A buzzer-beater over Marquette wasn’t what West Virginia coach Bob Huggins had in mind with a showdown looming at No. 4 Purdue.

Da’Sean Butler’s 20-foot jumper with 2 seconds left lifted the sixth-ranked Mountaineers to a 63-62 victory over Marquette on Tuesday night.

West Virginia (11-0, 2-0 Big East) overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute and its lowest point total of the season to improve to its best start since a Jerry West-led team won 14 straight to begin the 1957-58 season.

Butler fouled out of a blowout loss at Marquette last season but this time kept the Mountaineers in a game in which they trailed for most of the second half. He scored eight of his 17 points over the final 12 minutes.

His performance prompted Marquette coach Buzz Williams to call Butler “the best player in the league.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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There is probably one reason above all others that West Virginia’s offense has been successful enough this fall to average 450 yards and rank in the Top 20 in the country: versatility and flexibility.

One of only three teams in the country that rank in the top 30 teams in both rushing and passing yardage, the Mountaineers have not only made a living off of mixing the two with great success, but also in varying what they do within those areas. West Virginia can throw long, short and in between and can attack in the running game with either speed or power.

And perhaps the Mountaineers are on the verge of adding yet another element to that offense, at least the ground portion of it. Late in last Saturday’s 34-13 win at Syracuse, they took Shawne Alston for a test drive and liked what they saw.

Alston is a combination of more power than Noel Devine and Jock Sanders and more speed than Ryan Clarke. And he could see more action Saturday when West Virginia (4-1) plays Marshall (4-2) at Mountaineer Field.

“He’s kind of a tweener. He’s in between where [Devine and Sanders] are and where Ryan [Clarke] is,” West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said. “He’s bigger than [Devine and Sanders] and he’s a little faster and more agile than [Clarke]. It’s just tough getting him in the game when you have those three.”

It might be easier now that Alston has been given a shot and shown some of his potential. It was nothing earth shattering, of course, but the 6-foot, 218-pound true freshman from Hampton, Va., carried six times and gained 19 yards. He gained 8 yards on his first carry when still surrounded by most of the first-team offense.


Click here to read the full article – By Dave Hickman of WVgazette.com

When Paul Johnson is asked about Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense, he sounds puzzled by the intrigue surrounding the scheme he has coached for some 20 years. But when lining up against that option attack, opposing defenses sometimes react with similar perplexity.

‘That offense is going to be a pain in the tail’ to defend, said Bud Foster, the defensive coordinator for No. 4 Virginia Tech (5-1, 3-0 ACC), which faces No. 19 Georgia Tech (5-1, 3-1) in Atlanta on Saturday. ‘They’re going to get yards, and they’re going to get rushing yards.’

When Johnson took over at Georgia Tech in December 2007 after five seasons leading division I-AA Georgia Southern and six seasons as the coach at Navy, the question was whether his option offense — which is often used by smaller schools to neutralize disadvantages in athleticism — would translate successfully to a Bowl Championship Series conference.

The numbers are not conclusive, but the Yellow Jackets have had offensive success and they have been winning. So far, Georgia Tech’s offense is outpacing its production from last year, ranking fourth nationally in rushing offense (277 yards per game) and 24th in total offense (426.7 yards per game). The Yellow Jackets have rushed for more than 300 yards in four games this season. In a 24-7 win over North Carolina on Sept. 26, they held the ball for 42 minutes 6 seconds.


Click here to read the full article – By Mark Viera of The Washington Post

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Maryland defensive coordinator Don Brown examined tape after tape of Clemson’s offense, an outfit that never looked quite the same two games in a row.

So heading into last week’s game, Brown decided to keep things simple early on, trotting out a base defense to pick and probe (and occasionally suffer an indignity or two) before responding after a couple of possessions.

It was, in a sense, similar to the process the whole unit undertook in the first month of the season. Initially, the Terrapins (2-3, 1-0 ACC) seemed befuddled and incoherent while adapting to Brown’s frenetic approach, but they stabilized to produce consecutive strong outings entering Saturday’s visit to ACC total offense leader Wake Forest (3-2, 1-1).


Click here to read the full article – By Patrick Stevens of The Washington Times

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As soon as Cam Martin jogged to the sidelines last Saturday and removed his right glove during Virginia Tech’s 52-10 win against Marshall, he was shocked to see the blood pouring down his hand.


It didn’t matter — no way he was coming out of this game. Tech tight end Sam Wheeler, who earned a start last weekend for the first time since Nov. 1, 2007, felt the same way. After recovering from serious knee injuries, among other major injuries in Martin’s case, both guys were going to have to be dragged off the field.

So, a little thing like an injury to Martin’s right middle finger where the bone had snapped through the skin wasn’t enough to stop him. Instead, he ran to the sidelines late in the first quarter, got a bandage and some tape put on it and went back in the game in the second quarter. He and Tech’s trainers didn’t realize the severity of the injury until halftime, when it was stitched up.

Click here to read the full article – By Norm Wood of dailypress.com

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After reading an article on the fandom qualifiers of a certain Southern University, I decided that the Virginia Tech Hokies needed their own “You might be a Hokie fan if…”

So without further ado…you might be a Hokie fan if

You’ve bench pressed a girl in a mini orange or maroon skirt while the Hokie Bird bench presses the points on the scoreboard.

You know the fight song is a bunch nonsense words but love it anyway.

You go nuts when said fight song is played at games and sing along to every word like it’s “Can’t stop believing” at a frat party.

You have an undying loyalty to Frank Beamer and Bud Foster. Bad coaching moves during a game are Brian Steinspring’s fault, usually.

You think Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” is the greatest song entrance ever. (Extra fandom points for having “Enter Sandman” as your wedding reception entrance song.)

Anytime you hear “Enter Sandman” no matter where you are, you instinctively start jumping.

You wake up with sore calf muscles the day after a game from jumping.

You love the delicious irony of eating/swinging a giant Turkey leg during the game

You downloaded the Hokie Fight song as your ring tone.

You ever thought you’d be screwed if you ever got shipped off to war because you have a tendency to jump up and down and cheer at the sound of a cannon blast.

Click here to read the full article – By Paul Zimmerman of bleacherreport.com

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West Virginia freshman quarterback Eugene Smith has broken a bone in his left foot and is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks, team officials said.

Smith, a 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Miramar, Fla., was the prized recruit in the Mountaineers’ 2009 signing class. He was expected to battle for the No. 2 quarterback job behind Jarrett Brown right away and eventually take over the position.

Click here to read the full article – By Brian Bennett of ESPN.com

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