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BOX SCORE | POST-GAME NOTES | HIGHLIGHTS | BILL STEWART POST-GAME | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Touchdowns by Jock Sanders and Tavon Austin, and a 42-yard Tyler Bitancurt field goal were enough to give West Virginia a 17-9 victory over Louisville Saturday afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium.
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| Jock Sanders scores a 9-yard touchdown in the first half of Saturday's game against Louisville at Milan Puskar Stadium.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
"I was really proud of the defense the way it set the tone the entire day," said West Virginia coach Bill Stewart. "That was a great way to bounce back after a sub-par (defensive) showing last weekend."
After Louisville went ahead 3-0 on a Chris Philpott 37-yard field goal, West Virginia came back with its best drive of the first half, covering 72 yards in eight plays.
Jarrett Brown got the drive started with a 22-yard pass to tight end Tyler Urban to the 50. Noel Devine ran 10 yards to the UofL 40, and another Devine run of 20 yards after Brown was sacked for a 9-yard loss gave the Mountaineers a first and 10 at the Louisville 39. Devine rolled his ankle on the run and did not get another carry the rest of the game
"He's been hurt for two weeks," Stewart said. "He got beat up pretty good last week against South Florida. You cannot run a 5-foot-8, 178-pound man 30-35 times a game. I hope the heck we have him for our stretch run."
Following Devine's 20-yard run, Brown found Alric Arnett out in the flat where he shook free of Richard Raglin and took the ball 29 yards to the Louisville 10.
Three plays later on third and goal, a screen pass from Brown to Sanders covered 9 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Urban and offensive guard Josh Jenkins got key blocks on the play.
With only 36 seconds showing on the clock, Louisville was able to take Tyler Bitancurt’s kickoff 33 yards to the 45. Two Will Stein passes to Cameron Graham and Scott Long put the ball at the WVU 31. A Darius Ashley run for 4 yards set up Philpott for his second field goal from 44 yards right before the end of the half.
West Virginia forced a Louisville three-and-out on the Cardinals’ opening possession of the second half, giving the ball back to the Mountaineers at their own 44. Sanders runs of 19 and 6 yards set up Brown’s 24-yard scamper to the Louisville seven. A personal foul penalty was tacked on to the run, moving the ball to the three.
From there West Virginia went in reverse, losing 10 yards on back-to-back false start penalties by Jenkins and Donny Barclay.
Two plays later on third and goal, Austin took a reverse at the 9 and stretched out into the end zone. A review of the play upheld the ruling on the field that the football had crossed the goal line before Austin’s knee touched the ground.
Tyler Bitancurt’s PAT gave the Mountaineers a 17-6 lead.
Then things got interesting. A high snap by center Eric Jobe that Brown couldn’t handle was recovered by L.D. Scott at the WVU 42. That eventually led to Philpott’s third field goal of the game, from 29 yards, to make it a one possession game at 17-9 with 10:22 remaining.
After failing to move the sticks with less than four minutes remaining, Louisville got a 55-yard punt by Cory Goettsche that was fielded by Brandon Hogan at the WVU three and returned 8 yards to the 11.
West Virginia could not get a first down (Jock Sanders’ 9-yard run to the 20 was overturned by replay when it was ruled that his knee touched at the 10) to give Louisville another crack at tying the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
Stein’s 11-yard pass to Cameron Graham and a 9-yard scramble moved the ball to the WVU 42. But Julian Miller shut the door with two straight sacks that sent Louisville back to the 44. Two incomplete Stein passes and a Brown kneel down ended the game.
"It's crunch time and you've got to step up," said Miller. "Coach Stew has been preaching all week, 'Just give a little more.' And that's what I tried to do towards the end."
Louisville won the statistical battle, out-gaining the Mountaineers 301-273.
"We found a way to win," said Stewart. "I'll take a Big East win any day of the week."
Darius Ashley gained a career-high 164 yards on 33 carries to lead a Cardinal running game that finished with 201 yards.
Louisville chose to keep the ball on the ground to protect third-string quarterback Stein, who finished the day 14 of 26 for 100 yards. Stein was sacked five times, including three by Miller, who now shows 8 ½ sacks and 11 ½ tackles for losses for the season.
Sanders led West Virginia with 66 yards rushing on 12 carries; Devine finished with 56 yards to push him past the 1,000-yard mark (1,010) for the second consecutive year.
Brown completed 9 of 17 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. His one interception by Chaz Thompson came in the end zone.
"The turnover was very frustrating, but the young man bounced back in the second half," Stewart said.
"When we're down they were picking us up on offense," added Brown. "That's just a great defense to play behind."
West Virginia's offense, averaging 465 yards per game after the Colorado win, has struggled to move the ball in subsequent games. The Mountaineers had 313 in a 24-7 win over Marshall, 323 in a loss at USF and 273 yards today.
"The biggest thing was trying to keep them out of rhythm," said Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe. "They are like any offense where you get rhythm and tempo and make plays and they always have that ability."
Several key players, including Devine and nose tackle Chris Neild, were standing on the sidelines watching at the end of the game. Stewart did not have an update on their conditions afterward. On Louisville's final drive, West Virginia was using three defensive ends on the defensive line.
"We just had to play with what we had," said Miller.
West Virginia improves to 7-2, 3-1, with the victory. Louisville is now 3-6, 0-4. The Cardinals drop to 1-10 in Big East games under Kragthorpe, and remain winless on the road in conference play under the third-year coach.
The Mountaineers will have a short week of preparation getting ready for fourth-ranked Cincinnati next Friday at Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats play Connecticut later tonight.
What happened to throwing the ball down the field? Why line up 5 wide outs if you don't use them. We are still a running team and guess what, people know it! It is a shame to have that much talent and still play so bad.
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Keep winning, 'eers! Gotta get to another good bowl, and we don't wanna be sideswiped by Notre Dame on that.
Go Navy! |
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Come on WVU!!! You all to good of a team to playing at the level of teams you ae playing. We should have crushed Louisville. We need to get some balanced play calling we ran the ball so much this game and during Marshall we threw the ball to much. If we play like that the next two games we will lose
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West Virginia improves to 7-2, 3-1. Not bad...not bad at all!!
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We're 7-2 and 3-1, but who have we beaten? ECU? UConn? Marshall? These are teams we are supposed to dominate and are barely squeaking by. There hasn't been one game this season where we've put 4 solid quarters of football together. I think this team lacks the killer instinct that some of the teams in the past years had. 3 years ago our offense would have put up 50 on those guys. At certain points the offense looks great, but then for some reason everyone takes a few possessions off. Defense held their own playing far too much because of an inept offense. This better improve soon, or meineke car care bowl here we come!
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What happened to the downfield passing attack you ask? Well, we have struggled to make a decent throw to a receiver who's not standing still for several games now.... I'd say that's what's happened to that.....
At least 2 badly overthrown potential TD tosses in the last 2 games & those are only the GLARING examples.... JB looks tentative & is having trouble finding his 2nd & 3rd options....you can't blame it on the O line- did you see Geno just stand in that pressure and make a completion or what?! JB can't expect his line to hold blocks more than 3-4 seconds....
We got the W and that's what is important, and, the future looks bright.
Sure would be nice to upset the bearcats.....
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOO
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The offense looks anemic! Coaches need to do something and quick, or else we are in for a beat down at Cincy and Pitt!
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I bleed gold and blue but, I'm getting concerned where we are heading. The last two games didn't look like the Mountaineer football that I remember. Forget it's a Big east win, when are we going to start playing Mountaineer Football?
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WVU needs to play there best game of the season on friday. Lets use this game and build on it we have to beat cinci!
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MTNEERS. You Married WVU girl 2003? You know your Fb. You make a good wife to a loyal MTNEER man someday. :)
Couldn't leave you hangin. |
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The problem here is the offensive play calling. Bad and unimaginative. They were forced to go to their bag of tricks since Devine was out which, in a way, is good in that they need to learn how to mix it up more. The bootleg by Brown being a rare example of a WOW play that not too many folks, including UofL, expected. They need to loosen it up abit. Just look at the talent they could unleash - N.D., Tavon Austin, Brown, Saunders, Arnett, Rogers. Get back to the jet speed that what's his name used to preach about, throw the wildcat in a few times, and you will have the opposing d-coordinators in a tizzy.
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folks------------- we have to be more flexible in this zone coverage that wvu is playing on pass defense or cincy will humiliate us--many times our guys are not anywhere close to the receiver because we are watching a certain area instead staying with opposing receivers...
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10 years ago 7-2 3-1 would be an awesome start and we would all be planning our trip to the post season game! No doubt the fans have raised the bar. The main objective here is to evolve into a program that does not need to rebuild every 4 years but only needs to reload. Are we there yet? That is the big question that our coaches need to answer. I think we're close, but not at the level that will content our fans. Most will say, after our performance tonight, that we don't stand a chance. Let me remind you of the 2005 season when we won the Big East with 2 losses. I do think we still have a shot and please don't give up on this team. The talent is there and only needs the direction to get it done.
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Boring...............Boring.................Boring.......what in the world is going on down in Morgantown ? Louisville struggled last week with Arkansas State and We hold on for a win. Welcome to Don Nehlen part 2
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To all those trying to figure out why we are not the team of the past few years, here are 3 reasons...
1. Pat White 2. Pat White 3. Pat White Even RRod misses him up in Michigan... ;) |
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"A win is a win"... I totally agree. But it could've been much worse today if it wasn't for our D and the penalties on the Cards that kept us in this game. Congratulations but I really hope that someone on the other end would read what "A disappointed WVU Fan" has posted earlier and make some changes before next Friday...
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Was anyone else completely bored to death watching that game today? The Mountaineers are totally unispiring to me right now. Hope they were "saving something" for Cincy & Pitt because we looked very division II today. Hope that Cincy doesn't score 70 on us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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A win is a win! Stop complaining and criticizing the team’s performance and enjoy it.
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Don't worry, we'll hear a week's worth of stories on how the team is having group hugs, jutting their jaws (whatever that means) and promising each other to do more.
WVU has gone downhill in performance (and perhaps more importantly fan fulfillment) each game the past year and a half. All we ever hear is excuses. Last year, it was #35 and #10 weren't here. This year, #5 isn't here. Next year, it'll be because we have a new QB. Well, maybe if our coaches were more concerned with winning games than hurting people's feelings, we'd have a QB next year (Geno) with some game experience. What's the #1 produced item from our head coach in 2 years? Excuses. But hey, let's keep jutting our jaws, bowing our backs, and singing Kum Bay Ya. |
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Up to now, I believed that WVU was not playing up to its potential. Unfortunately, it is starting to look like this is our potential. How quickly we have drifted back to the middle of a weak conference. Coaching is definitely a factor.
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C'mon guys, play some WV football. The offense is offensive. Cinci will be looking to redeem itself after nearly bowing to UCONN. Sure do hope the defense shows up and scores some points for us. The offense needs all the help it can get. 3 games left, when do we get to see this "explosive" part of the game?
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Our offense looks horrible, if we continue to play this bad we are going to get run off the field at Cinci. Hope our DBS show up next Friday or we are looking at a spanking we haven't seen in years. Let's go Mounties hope those coaches can get you motivated to play because you have all looked flat as can be against inferior teams and now we face a team that could potentialy for the national championship
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anybody else notice that stewart will sandbag before a big game?
we do play Cincy next week and last year we squeaked by syracuse then we went and beat auburn
I believe that ole coach stew is keeping things close to the vest
All though we will find out next friday night!
GO EERS!
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A win is a win, I agree, but I take exception to Stew's postgame comment, "I'll take a Big East win anyday." There is much that needs fixed on this team, beginning with some coaching decisions and play calling! The road ahead only gets tougher; Cincy, Pitt, and an improved Rutgers team..... if we are not careful we could end up 7-5 very soon. Does anyone think for a second mediocrity is going to attract good recruits? Let's play Mountaineer football and have some high expectations and start holding coaches and players accountable!
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Heard all the knocks on the O line before the season and guess the pundits were right. Movement, and bad snaps are a sign you are getting beat. Not that you forgot the count. Never should have let them put on the 20 extra pounds.
Anemic is the right word. Talent galore but no team. Even the D seems not to get stoaked when someone gets whcked.
I'm not sure you can play "Mountaineer" football without some cussing. I for one liked a coach screaming in my face. Made me meaner. But I'm old.
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WV Football- Ho-Hum....zzzzz.....
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Play calling and execution was very poor against Louisville. But I think it was done for a reason. You don't want to "sell the farm" the week before Goliath steps in the arena. Look back to 2007, and I know we all want to forget 2007, but we destroyed Uconn then had to beat a hapless Pitt team. We lost!!! I bet Pitt studied that game the most and had every possible option covered. So I think the staff threw a decoy out saturday?? Anyone else believe that??
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JB needs to hold his water a little longer while standing in the pocket. It seems that if his first read, maybe the second read, are not open, he gives up on his 2nd and 3rd choice/hot receiver, and bails out and runs. I think teams are aware of this tendency and are now able to contain him, expecting to him bail and run from the pocket shortly after he sets up.
JB needs to hold and give the 2nd and 3rd option to open up before running--this gives the linebackers more time to clear out of their contain responsibilities and if JB does decide to break the pocket and run, he'll have more success. |
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i hope Mattxd is right? we were just sandbagging? i have my doughts, but still hopefull
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It's UPSET timne for Cincy!! Let's go get 'em EERS!!!! Get fired up- Use the Great Talent the Mtneers possess and load up the guns! It's time to go Bear Huntin'
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Folks, I'm as disappointed as any of you, in fact I must have yelled at the TV "we stink" yesterday at least 10 times. But, look around. Inconsistency seems to be the rule in CF these days with a few exceptions. Florida has looked anemic on O several games and barely won a few of them. Oregon whips USC and comes back and loses bad to Stanford. Georgia Tech has to squeak out an OT win against Wake. Iowa losing to lowly NW? Va Tech loses to UNC. Navy beats ND. Need I go on? Look how Uconn almost pulled one out last night against big bad Cincy. Every Saturday (and Thursday, Friday, etc.) is a new movie. Voicing displeasure with play calling, etc. is fine (that is my nit area as well), but lets continue to support the team. I agree we need to mix it up more. Look what's happened every time Austin has gotten a touch all year. Why not more touches for a guy like that? I'll tell you one thing that has gotten really bad--the crowds at the home games are pathetic. Yesterday's was the quietest I ever heard. If you want the team to play with more emotion, some of that must come from the home crowd. We need every advantage we can get.
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It appears that WV has no coordinated effort in any aspect of the game. Offensive line is play-to-play, needing 7 yds for a first down the receiver breaks it off at six, the ball is thrown to the wrong side of an open receiver, defence lets QB break contain, receivers run by the DBs, etc. Are they not coached or do the players forget what was taught once the game starts? The next 3 games will make or break the season, and it doesn't appear the Mountaineers or the coaches have their heads wrapped around this fact.
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Lets look at the overall of mood of most the posts. This team has a ton of talent and isnt performing. Who is responsible for that? The head coach. Mark my words we will get blown out by Cinncy and Pitt if we play the way did on sat. Going into the season we only had four tough games: Auburn, South FL, Cinny and Pitt. So far we are 0-2. I love the Moutaineers more than anyone but im also a realist. Look at the trend the last two years: Take out the fiesta bowl win and find me a win over a quality team.
I will be cheering like crazy for WVU on friday but at this point im not hoping for a win im just hoping not to get embarrased on national TV. |
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Hey Mountaineer Fans! Under Coach Stewart', the Mountaineer football team is 6-0 at home. He has posted the most precentage wins by a WVU football coach for wins vs games played. The Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma is by far the greatest win in Mountaineer history. To prepare a team like he did while facing all the negative distractions was practically impossible...but he is a good man and a true West Virginian inside and out.. What you see is what you get, a genuine man not some dollar hungary coach. He cares about his players, coaches, the fans and their families. So quit your bitching and take a look at your own performance at your job o, in your community, or quality time with your spouse and family. How is your record? Can you measure upto Coach Stew? Go Mountaineers!
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To Mountaineer Maverick from Buckhannon:
Your post is the best I have read in many years! While I want WV wins, I also want to make certain that our coaches are also developing young men of character. What many who posted here don't recognize is what injuries to key personnel do to your execution on both offense and defense. JB, I believe is stil rusty from his concussion and our defense has been banged up all season. So, it is inevitable that after a difficult loss to USF, that with the injuries the team would struggle against Louisville. My hope is that everyone gets healthy for the Friday night game against Cincinnati. Perhaps we can make Friday the 13th a "Friday Night Fright Night" for the Bearcats!!! LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!! |
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The proof is in the pudding. Stew got the job by motivating his players. Friday will define the season. While WVU has played flat, it is all on the line Friday night. Are the lights too bright for Stew???
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As an armchair QB & Coach, I'm not even undefeated ...
High expectations are great! Remember, we aren't playing high school teams. Louisville was playing hard. It's difficult to get wound for every game. Especially at this point in the season. If they took a game off and still won, more power to em!
The crowd wasn't up for the game. When a good play was made, you could hear all 25k people ... unfortunately I believe there were closer to 60k in attendance. Maybe the crowd was holding something back to prepare them for Cinci ...
Go WVU!!!
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When you can play a game like that and still win, you've got something going. A lot of teams didnt get it done on Sat. Did you notice? If Devine is well and ready to roll, I think we can win. We seem to play to our competition. That's not what I would prefer, but we seem ready to rumble in the BIG games. As lackluster as it seemed on Sat. it showed again how many playmakers we now have. Jock , like Noel, can change a game in a heartbeat. Jarrett is doing a good job as a first year starter. If he protects the ball when he runs, he can add a dimension Friday night. Our coaches are getting it done. I expect a well balanced, explosive attack on Friday night. Mountaineer fans need to make some noise. The BE title is on the line. Everyone is only talking about the Cincy / Pitt game. We can make some noise with the win.
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For all those jumping off the bandwagon, maybe you should root for Mich since that is the type of play you wish to see. I'm all on the 7-2, 3-1 record. I have questions as well...but I guess some of us don't remember the days before the big bowl games (and I'm only 24!!!). Big expectations are important, but don't act like you are a college caliber coach.
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"Posted by fastees on 11/07/09 at 8:29 PM
10 years ago 7-2 3-1 would be an awesome start and we would all be planning our trip to the post season game! No doubt the fans have raised the bar. The main objective here is to evolve into a program that does not need to rebuild every 4 years but only needs to reload. Are we there yet? That is the big question that our coaches need to answer. I think we're close, but not at the level that will content our fans. Most will say, after our performance tonight, that we don't stand a chance. Let me remind you of the 2005 season when we won the Big East with 2 losses. I do think we still have a shot and please don't give up on this team. The talent is there and only needs the direction to get it done. " THANK YOU!!! We are turning into the Marshall Fan's of the late 90's that we ALL dislike!!! |
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I am 25. I grew up during the Nehlen era of however many straight losses in mediocre bowl games. I remember being in the stands in Nashville when they finally broke the streak in his final year at the Music City Bowl (and watching them almost lose it to Eli Manning in the 4th quarter), so please don't suggest any of us are lesser fans because we're not satisfied with the team. I've been there for the down years, Rodriguez's first 2 seasons were particularly hard to watch. I remember the losses to Maryland and Florida State in bowl games before we broke through with the Sugar Bowl win. My point is, the current team feels like those late 90s/early 00s teams, the ones that put a decent number of wins every year but floundered in big games. Of course I'm going to complain about that after being spoiled by very entertaining football for about 3 years.
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Bottom line--There's not one phase of the game that the team has improved on since the beginning of the season. Offense? Defense? Special Teams?
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I am getting tired of the growing number of negative fans. If you can't bare to watch WVU win a game, then don't. Stay home and give your ticket to someone who will come to the game and actually cheer instead of making sarcastic comments the whole game. I consider Mountaineer fans above average when it comes to knowledge of the game. Therefore, all of us can see the holes and weaknesses in this team. Screaming negativity at games or on blogs serves no purpose other than creating a negative feel to our program. The coaches are aware of the problems, there just not going to come out to the media and say "we stink." The only thing we can do as fans is support our team. I will be in Cincy on Friday cheering my heart out whether we win or lose. Geno Smith stated that after last year's OT loss to Cincy, many fans including myself, stayed and gave the team a standing cheer as they left the field. He said that was awesome to see a fan base have such a support for their team even in defeat. So, as fans do you really think we are helping things by talking badly about the Old Gold and Blue. We all see the problems, but it takes a true fan to stand by their team in good and bad times. Let's represent Mountaineer Nation in Cincy, let's take that town over! Let's GOOOOOO Mountaineers! Let's Shock the Nation......Again!
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AMEN to WVfan19984. GO MOUNTIES!!!!! BEAT Cincy! Let's really show the team we're behind them.
Get up and cheer. I was in Tampa for that loss and still don't have my voice back but I'll not give up
on the "EERS. I'd love a Friday Night Fright Night for the Bearcats. The Mountaineers are comin' to
your city!! Let's Go Mountaineers!!!!
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