Let’s Go Pod-y: W. Virginia

Welcome to Let’s Go Pod-y, West Virginia week! I’m just gonna let you know right off the bat that I like West Virginia fans. They’re friendly folks that kind of remind you of people in Ames, Iowa. They love to tailgate, love their team, and even understand all the net positives that come from a good-natured dumpster or couch fire. West Virginia fans even have a little inferiority complex that would make any Cyclone proud.

Podcast: 3 Guys Before the Game

Length: 1 hour

Notes: A lot of the West Virginia pods have a similar format that is heavy on advertising and small talk and light on game details and smack talk. They’re not KState’s mouth-breathers or OkyState’s stat-geek blowhards, but something totally different. It’s easy listening and generally respectful of the program Matt Campbell has built and the fan support in Ames.

On the Series

“Three straight losses [by the Mountaineers] to the Cyclones by an average of 25 points”

On Brock Purdy

“A quarterback that’s playing the best stretch of his career ... if he plays the way he’s played the last few weeks it’s not just tough for West Virginia, it’s tough for the rest of the league”

“[Probably] the last ‘Brocktober’ game of his career”

“Brock Purdy, when he throws the ball 10-20 yards downfield, he’s 4/8 to the left-hand side, down the middle he’s 14/18 for 2 TDs, 14/16 to the right for 4 more touchdowns!”

On the Iowa State Defense

“Those guys up front are really good, if they can stop or slow you down with the 3 guys up front umm .... you’ve got a problem”

“They want to force your quarterback into quick decisions, that are bad decisions”

“It’s hard to recognize what they’re doing, they show you a light box ... but that becomes heavy quickly with Isheem Young and Eisworth flying up and filling”

“Their defense is basically spanx, it looks lighter than it actually is ... you know like having spanx on. [pause] [other guy:] Good spanx reference [laughter]”

On Iowa State Offense

“They’re playing at a level right now [in terms of net yards / play] that is better than half of all the teams that have ever made the college football playoff”

On Iowa State in General

“They are ... in their 6th year with Matt Campbell ... they are enjoying the fruits of their toiling”

“They play with an extremely high level of confidence”

“Brock Purdy, Breece Hall, Mike Rose, these guys have been around for what seems like forever. They have 21 guys with at least 10 starts. Mike Rose has started 45 games, 45!”

“We’re talking about Iowa State right now in a way that no one has ever talked about Iowa State in a hundred years of football. They are really good.”

On the Line

“West Virginia at -7 is an auto-play [per the situation] ... WVU was a road dog that won outright, coming home, against an ISU team coming off a home win against a top 10 team that has to travel across the country. There will be sharps betting coming in [betting the situation that’s ripe for an ISU letdown]”

“They [ISU] will get a little bit conservative at times, they don’t always cover”

On Breece Hall

“Breece Hall’s numbers are bizarre ... 50% of Hall’s rushing yards are around the outside, half of the teams touchdowns are on the outside”

On Iowa State Size

“How do they get all these tight ends Charlie Kolar, Chase Allen, all these big wide receivers, the Allen Lazards, the Butlers? ... it’s by design”

“We’ve only played Kolar 3 or 4 years but it seems like they’ve thrown 4,000 passes to those TE’s down the middle”

On the Matchup

“West Virginia is gonna need some breaks to win this one”

“Doege is gonna have to be good ... they are susceptible to some RPOs, to some screens ... you also have to be willing to take some deep shots”

“You gotta take shots, you gotta hit some bombs, hit some bombers ... which is not West Virginia’s strength”

On W. Virginia (lol, they hate this apparently, hence this article’s title)

“Why are we listed as ‘W. Virginia’? is it gonna be ‘W Virginia vs I State’ this weekend?”

“Other networks get it right, West Virginia or at least WVU!”

“West Virginia already has an IDENTITY issue, and I feel this [use of W. Virginia] contributes to the identity crisis”

Random Fact in Podcast

“Feral pig average life expectancy 6-8 years ... [awkward silence] ... [quietly sings] dudu-dudu-dudu ... ok”

On Iowa State fans

“I love their [ISU’s] fanbase. We were there [in Ames], it was cold, but they were out! They were there and tailgating!”

“It’s funny, ISU fans are pretty similar to WVU fans in that, you know they’ve had those football struggles for 100 years, so they still don’t fully embrace it [being really good and a favorite]”

“They are not your Oklahoma or Texas, they’re not dismissive ... they’re very respectful, they love traveling to Morgantown ... you can root for Iowa State [when they’re not playing WVU]”

“When Georges Niang was there with their basketball rolling, it was loud, similar to the Coliseum [WVU not Hilton ;)]”