Country Roads Confidential: A WVU Mountaineers podcast

The annual FCS matchup gives us an opportunity to calibrate our expectations.

The awkward week arrives but WVU has work to do before the next big opportunity.

The outcome wasn't a complete shock. The performance was unsettling. But some of the explanation and realities are unsettling to the VIP subscribers.

Two teams started slowly. One team heated up. One team froze. The Mountaineer were frustrated by their own miscues as they came up well short of a season-opening upset.

We've dedicated enough to the offseason and the preseason. It's time for the regular season. Let's get right into the matchup, the meaning and the motivations as West Virginia plays host to No. 8 Penn State.

The wait is just about over and the 2024 season is just about ready to begin. Fans still have questions about key players, positions, possibilities and more. Let's figure it out.

Well, here we are. Venom at the ready. An upset on the table.

The preseason auditions are just about done, so the time has come for Chris and Mike to pick from the WVU roster and build an offense and a defense.

West Virginia is five days and four practices into the preseason schedule, but the optimism for the season has sparked interest already. Questions are mounting about what to expect. Answers have arrived.

WVU football returns to the field with the first preseason practice on Wednesday. The mood is good, but there's work to do.

Just when it looked like the Big 12 was steady, here come rumors about more changes. Meanwhile, the football season approaches with a variety of questions to frame expectations and success.

The Big 12 embraces the change and moves the annual preseason media days to a new city. Why? That's one of many questions on our minds this week.

West Virginia's recruiting momentum has never been this strong under Neal Brown. The 2025 class is impressive and increasing. What's the secret to the success?

Darian DeVries still has some spots to fill on the bench and on the floor. Steve Sabins is already active in his first offseason. What to make of how they go about their business?

Three one-day camps and two official visit weekends have helped the Mountaineers during an important month on the recruiting calendar.

There might be bad news coming about one transfer. There might be good news about Javon Small, too.

Monday's edition was stuffed so we set aside a special space for football updates.

The basketball roster is almost complete, which begs a few questions from listeners who want to know more about what's going on with the Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers are making news and are linked to the news on college sports.

The baseball season is peaking, but even though basketball season is over and spring football ended Saturday, neither of those two is through making news. Questions about all three persist, so let's take then all on at once.

It wasn't long ago when we weren't sure of the purpose of a spring game, but those days are over. Saturday's event was pretty impressive.

Jeremy Werner of the 247Sports site Illini Inquirer shares his wisdom about Chester Frazier, Sencire Harris and Amani Hansberry.

Darian DeVries hired former Illinois assistant Chester Frazier before Frazier brought a pair of former players to WVU. The pieces are beginning to fall into place now.