[Cider Jim]

Hate the title, but love the game! Marshall leads WVU 7-3 at the end of the 1st quarter.

[bozlady]

Why did I feel sorry for Marshall when they got creamed by Ohio and now I'm rootin' for them. This game is so amazing and really do hope they get the win. I loved it when they chanted "WE ARE.....MARSHALL!"

[bozlady]

That was a SWEEEEEEEEEET catch!!

[bozlady]

Marshall dominating and WVU not helping themselves!! 21-6 Marshall!!!

[Sly Fox]

I believe this will make up for last week's Ole Miss embarrassment for Cider Jim. Just a hunch.

[fan00]

Poor CiderJim. I think this may have hurt worse than Ole' Miss' debacle!

[bozlady]

What a game!!! I wish Marshall would have won though...there's always next year!

[phoenix]

I'm not sure I have EVER rooted that hard for Marshall. One of my wife's former students is a junior there, and was at the game, so I'm sure she's heartbroken.

[JK37]

MU is simply the red-headed stepchild in a small but proud state. Time and again, in basketball and now in football, this matchup is the biggest game of the year to one side; but its a simple OOC matchup in the eyes of the other. In the basketball series, MU has had a few upsets that make you scratch your head, and you realize WVU just doesn't care about them or respect them very much as an opponent. The same was true for 3.5 quarters last night.

That said, what a game! But to illustrate my point: as a WVU fan, I'm more relieved and slightly embarassed at the Mountaineer performance last night than I am elated that they won a great, close game.

Three observations:
*I couldn't decide if the WVU oline was just that bad, or MU has been hiding some All-Americans in its front 7.

*Noel Devine & Geno Smith CARRIED West Va in the 2nd half.

*Geno Smith became a MAN in that 4th quarter. That's the kind of late-game comeback victory from which a young QB's career blossoms. The poise and accuracy he showed was incredible on the last 2 drives.

Anyway, Go Mountaineers! Crisis averted, the pest down in Huntington swatted away, now its time to focus on the real competition and win a BE Championship.

[Cider Jim]

Most frustrating loss of my LIFE (and I'm an old guy). The only thing that even compares to it was the O's loss in the '79 World Series, after being up 3 games to 1.

JK is right: for Marshall fans, trying to beat WVU is our whole world. For outsiders trying to understand, Coach Holliday's article in the Huntington paper really hit home to me as a proud Herd alum:

Chuck Landon: Holliday defiant in defeat
Doc Holliday stared into my eyes.

He didn’t know what to say.

Neither did I.

But the first-year Marshall head coach’s eyes spoke volumes even before his post-game press conference began.

Frustration. Anger. Defiance.

One-by-one, all those emotions flashed in his eyes.

Holliday didn’t want to accept Marshall’s 24-21 overtime loss to arch-rival West Virginia University in the annual Friends of Coal Bowl at Edwards Stadium Friday night.

Every fiber of his competitive being wanted to refuse to accept the defeat.

But he couldn’t.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/m ... -in-defeat

[TDDance234]

That was a bigger win for Marshall than it was for WVU. People are already calling for Stewert's head and now the calls are going to be louder and louder.

Really feel for Tyler Warner, the K from MU who missed the FG. Great kid from a great family, HATE to see that happen.

[JK37]

CJ, I feel for you, sir. I was thinking of you as I typed about it earlier this morning.
Not sure if this is a "bigger win for Marshall" as TDD says. That's the kind of loss that leads to more losses because a team starts to believe they can't finish. But for WVU, a young QB won a big game coming from behind. Advantage: WVU.

And, yes, Stewart is not out of the woods after this. Had he lost, he might not have lasted the season. Now, he'll get a chance to finish (Pitt isn't until end of season, and he beat them last year.), and this kind of win for a young QB, as I said, can really do a lot in later games. If the O-line can just give him time, he proved last night what he can do, and he was the skill position question mark WVU had.

[Sly Fox]

CJ - I was feeling for you, brother. It reminded me a bit of our game at Toledo a few years ago.

Last night, I was screaming at the television for Holliday to go for it on 4th & 1. The way they were moving the ball on the drive they could have picked it up and run out the clock. Instead they decided to depend on their defense that had nothing left in the tank.

[Cider Jim]

I've never been a head coach (except for Quiz Bowl), but I, too, wish Holliday would have gone for it on 4th and 1. Also, I hated the prevent defense, and wish he wouldn't have inserted a freshman RB in the red zone who fumbled, when all you needed was a FG to put the game out of reach, because WVU would have needed 3 possessions to win.

[Sly Fox]

The kid carrying the ball looked skeered and the results followed as such. I have less problems with a mistake taht couldn't be controlled than a decision for which the coach can control the game.

[JK37]

For those who missed this game, here is a very, very well done video recap: