Judgments about a sports team are better left until the end of a season. When all the games have been played and the entirety of evidence is available, then we can know how it should be remembered.
It would be unwise to reach too many conclusions now about the 2016 Mountaineers. However, the men wearing this season’s many versions of the Gold and Blue are gradually but successfully working their way into the hearts of Mountaineer Nation.
Saturday’s game against Kansas State was again a display of the flaws of this team—unforced errors, erratic play. Allan Taylor, the MetroNews beat writer for the Mountaineers, called it a “fog of mistakes.”
The errors were enough to render the 60,000 stadium-striping homecoming fans lethargic, contemplating their post game plans if the Mountaineers did not soon wake up against a Wildcat team whose conventional play is often effective, but not exactly exciting.
But two things happened—one obvious and spectacular, the other more subtle. First, Shelton Gibson, the remarkably gifted wide receiver, made a highlight-reel-worthy 52 yard reception, coming down on his back, without his helmet, but with the ball securely in hand.
Game on for the until-then lackluster WVU offense which rose on the renewed enthusiasm of the crowd and rattled off a game-winning 14 unanswered points against a disciplined defense.
The second thing was yet another display by this team of its refuse-to-lose attitude. When the differences in talent level between teams is minimal, success rides on reducing mistakes and imposing your will to claim victory.
It’s early, but this season is worthy of the attention of even the casual fan. Coach Dana Holgorsen’s future is in question, especially after he and WVU Athletics Director Shane Lyons were unable to agree on the coach’s status beyond the two seasons (this year and next) left on his current contract. The forced marriage of Holgorsen and Mountaineer Nation has always lacked the passion normally associated with a WVU coach and fans.
But against that unsettling backdrop, the coach and this team have so far this year given Mountaineer fans plenty to cheer about. The parity in the Big 12 allows for the reasonable speculation that, come November, WVU will be relevant in the chase for the league title and part of the national dialog, rather than relegated to the also-rans bin.
As any long-time Mountaineer fan will attest, the hype-train is a perilous ride; deadman’s curve is always looming. Disappointment is in their DNA. Caution is advised.
However, four games into the season, the 2016 Mountaineers, and even their talented, but capricious and aloof head coach, have earned favor and tempted fans with thoughts of the possibilities.