You may have noticed a link to a Sporting News article in yesterday's Shotgun/Throwdown about the Capitol Classic moving from February to December. You probably also noticed some quotes from Chuck Landon on the subject if you followed the link. For whatever reason you want to attach to it, the series has produced a lot of close games. Even though West Virginia has been the better team a majority of the time. Unlike the football series, the basketball series has a lot of history. It's been good for Charleston businesses, and I absolutely think the game should be moved to December. My reasoning will follow.

Of course, Chuck Landon completely disagrees with me. His conspiracy theory driven mind thinks moving the Capitol Classic to December is just the first step in removing Marshall from the Mountaineer's basketball schedule. The truth is that Marshall sandwiched between Syracuse and Georgetown was a huge drop in competition. Just like it'll be when they are between Kansas and Texas. My opinion is that the game in February created a competitive disadvantage for the Mountaineers. I know it's hard for me to get up for the game when the one before and after it are so much more important.

I don't want the game to go away. But the move to the first week of December makes sense. Sure, that's the same week that conference championship games are played in football. But no self-respecting conference is going to have their championship game on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, Chuck. Also, think how many students on Christmas break will be able to attend the game. The city and businesses will be geared up and decorated for Christmas. Not cutting back staff for the slow part of the year. Crazy as it might seem, Chuck, this might just make the series better.

If there was ever anyone that was more unfair to Bill Stewart than me, I'd like to know about it. I said and did things as he was being ushered out the door that were neither classy nor intelligent. The news of his passing today leaves me sad, humbled, and filled with regret. He was a lot more than a football coach. He was loyal to his God and family first. He was a father and a husband and probably the only college football coach in America with the balls to tell you. As cliche as it may sound, he wore that on his sleeve. Although that part of the man was sometimes used as a punchline, the wisdom of his words have never been more true than today.

At what seemed like the lowest point in the Mountaineer Football program he refused pity or anything negative. At least from the outside looking in, he seemed to will the team through every day leading up to the Fiesta Bowl. And for one night, he took the weight of the entire state of West Virginia on his shoulders and gave us something no one could believe was possible. It was no small feat, and he exemplified what we all wish we were like, if just for one day. Remember him for that.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Stewart family and the players he led. He left no doubt.

ESPN announced it will do another set of 30 For 30 documentaries. They already have a few subjects lined up like Bo Jackson, the 1983 NC State basketball team, and one called "Broke" about athletes that lost their fortune. Looking at all the great stories they put together for the first round of 30 for 30's, you'd think the announcement to do more would be followed by "duh".

So what about West Virginia University? What story would you want them to tell? Would you want it to center around an icon like Jerry West, or a team like the 2005 Mountaineer football team?

One that lives with me is the 1984 football team. It's one of my favorite years of WVU football. In a way, if you've read Waiting for the Fall by Mike Casazza, it fits the theme perfectly. Jeff Hostetler was gone and expectations were not as high for Kevin White, but they beat Penn State for the first time in 28 years. They took out Boston College and Heisman winner Doug Flutie. They beat Pitt, Virginia Tech, and everyone else but Maryland (Damn you Frank Reich!). They were ranked higher than I had ever seen them. Then lost the last three games of the regular season to teams they should have beat. Depth was an issue, and when key starters went down the season fell apart.

I throw it out there because I doubt it would be in most people's top five or maybe ten. Beating TCU was a sweet end to a roller coaster ride of a season, though. What's your Mountaineer 30 for 30?

BCS executive director Bill Hancock finds himself in an awkward position these days. He doesn't have any say in how the new playoff format will be decided, and he didn't have a choice that one would be forthcoming. In the immortal words of Bob Slydell, "what would you say ya do here?" It's as if he's being beaten over the head with it like a stick by the conference commissioners.

They really seem to be the ones in charge here. We have the NCAA to govern the game. Well...they have the responsibility. The collective BCS poll is made up of polls independent of the BCS. As Hancock himself says, the conference commissioners make all the decisions.

"There's 11 conference commissioners and the Notre Dame AD. That's basically the board that runs the BCS. And I wouldn't hazard a guess as to where they are on this. They haven't come to a final conclusion. But they're split. It's safe to say that - they're split. ... The commissioners will collaboratively come to some agreement about what the format should be. There won't be a vote - they will just sit and talk it through until they come up with something that everybody can live with."

So you actually hand carry the documents from the client to the engineers? Or does your secretary do that? It's not that anyone is in love with the NCAA, but there's really no reason to have two organizations to run one sport. This question isn't breaking new ground. But it's never been more evident than now. We have a layer of bureaucracy that has no responsibilities, but you know their getting paid. At least until they decide they want to keep living, and back out into traffic without looking.

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Fall Down Pass Out. Or as John Marinatto likes to call it, the Slim Pickens. We're dipping into the really bad part of the off season. But we'll keep you entertained after the jump.

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Smoking Musket Ballot - Week 18

Rank	Team	Delta
1	USC Trojans	3
2	LSU Tigers	3
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
4	Oklahoma Sooners	-2
5	Florida St. Seminoles	5
6	Michigan St. Spartans	--
7	Georgia Bulldogs	-6
8	Oregon Ducks	--
9	South Carolina Gamecocks	-2
10	West Virginia Mountaineers	1
11	Michigan Wolverines	2
12	Wisconsin Badgers	4
13	Kansas St. Wildcats	2
14	Arkansas Razorbacks	-5
15	TCU Horned Frogs	--
16	Louisville Cardinals	1
17	Nebraska Cornhuskers	4
18	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
19	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	-5
20	Virginia Tech Hokies	--
21	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	3
22	Texas Longhorns	-4
23	Cincinnati Bearcats	-4
24	Clemson Tigers	-12
25	Auburn Tigers	-2
Dropouts: Boise St. Broncos, Florida Gators

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "

(No Fall Down Pass Out today. This took too much time) Looking back at my post-season poll, it seems I was a little emo about the whole thing. Like I said, it's all darts. You have no idea who is going to rise up and who's going to fall flat on their face. Too much respect for Georgia. Not that they are going to be awful all of a sudden. Having a stout defense is a bare minimum to win a conference title. The way their offense ran away and hid in the Outback Bowl against Michigan St. makes them an iffy pick.

As if betting on Lane Kiffin is a good one. At any rate, the NCAA really made USC suffer, huh? They have a proven quarterback in Matt Barkley and the departure of Darron Thomas from Oregon puts USC in the early drivers seat for the Pac-12 title.

Alabama and LSU will be their usual selves. LSU will almost certainly have better quarterbacking this year. Just because neither of their quarterbacks from last year return. Neither team has a favorable schedule like Georgia does, ie, not having to play LSU or Alabama. I give the slight edge to LSU because Les Miles was off his game a bit last year. That won't happen two years in a row. He's already removed the 50 yard line from the practice field.

Moving Oklahoma down a bit because of some holes on defense that need filled. Perhaps Mike Stoops will work some magic with the defense. I have to imagine the collapse and fall from the top of the polls last year will be motivation enough for the Sooners this year. They should be primed and ready by the time they play Kansas St. on the 22nd of September.

Florida State is always going to be an iffy pick until they prove otherwise. They showed signs of being an elite team last year. But the ACC frowns on such things. If they can break the mold, they too can get plastered in the Orange Bowl this year.

Most coaches would worry about losing their starting quarterback and top wide receivers. But like I said in the post-season poll, this plays right into Mark Dantonio's hands. If he could win every game 2-0 he might actually smile.

The first rule of the blogpoll is that you shouldn't rank a team by how their schedule looks. But in the SEC, not having to play the top two teams and one true road test @ South Carolina could mean big things for the Bulldogs. They've looked like this before, and didn't live up to expectations then. For now, I have a wait and see attitude.

Oregon and South Carolina are both sleepers. Both teams need their quarterbacks to step up. Otherwise, the pieces are there for both to win their conference. South Carolina is going to have to find a way to keep Connor Shaw on his feet. He was sacked 23 times in eight starts. A solid running game could help that if Marcus Lattimore returns to form.

I have my questions about West Virginia's defense. It's never an easy thing when you switch coaches like we did on defense this offseason. It's not as bad as a switch of offensive coaches. But with the move to the Big 12, a lot of things are going to be different. How West virginia adapts to those changes will be crucial.

I couldn't put Michigan in front of West Virginia and that's all I have to say about that.

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Welcome, By-Godders, to The Fall Down Pass Out. If the internets can be trusted, there's 116 days until the air raid sounds. It sounds for you, Mr. Holliday. New Big 12 TV deal, Casazza on the Solid Verbal podcast, Irvin signs a deal, and more after the jump.

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Welcome, By-Godders, to the Fall Down Pass Out. The Marinatto has finally come to the grim realization that he's not the man to run the Big East. Two years too late, but that's pretty much how long it takes everything to sink in.

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Welcome, By-Godders, to the Friday edition of the Fall Down Pass Out. It has a little more meaning today since the juice was flowing last night. If you haven't attended the coaches caravan, you need to. It's absolutely too much fun. Hats off to JP Henry's for putting on an incredible event.

The first guest I met was Barry Switzer. That dude is just incredible. I know he's drawn a lot of ire around Big 12 country over the years. But he didn't do it by finishing last. I do believe he could sell anything. Oliver Luck is just flat out funny and charming. Not really hard to tell why he and Switzer have been so successful. Owen Schmitt is every bit the rock star that handles it with grace you'd think he would be. As was Quincy Wilson. Billy Simms is not shy about his feelings for Texas. This much we know. Holgorsen walked by our table and immediately said, "Not you guys again." Inside joke with one of the folks I was sitting with. But he meant it in a funny way. I have no idea how these guys can remember so much and so many people. But it's things like that that make you not feel like a number or a face in the crowd. I can't repeat his or Huggins speeches, but man...just flipping great. Be excited Mountaineer fans!! It's going to be a great year!!

One point of emphasis that Luck did make, really the only serious part, was that we need to welcome our fellow Big 12 fans into Morgantown. Nothing subtle or self loathing about what he said. Just flat out said we need to put our best foot forward. I'm very much in agreement and can't wait to meet and greet Big 12 fans to Morgantown.

Country Roads will have something later today on the EDSBS charity drive. So make sure and come back for that. Now on to the links.

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Welcome, By-Godders, to the Fall Down Pass Out. Yesterday was quite the emotional day, huh? Hopefully we won't have any more of those. WVU settled with FSU, nice piece on Holgorsen and Luck from SI, WVUPros updates, Brock Burwell's last act as the Mountaineer, and a lot more after the jump.

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I don't really even know where the best starting point is. For today's developments, I would suggest you start with the SB Nation page on Seau's death.

Why me? Why here? For me, I've been a Charger fan since '79. This is really sad on a lot of levels for me. He was and is an icon for my NFL team, the Chargers. When Dan Fouts and Charlie Joiner retired, so did the Chargers. 3-13, 4-12, those were normal results until Seau came along and energized that team and city. So to me, Junior Seau is someone special. Irregardless of anything else, he did this. You could actually wear the team gear out in public again. He made the Chargers relevant.

It's sad that his only Super Bowl with the Chargers was one of the most convincing losses in the history of the NFL. But it was something Fouts & Company could never reach. Seau eventually moved on before he retired. His legacy still remains, though. The perception of San Diego is completely different around the NFL now compared to his arrival.

There's been an incredible rush to speculate about the circumstances of his death. That isn't really anything new. Obviously there is much talk of suicide. Depression, concussions, these are also some things being batted around. For this story, and right now, the first order of business is that we send our condolences to his family and friends. I can't imagine the grief they are going through. Let alone the media frenzy surrounding his death.

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Welcome, By-Godders, to the Fall Down Pass Out. As the gif above suggests, ESPN has opened the voting up again for the College Gameday commercial. So get over there and vote for West Virginia.

Also of note is the book by Marshall's compliance official during the Pruett years, David Ridpath. It's not a pretty picture for Marshall. But this? This is gold.

..."he makes special mention of Chuck Landon, a Charleston columnist during the MU scandal's eruption: "Landon was a quintessential jock-sniffer who felt empowered by his almost creepy fawning association with Pruett ..."

Follow after the jump for the latest Mountaineer and Big 12 links.

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I'm getting a little tired of the Fall Down Pass Out intro. By now, everyone knows what's going on. Right? Cause there's more important stuff to get to. Florida State has revived Cimarron from the dead to appeal to the younger Seminole fans. Because the adults are already, "hooked"? I kid.

The only reason I brought the picture up is because I saw the original version on EDSBS. The reason I bring that up is because he's doing something very worthwhile. His annual fundraiser allows the school fan base with the highest donation level to have him get an unflattering tattoo or other nonsense of their choosing. Proceeds go to Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta. A charity he used to work for, I believe. We probably don't stand a chance in hell of him getting the flying WV logo tramp stamp, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't donate to such a worthy cause.

Mountaineer and Big 12 Links after the jump.

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Welcome, By-Godder's, to The Fall Down Pass Out. With WVUIE97 off on his conquest of Europa, a stand-in for the Shotgun/Throwdown was needed. As I explained it, it's a S/T for light weights, because I couldn't ever do anything that thorough.

Recap of Mountaineers and the Big 12 in the 2012 NFL Draft after the jump.

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There are great stories behind every Mountaineer drafted. That's true for Keith Tandy as well. Tandy was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round. Joining fellow Mountaineer Najee Goode. Having never beaten West Virginia while at Rutgers, Greg Schiano is loading up on Mountaineers now. If you can't beat them, draft them.

Tandy's story is one of redemption. Things didn't go well early, and Keith had to earn his way back by proving himself on the field. Obviously, he took full advantage of his opportunity. While at West Virginia he had 13 interceptions and 24 pass breakups. Most of them coming in his last two years. He has a nose for the football and he gets in positions to make plays. He's not afraid to take on ball carriers as evidenced by his 188 tackles. Congratulations Keith!

For more on Keith and Najee check SB Nation's Tampa Bay blog, Bucs Nation.

One of the best things about Najee Goode is his versatility. He seemed to move from one linebacker spot to another his whole time at West Virginia. Wherever the team needed him, he filled the hole. He was also a walk-on at West Virginia. So that just make this story even sweeter. Obviously, he didn't get the same attention as Bruce Irvin. But he was every bit as integral to the success the defense has had the past two years.

Like Bruce, we hate to see Najee go. Going from a walk-on to permanent fixture, and then drafted is quite the story also. He wore the colors with pride and made himself into an NFL Draft pick. Tampa Bay made a wise choice today. Congratulations Najee!

For more on Najee going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, check out SB Blog, Bucs Nation. SB Nation also has a page on Najee being drafted by the Bucs.

Welcome, By-Godder's, to The Fall Down Pass Out. With WVUIE97 off on his conquest of Europa, a stand-in for the Shotgun/Throwdown was needed. As I explained it, it's a S/T for light weights, because I couldn't ever do anything that thorough.

Congrats Bruce! Like I said last night, it seems like such a short time that Bruce was with us. But for him, it's been a long road. All the hard work finally paid off last night. So let's look at the reaction from Morgantown and Seattle.

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As Mike Casazza put it earlier today, "But, man, what a surreal story if this happens. I’d have to say, one of the more amazing and irresistible rags-to-riches stories we’ve witnessed, right?" And I'd like to add, it happened so quick. It was just two years ago that Bruce Irvin was turning heads in his first spring with the team. Now, he's headed to the Seattle Seahawks with the fifteenth pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

We've been lucky at West Virginia to have several players that brought this kind of excitement. Bruce was definitely one of them. The chants of "Bruuuuuce" following every sack. The seemingly cement filled shoes of the person opposite him. It almost wasn't fair. He's got speed to burn, and as you can see from the gif above, he's not afraid to let someone run out of his way to the quarterback. Wish he could stick around two more years, but it's his time to shine. Congratulations Bruce! Seattle made a very wise choice.

Welcome, By-Godder's, to The Fall Down Pass Out. With WVUIE97 off on his conquest of Europa, a stand-in for the Shotgun/Throwdown was needed. As I explained it, it's a S/T for light weights, because I couldn't ever do anything that thorough.

We understand there is a search for a new commissioner of the Big 12 underway, and that it is possibly wrapping up. Before you pull that trigger, may I make a suggestion? That guy up there looks good doing anything. If you want somebody everyone likes, I would tell you the only people that don't like Jerry West are the ones that think they should be the logo. As my backup plan, I was going to go with Ron Prince in the movie Kill and Kill Again. His head just wouldn't cover all that hair. But the hash tag was something, #RonP4Big12C.

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Welcome, By-Godder's, to The Fall Down Pass Out. With WVUIE97 off on his conquest of Europa, a stand-in for the Shotgun/Throwdown was needed. As I explained it, it's a S/T for light weights, because I couldn't ever do anything that thorough.

Did you know Seth Greenberg got fired from Virginia Tech? It's a little funny cause he really was shocked. Cheers to the man that made VT synonymous with NIT. I almost hope he gets hired by ESPN as an analyst. Basketball needs a Mark May. Just to pick on.

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Welcome, By-Godder's, to The Fall Down Pass Out. With WVUIE97 off on his conquest of Europa, a stand-in for the Shotgun/Throwdown was needed. As I explained it, it's a S/T for light weights, because I couldn't ever do anything that thorough.

Before we do anything else, go vote for West Virginia to be the school ESPN College Gameday films an on campus commercial at. Vote as often as you can (something like this could work IamAdork@marshall.com, be creative) Also, look for a recruiting update from Country Roads later today.

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Welcome, By-Godder's, to The Fall Down Pass Out. With WVUIE97 off on his conquest of Europa, a stand-in for the Shotgun/Throwdown was needed. As I explained it, it's a S/T for light weights, because I couldn't ever do anything that thorough.

We do have a lot to get to with the spring game being played on Saturday. Country Roads will have a recap of the game coming up later this morning. You're normal post-spring game thoughts rule the headlines. A couple nice WVU stories outside the spring game. There's also a gif of the Smith to Bailey play from the first quarter to have a look at after the jump. September seems like a long way away. We better enjoy this while we can. Hopefully Pitt will have to fire and hire another football coach this year too. Just for the distraction.

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