MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Matchups such as the one West Virginia has today against Georgia Southern are often referred to as “guarantee games,” meetings where a large school in need of a non-conference opponent pays a smaller college a hefty sum of money for the honor of getting beaten into submission.
The Eagles, a program once so cash-strapped it rode yellow school buses to games and decorated its helmets with white athletic tape, seemingly fit the role of the sacrificial lamb.
When it comes to the Mountaineers’ season opener, however, the only guarantee might be the sizable check they cut to their opponent.