BUCKHANNON – Creating a fourth class for football in West Virginia was supposed to create a more competitive balance of the game. For some reason, it has created the opposite effect this year.
In the first round, when No. 1 takes on No. 16, or No. 2 battles No. 15, you expect blowouts to happen, but what occurred last week across all four classes was head-scratching. Only one of the eight semifinal games was closer than 20 points. The final four teams in each class should be some of the best in the state. How do these games become blowouts?
Maybe it’s just an anomaly for this year, but I just don’t understand how a 24-12 game was the closest of the eight contests. I don’t have an answer for why there is such a gap in these games. Hopefully, the four championship games will be more competitive this weekend.
Moving on, all Marshall had to do was either win on the road against Appalachian State two weeks ago or beat Georgia Southern at home last week to become bowl eligible. Both of those teams were under .500, but the Herd played them and came away with two-and five-point losses, respectively. It’s a shame that neither West Virginia school will be in a bowl game this year.
Watching West Virginia lose the way they did to Texas Tech this past Saturday, I’m not sure the last time the program was this pathetic. I am simply tired of all the people defending Rich Rodriguez with their excuses. Tell me how you can defend having the worst home loss since 1891? How can you defend losing to Ohio? How do you defend losing four games by more than 30 points? Everyone says Fraud will turn it around next year. What exactly are you basing this on? That he will bring in his own players. The players will understand the system better. WVU will have more NIL money.
There is absolutely nothing to me that shows next year will be any better. Trust me, I hope I am wrong, but I simply don’t see what he can bring to this program to make it better. He is a has-been coach whose best days were 20 years ago. Face it, this was one of the worst-ever seasons at WVU. You just can’t defend, yet a majority of the fanbase will. By the way, congrats to Neal Brown on his new job!
Now onto the important stuff, the My Buckhannon staff contest. The standings look like this.
STANDINGS (WEEK 14)
Name Week Overall
Duane 6-1 79-19
Brian 5-2 71-27
Monica 5-2 58-40
Katie 4-3 56-42
I won the week with a 6-1 record and officially won the 2025 contest as I now have an eight-game lead. It’s been a banner season for me with a winning percentage of 81 percent. Brian and Monica both went 5-2 while Katie went 4-3.
We had one reader who was absolutely perfect at 7-0, and that was John Davis. The reason he was perfect was that he was the lone reader to pick Georgia Southern to beat Marshall. So, congratulations to Mr. Davis for being our weekly winner. He will be receiving a gift certificate from a local restaurant at the end of the season.
You still have time to get your picks in for this week (and the season), as we will accept them until Friday at 11 due to a Friday afternoon championship game. (One submission only.) Please click here to make your picks this week.
Now onto our games:
Martinsburg (11-2) vs. Morgantown (12-1)
Martinsburg has won 11 state titles, with all of them coming since 2010. That is called dominance my friends. If you look at the one loss to Morgantown’s record, it was to Martinsburg back on Oct. 10, a rare blowout loss for the Mohigans by a 34-6 score. Morgantown has few flaws this year, but I simply think Martinsburg is the better team.
Duane: Martinsburg; Brian: Morgantown; Monica: Martinsburg; Katie: Morgantown
Nitro (12-1) vs. Princeton (13-0)
A few weeks ago, I said don’t sleep on Nitro in Class AAA. With Chapmanville taking down Bridgeport, that opened the door for Nitro to make the title game. Princeton doesn’t get much press up here, but they are honestly one of the best teams in the state, regardless of class.
Duane: Princeton; Brian: Princeton; Monica: Princeton; Katie: Princeton
BYU (11-1) vs. Texas Tech (11-1)
Texas Tech showed the dipstick last week just how far WVU is from being an elite team. How did Arizona State (26-22) beat this team? Texas Tech beat BYU in the regular season 29-7. I don’t see that changing Saturday.
Duane: Texas Tech; Brian: Texas Tech; Monica: Texas Tech; Katie: Texas Tech
The Final Four:
Bluefield (11-2) vs. Frankfort (13-0)
Duane: Bluefield; Brian: Frankfort; Monica: Bluefield; Katie: Bluefield
Clay-Battelle (12-1) vs. Wheeling Central (9-2)
Duane: Wheeling Central; Brian: Clay-Battelle Monica: Wheeling Central; Katie: Clay-Battelle
Georgia (11-1) vs. Alabama (10-2)
Duane: Georgia; Brian: Alabama; Monica: Georgia; Katie: Georgia
Indiana (12-0 vs. Ohio State (12-0)
Duane: Ohio State; Brian: Indiana; Monica: Ohio State; Katie: Indiana
