Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
UM aims to keep Mountaineers from 11th win
In a scene from the mockumentary, “This is Spinal Tap,” character Nigel Tufnel played by Christopher Guest proudly displays a special-made guitar amplifier that has a volume setting that goes past the usual 10 to 11. When asked why he simply didn’t just make 10 louder, Tufnel responds “These go to eleven.”
Eleven sounds much better than 10 especially if you’re West Virginia. In the program’s rich 125-year history only five other teams have won 11 games in a season. This year’s squad looks to make it six.
“You know, all wins are important,” Holgorsen said Tuesday before the team’s kickoff luncheon. “There is no question that we have been fortunate to win 10 of them this year.
“But there has only been five teams in the last 125 years of West Virginia football to win 11 [games],” he added. “That is rare. We have our eyes set on that and that would be special.”
Special indeed, when you consider this team wasn’t expected to do much this season. West Virginia was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 in preseason media predictions. Instead the Mountaineers finished third in the league and stand at the cusp of capping off one of their best seasons under Holgorsen.
Everyone on this team has carried that chip on their shoulder; none more so than the 21 seniors who make up much of this year’s roster. It will be that feeling that Holgorsen hopes to dig into when he address those players before the start of the game.
“I will remind them that nobody thought they were any good,” he added. “This is their team. This is their legacy. They have a chance to win 11 [games], that is huge.
“Winning 10 [games] is tough. Winning 11 [games], that’s pretty rare. So, I think that will take care of itself.”
A win today against the Miami Hurricanes would place Holgorsen into a group of West Virginia coaches that includes Bill Stewart (1), Rich Rodriguez (2) and Don Nehlen (2); all of whom have coached teams that went on to win 11-games in a season.
Holgorsen won’t have a tough time reminding his players about that feeling of disrespect many of them felt this season. Most already were quite aware of it before they touched down in Orlando last week.
“We are all looking for that 11th, there have only been five teams in the history of Mountaineer football to do that,” redshirt junior fullback Elijah Wellman told the media earlier this week. “That’s our goal, we are not finished; we have one more game, and we are going to attack it just like the first 10 wins that we have.”
For many of the seniors on this squad, they remember not only the good times but the bad.
“Definitely, my freshman year we went 4-8 and that was a terrible season. To go 10-2 this year and hopefully get 11 wins feels pretty good,” said senior wide receiver Daikiel Shorts Jr., who finished the regular season with a team-best 58 receptions. “Especially for not only myself but the rest of the seniors and all of the underclassman having them come into next year with a winning season. That will be pretty good for them.”
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson reiterated his head coach’s sentiments earlier this week.
“We want to get this 11th win for the program, for these seniors and go out the right way.”