Football Preview 2017

Magnolia Dreaming About Playoffs Again

By SHAWN RINE NEW MARTINSVILLE — During the preseason, Dave ‘Doc’ Chapman precisely summed up Magnolia football in one small sentence. When the Blue Eagles are physical on both the offensive and defensive lines, he said, they’re good. In his first season at the helm, Chapman started four freshmen and a junior on the offensive line. Magnolia suffered through a rare down season, finishing at 2-8. ‘‘Trying to play freshmen on Friday nights is difficult,’’ Chapman said. ‘‘They were pressed into duty. ‘‘We didn’t make any excuses and we coached them up ...

As Always, Title Is Expectation at Ohio State

By RICK THORP COLUMBUS — Urban Meyer doesn’t like to dwell on the past. Ohio State’s sixth-year head coach is more of a forward thinker. So, when discussing his team’s prospects for the upcoming season, Meyer prefers not to talk about last season; or the year before that, or the year before that. His sole focus is on what’s ahead. And what’s ahead, he hopes, is a trip to Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Dome for the national championship game in January. It’s a game the Buckeyes fell short of last year. And it wasn’t even close. In the Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State was ...

Ohio University Is Prepared to Take Next Step

By RICK THORP ATHENS — After years of being the bridesmaid, Ohio is ready to be the bride. The Bobcats have appeared in the Mid-American Conference title game four times since 2006 and have come away from Ford Field empty handed each time. Frank Solich, entering his 13th season in Athens, believes this could be the year his program gets over the hump. ‘‘We have a lot of good leaders in our program,’’ Solich said last month at MAC Media Day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. ‘‘I really like the way the players worked this summer, so that’s very encouraging ...

Big Ten Champ PSU Overshadowed by OSU

By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer Defending Big Ten champion Penn State returns a Heisman Trophy candidate at running back and a record-setting quarterback, and it generally is regarded as one of the 10 best teams in the country. The Nittany Lions are not even picked to win their division this season. The Big Ten East favorite, as usual, is Ohio State, which is loaded with as much talent as ever and motivated to atone for an embarrassing finish to 2016. So as great an accomplishment as it was for Penn State to go from being picked fourth in the division to winning its ...

West Virginia Is Full of Unanswered Questions

By JIM BUTTA MORGANTOWN — In 2016, West Virginia won 10 games for one of the best seasons in recent memory, climbing as high as No. 10 in the College Football Playoff poll at one point. It marked only the ninth time the Mountaineers finished with double-digit wins. WVU finished with a top-20 national ranking and made an appearance in the Russell Athletic Bowl — a 31-14 loss to the ACC’s University of Miami — it’s 14th bowl in the past 15 years. But, the question in every Mountaineer fan’s mind is ‘What have you done for us lately?’ Veteran coach Dana Holgorsen, ...

ND Looking to Rebound After a Lackluster Season

By JOSH STROPE SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brian Kelly built up a lot of goodwill with his early success at Notre Dame. Unfortunately for him, even one 4-8 season doesn’t sit well in South Bend. Notre Dame entered last season the preseason No. 10. A double-overtime, opening-game loss to Texas shot the Irish down the rankings and they never recovered, stumbling to the first losing season in Kelly’s tenure. Despite the lopsided record, through the first 11 games, Notre Dame had actually outscored its opponents and all its losses came within a score, giving the team hope that if it can ...