West Virginia University has plenty of reasons to be ticked off at Governor Joe Manchin. Not only does he force them to play a sub par team at a field that holds half of the capacity needed, now WVU’s football team has dropped in rank.

They used to be in a distant third behind Louisiana State and USC. Now in the AP poll they hold a comfortable fourth place, but in USA Today’s rankings barely hold a 5-point lead over Oklahoma. One slip and they could be 5th.

I really do not understand the hubbub. Marshall and WVU have a great polarity in skill and facilities. It is demeaning for both teams to meet. With WVU losing money as well as their ranking and Marshall getting their inevitable whoopin’, who really wins in this situation? It’s clearly the guy whose face and name is being plastered everywhere you look: Joe Manchin.

No one should mind the former WVU grad getting fired up over his alma mater. But one must wonder about his priorities. Saying the State of West Virginia is in bad shape is like calling the gash in the Titanic a leak. In most accounts I’ve read, the captain of the Titanic wasn’t trying to organize shuffleboard rivalries as the boat sank.

We all know about the business ranking Forbes has given West Virginia, but we do not need a magazine to tell us what we already know. With businesses closing down – from the highly publicized Fenton Glass to the local hardware store in Eleanor – one must wonder what Joe Manchin’s priorities are.

I love college football. Between my homestate’s team (Louisiana State University) and my adopted state’s team (West Virginia University) it should be an exciting and entertaining season. Exciting enough to not need Joe Manchin.