The Shotgun/Throwdown (12/12/18): It’s ‘next man up’ for the West Virginia Mountaineers

Welcome, By-Godders, to The Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU’s best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.

Football

WVU football: Next man up for Mountaineers in two crucial spots on offense | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The West Virginia University football team will get a sneak preview of what life will be like with two of its offensive stalwarts no longer wearing Mountaineer uniforms.

Careers of Camping World coaches have special tie | EerSports
Dino Babers and his Camping World Bowl counterpart Dana Holgorsen have something in common about their careers, something that goes beyond time spent on the sideline in Texas and hitching a ride to the Air Raid offense.

Basketball

Tony’s Take: Turnovers Eliminating WVU’s No. 1 Advantage | West Virginia Athletics
Yes, West Virginia did win the Basketball Brawl against Pitt. However, the Mountaineers lost the turnover battle, which continues an alarming trend.

Fluctuating minutes and changing spots, Haley tries to acclimate | WV MetroNews
Moving around is as much a part of Jermaine Haley’s life as breakfast or basketball practice.

Konate not quite Huggins’ best-ever shot-blocker | Times West Virginian
On Saturday, not long after Sagaba Konate broke D’or Fischer’s West Virginia University career record for blocked shots with his 191st, someone asked coach Bob Huggins if he had seen anyone in his 38 years of coaching better at blocking shots that Konate.

West Virginia Athletics

Senior Duo Named Scholar All-America | West Virginia Athletics
Senior defenders Easther Mayi Kith and Bianca St. Georges of the West Virginia University women's soccer team were named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's Scholar All-America First and Third Teams, respectively.

Mountaineers Finish in National Rankings | West Virginia Athletics
The West Virginia University men's soccer team concluded the 2018 season ranked in the top 25 in each of the major poll's final rankings, coming in as high as No. 17 by Soccer America.

Around the NCAA

How Kliff Kingsbury’s arrival at USC changes the Trojans’ whole equation | SBNation
It’s not as simple as USC hiring an air-raid guy and throwing more. The offense’s priorities will shift in more fundamental ways.

The College Football Playoff is set up to salvage a (relatively) boring season | SBNation
if there hasn’t been much to engage you outside of your team this year, the ending should give you something.

Why Alabama’s a lock for the No. 1 class and how the race for No. 2 could unfold | SBNation
The Tide have blown away the field in 2019 recruiting. Georgia, A&M, LSU, Clemson, Texas, and Oregon are jockeying behind them.

The Kyler-Tua Orange Bowl could be the latest chance to relitigate a Heisman race | SBNation
The Heisman is a pre-bowl season award. That won’t stop people from using the Orange Bowl to argue about it, so let’s argue about previous winner vs. runner-up meetings.

Orange Bowl has highest Vegas total of any Bama game ever (and might blow past it) | SBNation
Vegas gives Alabama-Oklahoma the highest points over/under of any Playoff game ever and any bowl this season.

The Ultimate SB Nation Holiday Gift Guide | SBNation
We did the hard work to help you give the gift of sports (jerseys, shoes, and books, oh my!).

Punting has become an NFL art form | SBNation
NFL punters have never been better or more dangerous, evolving one of football’s necessary evils into a true art form.

Atlanta United and Miguel Almiron were flashy champions for a fickle sports city | SBNation
In the slapstick history of Atlanta sports, no one has illustrated the city’s transient beauty better than Miguel Almiron and United.

John Paxson spent 15 years building the NBA’s worst culture with the Bulls. He must fire himself now | SBNation
The Bulls are a national laughingstock. John Paxson’s time with the franchise needs to end.

The infamous “Malice at the Palace” fight needs a deep rewind | SBNation
The “Malice at the Palace” is perhaps the most infamous fights in sports history. Fans traded injurious blows with NBA stars. Participants faced not just record-setting suspensions, but criminal charges, and the extremely image-conscious league was emboldened police player culture even further.

Everyone is ready for Anthony Davis to leave but the Pelicans | SBNation
The Pelicans have a generational talent in Anthony Davis. But will he be in New Orleans for long?

Why Depth Matters More Than Ever in the NBA | The Ringer
The arms race for star players may be more heated than ever, but teams like the Los Angeles Clippers are showing the value in quantity

Alex Ovechkin Showed Us What It Means to Be a Stanley Cup Champion | The Ringer
He did a keg stand with the cup and slept with it in his bed. No one enjoyed Washington’s championship more than its captain, who exorcised a decade of playoff disappointment with the most hilarious trophy celebration of 2018.

The Ringer’s 45 Favorite Sports Moments of 2018 | The Ringer
From the Philly Special to UMBC’s upset to whatever J.R. Smith did in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, here are the sports moments that defined our year

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