WVU Football

Former NFL punter Pat McAfee, who has carved out a niche for himself as a star in the podcasting world and in professional wrestling as a WWE announcer, recently discussed the aftermath of West Virginia's loss to Pittsburgh in the 2007 Backyard Brawl.

In an interview with Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, McAfee talked about having suicidal thoughts after missing two field goals for WVU in a 13-9 loss to Pitt in the final regular-season game of the 2007 season.

"I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore," McAfee said. "My life changed immediately that day. It was a terrible f------ night, to be honest with you. It was like something out of a movie. I just drove. I got all the way to Virginia through Maryland. I was gone for a couple days. I drove, parked, slept and kept driving. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know where I was headed. I didn’t know what was coming next."

McAfee also noted angry fans vandalized his car, destroyed his yard and made death threats against him.

The Mountaineers entered the Backyard Brawl with a 10-1 record, ranked No. 2 in the BCS standings and likely would have played for the national title with a win over their rival. They scored at least 28 points in each of their 10 victories up to that point.

Pitt was 4-7 and coming off back-to-back losses to Rutgers and South Florida.

McAfee missed two field-goal attempts from 20 and 32 yards in the first half. He did make his only extra-point attempt after backup quarterback Jarrett Brown's six-yard touchdown run gave West Virginia a 7-0 lead late in the second quarter.

Pittsburgh got 13 points in the second half to earn a 13-9 upset win. The Mountaineers fell to ninth in the final BCS standings, but they were able to salvage the season with an impressive 48-28 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

McAfee finished his career at West Virginia in 2008, was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 and had a successful eight-year NFL career as a punter. He was named to the Pro Bowl twice and All-Pro first team in 2014.

The Backyard Brawl is being revived this year for the first time since 2011. The Panthers will host West Virginia at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 for 24/7 access to a trained counselor. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "HOME" to 741741. For more information about ongoing support and mental health resources, contact the HelpLine at the National Alliance on Mental Illness by calling 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or emailing info@nami.org.

West Virginia president Gordon Gee is no longer in favor of expanding the College Football Playoff to 12 teams.

During an interview with the West Virginia student newspaper the Daily Athenaeum (h/t Andrea Adelson of ESPN), the member of the CFP board of managers said he was once "a strong advocate for the 12-team playoff" but changed his mind because of the instability of the college football landscape.

"I am now no longer because I think with this changing environment, we want to keep it very narrow and keep it so there is a lot of opportunity to reconfigure what we’re doing in athletics," he said.

He continued, saying, "I think it is on life support now. I have one of the votes and I think it nearly needs to be unanimous and I’m not voting for it. I think the Big Ten will not vote for it and the Pac 12 will probably not vote for it either."

Adelson noted the CFP board of managers is scheduled to meet Sept. 28. Gee, who was formerly the president of Ohio State and Vanderbilt, is one of 11 presidents and chancellors in the group.

Adelson also pointed out that Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff and Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren recently said during a conference call they are supportive of the idea of playoff expansion but want to discuss more details.

This comes with the college football landscape undergoing some changes this offseason.

The SEC turned heads by adding Oklahoma and Texas for 2025, and the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 announced an alliance that will feature a "scheduling component" and could see the conferences stick together on proposals for playoff expansion down the line.

It should be noted that West Virginia's Big 12 conference is in a difficult situation.

Texas and Oklahoma are the two historical powerhouses in the league and on the way out, and the Big 12 was not included in the alliance between the other three non-SEC power conferences. The uncertainty about the conference's position could have an impact on Gee's opinion.

For now, the CFP remains at four teams, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see the typical programs of Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma and Notre Dame competing for those spots again in 2021.

The Big 12 announced Saturday's scheduled game between No. 11 Oklahoma and West Virginia has been canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

West Virginia announced it has had a "surge of positive Covid-19 cases" within the football program, causing the program to pause all activities.

"Our intent is to get this spread under control as soon as possible for the health and safety of all involved," WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons said in a statement. "We are beyond disappointed not to play our final home game of the season and honor our seniors, but we need to act now and reevaluate our situation after Dec. 17."

This game was originally supposed to be played on Nov. 28, but it was pushed back as a result of positive tests within the Sooners. It will now be canceled because of West Virginia, which is 0-8 in this matchup since joining the Big 12.

This ends the regular season for West Virginia, which at 5-4 will now await its bowl assignment.

Oklahoma (7-2) has already qualified for the Big 12 Championship Game and will take on No. 7 Iowa State on Dec. 19 in Arlington, Texas.

Even without completing the regular-season schedule, the Sooners could still play for a New Year's Six bowl game with a win over the Cyclones. A spot in the College Football Playoff is a long shot, but winning the conference title game would give the team a chance.

The West Virginia Mountaineers football team will reportedly be without 11 players because of suspension when they host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in their season-opening game Saturday.

According to Mike Casazza of EerSports, the suspensions are not related to COVID-19 and are instead because of violations of team rules. All 11 suspensions are reportedly for one week, meaning the players will be eligible to play against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 26.

Per Casazza, the 11 suspended players are starting left tackle Junior Uzebu, starting center Chase Behrndt, starting slot receiver T.J. Simmons, backup slot receiver Isaiah Esdale, backup slot receiver Zack Dobson, tight ends Mike O'Laughlin and T.J. Banks, backup offensive linemen Tairiq Stewart and Zach Davis, backup cornerback David Vincent-Okoli and backup long snapper J.P. Hadley.

Casazza noted that WVU head coach Neal Brown has been preparing to be without the 11 players for quite some time because of when the violation occurred.

After reaching a bowl game in five straight seasons and 16 of 17 seasons, the Mountaineers struggled to a 5-7 record last season and failed to qualify for a bowl game.

It was West Virginia's first season under Brown after eight with Dana Holgorsen at the helm. Holgorsen left to take the head coaching job at the University of Houston.

Despite their struggles last season and the fact that they will be without 11 players, several of whom are starters, the Mountaineers are huge favorites against the Colonels.

According to DraftKings, West Virginia is a 43.5-point favorite, which is one of the biggest spreads on the board Saturday.

Eastern Kentucky is coming off a 59-0 loss to Marshall last week, and the final margin could be even larger against a power conference team in WVU.

The West Virginia University athletic department and Vic Koenning, the football team's defensive coordinator, announced a mutual agreement to separate Wednesday morning.

Mountaineers safety Kerry Martin Jr. made allegations of "mistreatment and racism" against Koenning in a June 23 Twitter post:

Wednesday's announcement included a statement from Koenning, who joined the WVU program in January 2019:

"I remain apologetic to anyone who perceived something I said or did as hurtful. That was never my intent. I wish to thank all the current and former players, coaches and colleagues—of all different ethnicities and backgrounds—whose support and encouragement have been invaluable to me and my family. I am relieved the process is over but will be forever changed by the experience. Personally, I'd love to get back to coaching our guys, but I know that doing so would create additional scrutiny and lingering distractions for our program. Taking all this into consideration, we have come to this mutual decision to separate. I will always be grateful for the relationships formed with so many players, coaches and WVU supporters. I am not done coaching. I remain passionate about leading young men and look forward to the next coaching chapter in my life. I wish nothing but the best for all Mountaineers."

Koenning, 60, played college football at Kansas State from 1977 through 1981.

His coaching career started at Memphis State in 1986 and also included stops at Wyoming, Troy, Clemson, Kansas State, Illinois and North Carolina in various defensive coaching roles before arriving to the Mountaineers. He also served as Wyoming's head coach for three years after three seasons as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator.

West Virginia launched an investigation into Martin's allegations, and Mike Casazza of Eer Sports reported the coordinator's fate was "decided not long after the investigation began," with most of the past month being used to finalize the separation agreement.

Koenning will receive $591,451 of the $1.1 million remaining on his contract, according to the release.

The announcement also included statements from athletic director Shane Lyons and head coach Neal Brown. Lyons stated:

"This mutual separation is in the best interest of our football program. Coach Brown and I have set high expectations for our coaches, staff and student-athletes, and it is that culture that will allow us to compete for championships. We are moving forward as a program, and our coaches, staff and student-athletes have my complete confidence and support."

Brown added:

"As I've stated previously, I care deeply about Vic and every player, coach, staff member and administrator who touches our program. This decision was not made lightly, and both parties agree that it places us in the best position to positively move forward. Vic has meant a lot to this program over the past 18 months and to me, personally, for our time together both here and at Troy University. I know that Vic will find continued success as a coach. However, Vic and I both reached the conclusion that the current circumstances make continuing in his role as defensive coordinator challenging. At the end of the day, we all—Vic included—want what is best for our program."

The Mountaineers are scheduled to open the 2020 season Sept. 5 against Florida State. The fate of the campaign remains up in the air because of the coronavirus pandemic, however, with the Big Ten and Pac-12 already shifting to conference-only schedules. The Big 12 hasn't made a final decision.

A replacement for Koenning wasn't immediately announced.

The West Virginia athletic department released its COVID-19 testing numbers on Saturday.

Since June, the school has administered 518 tests, and 41 have resulted in positive cases. That figure includes 28 football players, five men's basketball players and six women's hoops players.

Per the athletic department, individuals who tested positive entered isolation for 14 days following news of their result. Contract tracing was then initiated, per the university.

Numerous schools have reported COVID-19 numbers since NCAA allowed athletes to return to campuses for voluntary workouts beginning June 1.

The Clemson football team has had 37 positive tests, and Ohio State was forced to shut down workouts after members of seven athletic teams returned positive cases. Northern Colorado also suspended workouts.

The chances of fall sports occurring in a few months appear grim as COVID-19 continues its spread throughout the United States.

A total of 71,484 new cases were reported in the United States on Saturday, marking the single-highest one-day total, per the World Health Organization. The COVID-19 daily case amount has nearly quadrupled since June 17.

NCAA President Mark Emmert released a statement on the future of fall sports amid the pandemic.

"When we made the extremely difficult decision to cancel last spring's championships it was because there was simply no way to conduct them safely. This document lays out the advice of health care professionals as to how to resume college sports if we can achieve an environment where COVID-19 rates are manageable. Today, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction. If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic."

The Division I college football season is currently scheduled to begin August 29.

West Virginia defensive coordinator Vic Koenning apologized to Mountaineers safety Kerry Martin for offensive remarks that the rising sophomore defensive back says his coach made beginning in the spring of 2019:

"I never intended anything I said or did to offend or be insensitive," Koenning wrote. "But KJ's Tweet reminded me that sometimes intent is not always clearly communicated. I've devoted the last 30 plus years of my life to serving young men through coaching. I've always tried to see things from the perspective of others."

On Tuesday, Martin relayed numerous comments he says Koenning made to him and others on the team:

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg relayed some of Martin's allegations:

"Martin alleges that last season, Koenning spoke in a position meeting 'about President Trump and how he should 'build the wall and keep Hispanics out of the country,' and there's a Hispanic in the meeting.' Martin also referred to a meeting Koenning had with his high school coach, Jon Carpenter, and Martin said Carpenter in a later conversation described Koenning as having a 'Slave Master mentality.'"

Carpenter has since said that he did not make those remarks, but Martin said his ex-high school coach's denial is "100 percent not true." 

Koenning, 60, has been placed on administrative leave while the school investigates Martin's allegations, per Rittenberg. He has coached college football since 1986 and joined the Mountaineers' staff under head coach Neal Brown in 2019.

Martin, a rising sophomore, had 50 tackles and five pass breakups last season. He was voted as a third-team representative on Pro Football Focus' 2019 All-Freshman college football team. 

West Virginia defensive coordinator Vic Koenning has been placed on administrative leave after safety Kerry Martin Jr. tweeted about a series of offensive comments made by the coach since spring 2019, per Joe Brocato of WVMetroNews.com. 

Martin said Koenning once called him "retarded" for using the wrong technique during a workout. He also said Koenning was talking about Donald Trump during a 2019 meeting and said the president should "build the wall and keep Hispanics out of the country" while a Hispanic person was in the meeting room.

Additionally, Martin said he converted his religion and that Koenning would consistently to talk to him about Christianity, reading him bible verses. Martin says Koenning commented Monday on the protests against systemic racism and police brutality, claiming "If people did not want to get tear gassed, or push back by the police then they shouldn't be outside protesting."

He also said Koenning took aim at former Pitt defensive back Derrek Pitts, who has since transferred to Marshall.

"Coach Vic has antagonized Derrek Pitts for believing in something that he didn't believe," he wrote. "He would make remarks about the Bible and talk about religion in front of Derrek, making him want to question the things he believed."

Athletic Director Shane Lyons released the following statement Tuesday:

"I want to thank Kerry Martin for having the courage to bring his concerns to light. We will not tolerate any form of racism, discrimination or bias on our campus, including our athletic programs. Coach Vic Koenning has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately, and the department will work with the appropriate parties to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. This is serious, and we will act appropriately and in the best interests of our student-athletes."

Koenning was entering his second season as the Mountaineers' defensive coordinator. 

West Virginia University President Gordon Gee said Wednesday he's confident the 2019 college football season will take place despite the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are going to play football in the fall, I really do believe that. Even if I have to suit up," the 76-year-old joked during an appearance on WOWK-TV (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).

He added: "We're going to do it based on what is safe, what is healthy for our fans, what is healthy for our student-athletes. But I do believe that we will play football."

Gee went on the explain he believes it's time for the United States to begin the reopening process after the widespread lockdown because of COVID-19.

"I think that this country needs to move from being shut down to having an ability to be able to get back into hope and opportunity, and certainly athletics provides great hope and great synergy to people," he said on WOWK.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned against moving too quickly in an effort to restore a sense of normalcy, though:

"My concern that if some areas—cities, states or what have you—jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up, without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks. ...

"There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control, which in fact, paradoxically, will set you back, not only leading to some suffering and death that could be avoided but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery."

Meanwhile, NCAA President Mark Emmert said Friday he doesn't envision a scenario when fall sports are played unless college campuses are open.

"All of the commissioners and every president that I've talked to is in clear agreement: If you don't have students on campus, you don't have student-athletes on campus," he said. "... If a school doesn't reopen, then they're not going to be playing sports. It's really that simple."

It creates a complex situation to navigate with 130 FBS programs spread from Massachusetts to Hawaii.

West Virginia is scheduled to open its regular season Sept. 5 against Florida State.