In Friday’s Watch This, I wrote that the Ohio State-Michigan State game was one of very few exciting games this weekend, and I admittedly overlooked the West Virginia-Baylor game entirely, even though it was the other matchup of two Top 25 teams. And on Saturday, boy did I feel like a dick for that one. With the West Virginia Mountaineers (4-0) pulling out a 70-63 win over the Baylor Bears (3-1), it’s very safe to say that both teams gave us an early and presumably unbeatable candidate for Game of the Year. You know, unless McNeese State and UTSA in Week 11 is as exciting as I’m predicting.
In case you missed it, WVU QB Geno Smith became an instant Heisman frontrunner and eventual Jacksonville Jaguars draft pick as he threw for 656 yards and 8 touchdowns. Meanwhile, WVU receiver Stedman Bailey had 13 catches for 303 yards and 5 TD. At the same time, Baylor QB Nick Florence passed for 581 yards and 5 TD, with his No. 1 target, Terrance Williams, racking up 314 yards and 2 TD. If I were degenerative enough to play college fantasy football, this game would have been a wet dream come true.
But forget the guys who actually go on the field and entertain us while sacrificing their health, this is about the thousands of fans who experienced an incredible game live and stuck around to the end. How Mountaineers fans had any voices left to sing is beyond me, but their time-honored tradition of singing John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads” sounded just a little bit better than usual this week.
Even as my only frame of reference comes from witnessing WVU beat my favorite team 36-18 back in 2003, hanging around to watch the Mountaineers and fans sing is a pretty fun experience. Especially when they give you free bourbon in the parking lot after. Good people, them West Virginians.
