Da’Sean Butler and the Mountaineers roadblocked revenge for the Ohio State Buckeyes in a much closer game than last years 76-48 contest. West Virginia was able to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit to rally back and win with a final score of 71-65. The Mountaineers trailed by as many as 14 in the game in yet another slow start.
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RB Mark Rodgers stated Wednesday, January 20, that it was time for him to leave and enroll into a school closer to home. The Lawndale California natives role was mainly used on special teams returning kickoffs, recording 619 yards on 27 returns.

Rodgers time in the backfield was limited while backing up West Virginia’s star Noel Devine. The sophomore’s offensive stats includes 7 carries for 9 yards and one reception for 4 yards.
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It has been confirmed that Freshman QB Geno Smith has injured his foot while participating in agility drills. It is said that he broke a bone in his foot.

The Freshman played in 5 games this season, including the bowl game. Smith threw for 309 yards on the year, completing 32 passes on just 49 attempts.
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Offensive Lineman Marquis Wallace is set and ready to begin his college football career at West Virginia University. Wallace was recruited by Coach Chris Beatty, along with teammate Trey Johnson.

The 6″4 285 lb Wallace is said to be a “nasty and tough OT with very strong hands, quick feet, and an aggressive style of play” according to maxpreps.com. Wallace verbally committed fairly early to the Mountaineers on March 17, 2009. Wallace was also named first-team all-district and second-team all-state as a senior.

Wallace, who is a three-star prospect according to rivals.com, has been said to be a “linebacker-playing-offensive tackle” from his High School coach at Varina High School in Richmond, VA.

Bleed Gold and Blue caught up with Marquis and got the chance to ask him some questions.

BGB: What are your expectations going into your freshman year?

Wallace: “first i have to get on the field and work my up to starting b4 the season and getting bigger and stronger”

BGB: What do you plan on majoring in?

Wallace: “business management”

BGB: What interested you the most in your visit to Morgantown?

Wallace: “The fans and the inner city of morgantown”

BGB: Who was your lead recruiter?

Wallace: “coach beatty”

BGB: What is the main thing that you feel that you need to work on to play at the next level?

Wallace: “My technique thats what coach johnson is for”

BGB: How early should we see you on the field?

Wallace: “hopefully by my freshmen year i feel im what the o line there is missing”

BGB: What made West Virginia standout more among the other schools that you were considering?

Wallace: “The fans coaches players and the city of morgantown”

BGB: In your opinion, what are your strengths and weaknesses in your game?

Wallace: “my strength is my aggressiveness speed and athleticism as n o linemen my weaknesses i will say hand power and punches”

BGB: Are you excited about possibly being able to block for a great RB like Devine?

Wallace: “hell yea noel cool plus he b all over the field setting up killer blocks 4 linemen”

BGB: What is your main reason that made you decide that you wanted to become a Mountaineer?

Wallace: “Opportunites and playing time”

Junior RB Noel Devine and junior WR Jock Sanders both decide to turn down the NFL Draft to return to school for their senior seasons.

5″8 and 176 lb Devine was the one who people were holding their breath for as he was the the more likely one of the two to turn pro. Devine rushed for a career high 1,465 yards on 241 carries for 13 TD, averaging 6.1 yards a carry.

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The Mountaineers were able to overcome a 11 point deficit early in the first half to continue their domination against USF. West Virginia was led by sophomore Devin Ebanks contributed 17 points to go along with his 11 rebounds in their 69-50 win.

West Virginia (13-2, 4-1 Big East) was able to maintain the Bulls (10-6, 0-4 Big East) from exceeding the 50 point mark, but couldn’t quite keep their star, Dominique Jones, in check. Jones led all scorers with 28 points, as he was key in the Bulls’ 23-12 surprising start. Darryl Bryant answered Jones’ run by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers which sparked the Mountaineers’ to a 32-30 halftime lead. Bryant finished with 15 points followed by Da’Sean Butler with 12 and Kevin Jones pouring in 9.

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Da’sean Butler is the hero again in Morgantown in the Mountaineers first Big East home game by nailing a game winning 20-foot jumper with 2.3 seconds left to lift the Mountaineers to a 63-62 victory over Marquette (9-4, 0-1). Joe Mazzulla sealed the win by intercepting the ball on the other side of the court off of a long desperation throw.

West Virginia (11-0, 2-0 Big East) trailed by 5 points with 52 seconds left to play but thanks to a late Kevin Jones steal, a Devin Ebanks dunk, and a couple of missed free throws by the Golden Eagles, the Mountaineers were able to come out on top. Marquette had the lead with 1:02 after a made free throw to put the score at 62-57, but they did not score after that.

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Who ever watched the WVU vs Seton Hall the other day witnessed probably the most craziest big east game this season.

If West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks didn’t put up 22 points, 17 rebounds, and 7 assists, then i don’t think they could have pulled this one out. If it wasn’t for Ebanks, their undefeated season would have ended this early.

“We keep saying we want to be a championship basketball team,” West Virginia’s talented sophomore said. “Well, we’re going to have games like this and we’re going to have to grind it out.”

The Mountaineers just hope they don’t have any other games end up the way this one did, even though it was a win. But I am sure Ebanks will be there to help if they ever face a game situation like this one. But not only will Devin be a huge factor, but Da’Sean Butler and Kevin Jones will also.

What also impressed me besides the numbers Ebanks put up, was the energy he left on the floor. He wasn’t waken out of the game one time.

Butler finished the game off with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists while Jones added a double-double with 19 points, 14 rebounds. Jones hit a three pointer that pretty much summed up the game late in overtime.

WVU managed to hold Seton Hall off 90-84.

(Quote gathered from WVgazette)

Da’Sean Butler’s game layup with 1.2 seconds left on the clock led the No. 6 Mountaineers (8-0) right past the Cleveland State Vikings (4-8) 80-78.

West Virginia didn’t play good at all. The missed layup opportunities has head coach Bob Huggins upset, he said he has never seen so many missed layups before. That’s what kept the game close. Their defense showed no help at all what so ever. Cleveland States press hurt West Virginia last night and the game winning layup by Butler was about the only time they broke their press. It was just an awful game to watch but at least there is a W smacked down on the schedule.

When Butler inbounded the ball, the Vikings seemed to have him swarmed with defenders but some how he broke loose after he got the ball to point guard Darryl Bryant and then was caught in trouble but some how seemed to get the ball back to Butler for the win. Not to mention that Bryant almost caused an over and back call which could have gave Cleveland State the opportunity to win with a few seconds left on the clock.

This is West Virginia’s highest ranking in the AP poll since 1982.

Now that this game is past, they can watch film and see what all they need to fix. They needed this game bad. Hopefully they learn from it.

Former West Virginia assistant John “Doc” Holliday is the new head coach at Marshall.

The Marshall AD told reporters that Holliday signed a contract for five years worth $600,000 per year.

Coach Holliday will be taking the spot of Mark Snyder who resigned on the 29th of November after coaching five seasons for the Thundering Herd.

After coach Rodriguez left WVU, I thought for sure that Doc would be the next head coach at West Virginia but Bill Stewart did instead. We wish coach Holliday luck with his new career at Marshall.