with it. But check here, here, and here if you're into that type stuff. Look here, here, and here for the UNC side of things.

Who is This UNC That You Speak Of

The best thing about this bowl game with UNC is that it's not a long drive for either school, and that's showing in ticket sales.

When I first read this title, "Seven UNC Players Selected to All ACC Teams," I was thinking it meant first team. Thankfully, I was wrong.

Butch Davis likes the way Nick Saban thinks! At least as far as his recruiting efforts go.

In the case of Davis, he would appear to be on course to set a new standard for over-recruiting, even with tricks like gray shirting or medical hardships. The Tar Heel coach's tactics have caught the attention of rival North Carolina State and its recruiting coordinator, Jerry Petercuskie.

"We're not in the market of oversigning, unless there's a case where there are some borderline students who may not make it," he said. "And in that case, there's a plan for them." This gets to the heart of the matter. Recruiting is about building trust. If you can't be trusted to honor a commitment, your reputation takes a hit. Is this where Davis and his staff want to take the program?

Everything worked out fine for Alabama, but sooner or later someone is going to get disappointed. Careful who you sign with, kids.