What We’ve Learned: Week 10

The potential storylines are endless. Will Grier’s heroics. Holgorsen’s gutsy two-point conversion call to win the game. The penalties.

Behind Grier’s 346 yards and three touchdowns, the Mountaineers now sit atop the Big 12 and, more importantly, are one step closer to playing for titles.

Here’s what we’ve learned after Week 10.

The Dream is Still Alive

We’ve talked about this before. West Virginia’s game against Texas served as a de facto elimination game for the Mountaineers. The playoff would be completely out of reach, and an appearance in the Big 12 title game would be wispy at best. We won’t know until Tuesday if the committee is as impressed with West Virginia’s win as we are, but with Kentucky and Florida both losing, it should be a foregone conclusion that the Mountaineers slide inside the top ten. Two one-loss teams will inevitably make the playoff. Some dominoes surrounding the Mountaineers need to fall in order for this to all come together, but this is college football and chaos is bound to ensue. West Virginia’s dream of playing for a national title is still alive and well… for now.

Holgorsen Belongs Here

Personally, I’ve called for Holgorsen’s head too many times to count. It wasn’t until recently that I thought he was capable of leading West Virginia to the promised land. All the things I once disliked about him, I’ve now come to love. He’s ballsy and unpredictable. Will Grier has assured us several times that he transferred up to Morgantown specifically to play for Holgorsen. That magnetism is rare in college football. Coaches are all-too-often unapproachable and intimidating; Holgorsen is a guy you can envision drinking a beer with. He fits in with what we’re all about in West Virginia, and when the cards are right, he’s winning big-time college football games. This is fun.

Horns Down, Baby

This is one of those “my opinions are not a reflection of my employer’s” type of statements. It’s absolute bullshit that a team, program and entire state can have its feelings hurt over a hand signal. It’s also unreasonable to demand college-age players not get caught up in the emotional elements of the game. Saturday’s game was a big-time game. West Virginia knew it, and so did Texas. Something as simple as throwing your hands down in a specific gesture in order to rib your opponent should not constitute a penalty. In fact, it hasn’t constituted a penalty in the past.

My two cents? As long as these guys aren’t throwing up gang signs and inflicting real harm to each other, let them play. Horns Down, Texas.