WVU, White Out and more
West Virginia raced out to a 35-10 halftime lead at Texas Tech Saturday and held off the hosts, 42-34.
The Mountaineers showed their explosive capabilities in that first half and it looked as if they would blow the Red Raiders out.
Will Grier threw for 370 yards and three scores to further cement his Heisman candidacy, and he will look to keep things going Saturday when WVU hosts Kansas.
White Out fallout
Ohio State鈥檚 27-26 win over Penn State lived up to the hype, although it could be said that Penn State lost the game more than Ohio State won it.
National pundits have been bashing James Franklin since Saturday night about the play call on fourth-and-five that saw Miles Sanders tackled for a two-yard loss, and rightfully so.
But Franklin didn鈥檛 drop six passes throughout the game, nor did he miss any of the countless second-half tackles like the defense had.
Penn State could have been up 24-0 at halftime, outgained Ohio State by 200 yards in the first half and won every statistical category except the one that matters the most: the scoreboard.
Franklin is going to catch grief for the outcome, and understandably so.
But blaming the loss on one play is completely inaccurate.
Franklin鈥檚 comments
The call on fourth down wasn鈥檛 the only thing that Franklin caught flack from the media after the game for.
After the game, he talked about Penn State being a great team and wanting to be elite.
鈥淭he reality is we have gone from an average team to a good team to a great team 鈥� but we鈥檙e not an elite football team yet,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e comfortable being great.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to make sure that everybody in my program, including myself, is very uncomfortable because you only grow when you鈥檙e uncomfortable.鈥�
Franklin continued.
鈥淲e lost by one point this year, we lose by one point last year (at Ohio State) 鈥� we lost to an elite program and we鈥檙e that close.
鈥淲e鈥檙e done being great.鈥�
Is Penn State a great program though?
Great teams that are close to being elite don鈥檛 give up 17 unanswered points in the 2017 Rose Bowl and lose, 52-49, to USC or lose earlier in the year by three points to Pitt or by 39 to Michigan.
Nor do they get outscored by 16 in the fourth quarter at Ohio State a year ago or by 12 this past Saturday.
The future is uber bright for Penn State, but it will have to cement itself as great before it can think about becoming elite.
White Out experience
While Penn State lost to Ohio State, the White Out experience was once again something to behold.
A Beaver Stadium record of 110,889 fans filled the venue, and the electricity in the stadium was stunning.
The place was shaking, literally, and the fact was not lost on many local fans who attended the game, one of which was J.D. Ewing of Uniontown.
鈥淭he atmosphere in Happy Valley was incredible,鈥� said Ewing, who attended the game with his 11-year old son Zac. 鈥淢y first time back in Beaver Stadium in 29 seasons was made all the more special by my son getting to experience 110,000-plus college football fans responding in unison.鈥�
PS-Fayette volleyball rolling
The Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, volleyball team won five conference matches over the weekend to extend its winning streak to nine matches.
During the winning streak, the team has won 27 out of 28 sets.
鈥淭hey are playing fantastic right now,鈥� said coach Sam Swetz of her team which is ranked eighth in the USCAA until the next rankings come out. 鈥淚 am growing more and more proud every day of this team.鈥�
Local connection at Kentucky
While Gunnar Hoak鈥檚 name may not ring a bell with a lot of local college football fans, the redshirt freshman quarterback at Kentucky has a local connection.
Hoak鈥檚 mother is the former Holly Smith, who was a standout softball player at Belle Vernon Area in the 1980s.
Hoak鈥檚 father, uncle and cousin all played at Ohio State.
Special thanks go out to current BVA School Board President Lou Rood, Holly鈥檚 softball coach at BVA, for pointing out her athletic accolades as well as Mandy Lutska, a teacher at Ringgold, who also shared the information.
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