Virginia

Asti: There’s One Clear Path for Duquesne to Shock West Virginia

Published

1 year ago

September 6, 2023

Asti: There’s One Clear Path for Duquesne to Shock West Virginia

Could it happen? Probably not. But IF the unthinkable happens and Duquesne actually beats WVU, it’s because the Dukes did one thing very well throughout the game.

Oddsmakers are guaranteeing a Mountaineers victory. West Virginia has never lost to an FCS school. WVU is 23-0 all-time, and even 4-0 under Neal Brown. Duquesne has only one win against an FBS program, but has never beat a program out of a major conference. Does something have to give? Again, probably not. But there’s one clear path for the Dukes to pull off a win that they wold no doubt be celebrate forever.

Throw deep, deep, deep. And do it often, often, often. While there were some signs of the Mountaineers could be improved from last year in their loss to Penn State (less missed tackles, turnovers didn’t trigger loss etc), there was one aspect of the team that actually looked worse.

WVU coaches told us all off-season how the secondary would be better. They said it was deeper. They said Aubrey Burks was a different guy now and could play himself into the NFL. Beanie Bishop expressed his desire to have a big season to end his college career. Jacolby Spells was discussed as having cleaned up mistakes and poised for a breakout year.

Now it’s still possible all of thins could happen. It’s possible that Penn State is as good as advertised and could end up in the College Football Playoff. It’s possible the West Virginia secondary could be fine the rest of the season, especially against a lower level opponent like Duquesne. In fact, the latter should happen. But Duquesne’s only hope is to test that theory out and give us an answer very quickly.

And Duquesne actually has the quarterback to make this happen. It’s possible we could watch the WVU secondary have their hands full throughout another Saturday night. The players mentioned above better be ready. Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown even alluded to this when asked what Duquesne does well and he needs to account for during his weekly press conference on Monday.

“Offensively, the quarterback threw the deep ball really well,” said Brown. The quarterback he’s referring to is Darius Perrantes. The junior out of Los Angeles, CA doesn’t always throw tons, mostly because games against the Dukes normal opponents don’t call for it. For example, he only attempted 13 passes, granted for 135 yards, in their win over Edinboro.

When the Dukes are at their best and clicking on offense, they are running all over the field. And running is what led to their dominating week 1 performance. Taj Butts rushed for 104 yards. Jamario Clements ran for 47 and Edward Robinson III added 43. Obviously if that happens again, Duquesne had another good day, but running with that much success while facing an FBS team is far less likely.

Perrantes has showed he does have an arm. He threw for 1,620 yards in only eight starts in 2021. The opportunity for Duquesne to shock the world is to try to strike big, and to try to do it early.

Duquesne should throw up a deep ball or two on their first possession. It might even be something the WVU staff is expecting, and maybe wouldn’t mind seeing. Let all of us truly find out what the West Virginia secondary is really made of.

It’s very possible that even if Duquesne opens up their passing game and West Virginia still ends up being exposed as the season progresses, the Mountaineers will still comfortably secure a win over the Dukes.

The WVU football program has four wins over FCS teams with Brown as head coach. Those wins came over James Madison 20-13 (2019), Eastern Kentucky 56-10 (2020), Long Island 66-0 (2021), and Towson 65-7 (2022). All of those schools had something they thought they could use to lead them to an upset too. FBS teams are just usually too much for an FCS to handle. Crazy historic upsets have happened. We all remember Appalachian State knocking off Michigan. But those are not common and historic for a reason.

The safe bet is West Virginia wins, and does so convincingly, something they honestly need to do to send some type of message that the program isn’t as down as some say. Anything is possible though, and there is a strategy that could work for Duquesne, a school only an hour and a half away from Morgantown, with players who will be very excited to play on Mountaineer Field.

Click here to read about Duquesne’s week 1 win.

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Virginia

Big Tests On The Horizon For Virginia Tech Wrestling – FloWrestling

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Press Room

Big Tests On The Horizon For Virginia Tech Wrestling – FloWrestling

At 3-0 with marquee victories over #6 Missouri (23-10) and #21 Rutgers (26-11), as well as a second-place finish in the Keystone Open with just a handful of starters competing, Virginia Tech has swept through a tough November and is prepared for a difficult December.

The Hokies, #12 in Flo’s team tournament ratings but top 10 in various dual-meet rankings, are next scheduled for an annual trip to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational, featuring 27 teams, of which 14 are among Flo’s top 25. And then it’s another trip west to Stillwater on Dec. 19 to challenge #5 Oklahoma State in a rare Thursday match.

The early key thus far for the Hokies has been the ability to win the bouts they’re supposed to win and grabbing a fair share of so-called toss-up bouts.

To wit, Tech’s #18 Sam Latona downing Missouri’s #13 Josh Edmond (4-2) at 141, or #25 Rafael Hipolito majoring the Tigers’ #32 James Conway (11-3) at 157 and #15 Jimmy Mullen stopping #20 Seth Nitzel (4-2) at heavyweight.

That trend continued at Tech’s Moss Arts Center match against #21 Rutgers when Latona used a late takedown to defeat Joey Olivieri 7-5, #4 Lennox Wolak pinned veteran Jackson Turley at 174 and #9 Andy Smith slipped past #17 John Poznanski 4-3 at 197.

Hokies coach Tony Robie only took a few regulars to the Keystone Open in Philadelphia and, led by championship efforts by #1-ranked Caleb Henson at 149 and heavyweight Hunter Catka, Tech placed second behind Lock Haven. Latona placed third at 141 and Sam Fisher did the same at 184.

Robie opted to use the Hokies’ roster as freshmen Dillon Campbell (125), Matt Henrich (157), Luke Robie (157) and Jack Bastarrika (133) competed as did redshirt juniors Jackson Spires (165) and Ty Finn (174). Spires placed second.

Who’s Ready For Change?

With legislation on the NCAA’s table affecting scholarship and roster limits — unlimited scholarships and a roster cap — as well as revenue sharing, some college wrestling programs likely have a serious dose of trepidation while others are confident they can deal with whatever happens.

Virginia Tech sits in the latter category.

“I have no concerns whatsoever about that,” Robie said earlier this month. “I think a lot of it probably will happen. It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad for the sport; that’s not really for me to say. What I will say is you have to adjust with what the rules are and what the landscape of college athletics looks like, and that’s what we intend on doing.

“Is it good for the overall health of the sport of wrestling? The kid that’s the 35th kid on your roster? Probably not. But I think definitely there were probably some things that needed to change; the pendulum was starting to swing significantly the other way. At some point, it’ll probably start to go back to the middle.”

Robie said all anyone can do is wait for the final decisions.

“We have some contingency plans based on what we think is going to happen and we’ll move forward with our plan and try to execute it,” he said.

A Pretty Good Gig

Robie, in his eighth year as head coach, has been at Tech since 2006 and as each season passes, the commitment and enthusiasm remain the same.

“Well, you get to do what you like to do. And it’s a pretty cool thing to be able to coach wrestling for a living and be a part of a pretty good program, and work with some great people and try to affect the lives of the kids in your program,” he said.

“I think anybody would want to do that. For me, I’m not young anymore. I turned 50 … who knows how long I’m going to do it, but I’m going to give it the best I can while I’m doing it and hopefully continue to improve as a program and try to try to help these guys as much as possible. But it’s good, Virginia Tech’s a great place to work, it’s a great place to live. I’ve got a great staff and it makes my life pretty easy.”

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Virginia

VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game

Published

12 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game

With the game of year looming this weekend, members of the Virginia football team were made available to to the media after practice on Tuesday morning to talk about the regular season finale against Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday night in Blacksburg. Watch the video below to hear what UVA senior safety Jonas Sanker, graduate tight ends Tyler Neville and Sackett Wood Jr., and graduate defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter had to say ahead of the Virginia Tech game:

Sanker is the team’s leader in tackles with 89 total tackles and also leads the ACC in solo stops with 60 unassisted tackles. He has racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and an interception as part of a strong senior campaign that should earn Sanker some serious consideration for a First-Team All-ACC selection.

A transfer from Harvard, Tyler Neville is Virginia’s second-leading receiver with 35 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns. Sackett Wood Jr., meanwhile, has recorded three receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown this season. Between the two of them, Neville and Wood have combined to appear in 83 college football games and make 48 starts.

Saturday will be the 55th game in the five-year career of Jahmeer Carter, who has started nearly every game for the last four seasons at Virginia. This season, Carter has 30 total tackles, including nine solo stops, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass defender. For his career, Carter is up to 131 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.5 tackles for loss.

Saturday night will be the first time Virginia plays at Lane Stadium in front of fans since the 2018 season, as the 2020 edition of the Commonwealth Clash was played in front of only 250 fans due to COVID-19 restrictions and then the 2022 Virginia vs. Virginia Tech game was canceled due to the shooting tragedy at UVA.

Virginia is seeking its first road victory at Virginia Tech since 1998, as the Hokies have won the last 11 Commonwealth Clash games played at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech has won 17 of the last 18 overall games against Virginia and leads UVA 61-38-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1895.

Both Virginia and Virginia Tech bring a 5-6 overall record into the regular season finale and both need to win the game in order to reach the six-win threshold required for bowl eligibility. There is only one other game this weekend between FBS teams who are battling for bowl eligibility (Eastern Michigan vs. Western Michigan). Virginia and Virginia Tech played each other for bowl eligibility at the end of the 2014 season.

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Virginia

Virginia Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Night results for Nov. 26, 2024

Published

19 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 26, 2024, results for each game:

Mega Millions

Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.

05-22-24-39-42, Mega Ball: 03, Megaplier: 3

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 3

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 7-3-0, FB: 2

Day: 7-2-1, FB: 5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 4

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 1-6-6-8, FB: 5

Day: 7-4-5-8, FB: 4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 5

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 0-5-4-9-9, FB: 2

Day: 6-9-5-3-2, FB: 0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash4Life

Drawing everyday at 9 p.m.

04-11-13-30-39, Cash Ball: 02

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash Pop

Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.

Coffee Break: 04

After Hours: 05

Prime Time: 06

Rush Hour: 09

Lunch Break: 12

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash 5

Drawing every day at 11 p.m.

12-22-31-38-44

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

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This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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