BUCKHANNON – I don’t care if it’s Bobby Bowden, Don Nehlen, Rich Rodriguez, Bill Stewart, Dana Holgorsen or Neal Brown, WVU is always going to find a way to ‘WVU’ a game.

Sure, there have been some big wins during my lifetime, but it seems like more than naught, WVU is there simply to break your heart.

Here is my list of top 5 WVU games where you want to throw a brick through your television screen.

1. Pitt at WVU (2007) – Not sure really much need to be said about this. Beat Pitt, a four-touchdown underdog at home, and you go and play for the national championship. Instead, they lost 13-9, Pitt writes a book about it, it’s still their favorite zinger for WVU fans, and Rodriguez left for Michigan soon after. One of the worst days ever to be a Mountaineer fan.
2. Notre Dame vs. WVU (1989) – This game was for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl. The game itself was never in doubt as Notre Dame led early 9-0 and 23-6 at the half. But this will always be the “what if’ game. What if Major Harris doesn’t separate his shoulder on the third play of the game? WVU was already without starting safety Darrell Whitmore who was injured in the finale against Syracuse. What if Major didn’t get hurt? Would WVU have won a national championship? What if?
3. Florida vs. WVU (1994) – This would be the Sugar Bowl. WVU entered the game with a perfect 11-0 record and had an outside shot to win a share of the national title except Florida had other ideas. WVU went up 7-0 and then watched Florida score 41 unanswered. Thirty years later and WVU has never went into the bowl season with a share of the championship on the line since this game.
4. Miami at WVU (1996) – At the time, WVU was 7-0 and ranked 12^th in the nation while Miami was 25^th with a 4-2 record. All WVU had to do was get a punt off and force Miami to go the length of the field being up 7-3. Instead, Tremaine Mack barged in and blocked the punt and returned it for the score with 29 seconds remaining to give Miami the 10-7 win. That loss sent WVU on a downward spiral as they finished the year 8-4.
5. WVU at Houston (2023) – Why not? All WVU had to do was knock down a Hail Mary pass to get ranked, be 3-0 in conference and 5-1 overall. But like I said at the beginning, WVU is always going to WVU.

In our weekly contest, Brian, and I both went 5-2 as he remains a game ahead of me. Monica and Katie both posted 4-3 marks, while Beckie finished with a 2-5 mark.

A quick check of the My Buckhannon staff standings.

In the Scoreboard Showdown this past week, we had two readers tied for the lead with a 5-2 record. They were ROBERT KIMBLE and GREG ABEL. Congrats to that pair on a great week! This week’s games can be found here. Get your picks in before the games kick off Friday night.

Now, onto our games this week:

Buckhannon-Upshur (2-6) at Grafton (0-7)

The Bucs finally catch a break in their schedule. Yes, anything can happen, but I just don’t see how B-U can lose this game. Since graduating a huge playoff class in 2021, the Bearcats have struggled.

Duane: Buckhannon-Upshur: Brian: Buckhannon-Upshur: Monica: Grafton; Beckie: Buckhannon-Upshur; Katie: Buckhannon-Upshur.

Philip Barbour (6-1) at Lewis County (4-3)

A huge, huge game in Class AA as No. 11 Lewis County hosts No. 10 Philip Barbour. Whoever loses this game will be squarely on the bubble and will have to sweat it out the final two weeks.

Duane: Philip Barbour; Brian: Philip Barbour: Monica: Lewis County; Beckie: Philip Barbour: Katie: Lewis County.

Liberty (5-2) at Lincoln (5-2)

Sad news for Liberty this week as the Harrison County BOE voted to have them absorbed into Robert C. Byrd High School starting 2025-2026 school year. It’s never good to see a school close and lose their tradition, but Harrison County really doesn’t need five public schools with their dwindling enrollment. This is a huge game as well in Class AA as Lincoln is 14^th and Liberty is 17^th.

Duane: Lincoln: Brian: Lincoln; Monica: Liberty; Beckie: Liberty: Katie: Liberty.