Music to listen to: Whisky Lullaby by Brad Paisley
I know he’s not an alum of West Virginia but he’s from the state, a fan of the football program and since one of my alma maters, Belmont University, doesn’t have a football program, this is the closest I can get a fellow Bruin like Paisley into a preview.
Last Season: The Mountaineers had their third consecutive nine-win season in 2010 but failed to win the Big East, which should truly be the standard for the program. The regular season losses were a road contest to LSU, an excusable defeat at home to Syracuse and an overtime defeat at Connecticut, which ultimately cost the team a chance at a BCS slot. The season ended on a down note with a loss to NC State in the Champs Sports Bowl.
The most drama came with the dismissal of head coach Bill Stewart who was eventually replaced by Dana Holgorsen, who was brought in as a “coach-in-waiting” to take over for Stewart when he retired after the 2011 season. Stewart wanted to stay longer, causing tension in the football program and was eventually fired from his post. Holgorsen himself has run into some incidents off the field, making the transition even tougher for everyone in the program.
Offense: The good news is that Holgorsen runs an exotic and exciting offense that produces many points and has been effective in various spots such as Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Houston.
The Mountaineers also benefit from the return of the top quarterback in the conference, Geno Smith. The junior has the potential to be a darkhorse Heisman candidate if he’s completely acclimated to the offense.
The bigger concern is the loss of running back/returner Noel Devine, who finished his career as the school’s all-time all-purpose yardage leader. It looks like Shawne Alston may get the first crack at replacing Devine.
The offensive line returns four starters.
Defense: West Virginia runs a unique 3-3-5 defense, which has allowed it to finish in the top-15 nationally in scoring three of the past four years. However, the Mountaineers do lose a significant amount of talent from last year’s squad, particularly defensive linemen Scooter Berry and Chris Neild. There are some solid returning starters as well, led by last year’s leading tackler, linebacker Terence Garvin and cornerback Keith Tandy, who lead the Big East in interceptions with six last season as well.
Coaching: Holgorsen has shown that he can make good play calls and develop offensive talent, but he’s never been a head coach on any level, let alone a program that has conference title aspirations.
Schedule:
9/4 Marshall
9/10 Norfolk State
9/17 at Maryland
9/24 LSU
10/1 Bowling Green
10/8 Connecticut
10/21 at Syracuse
10/29 at Rutgers
11/5 Louisville
11/12 at Cincinnati
11/25 Pittsburgh
12/1 at South Florida
The schedule breaks perfectly for West Virginia. There’s a very good shot that the Mountaineers will be 3-0 heading into its home contest against LSU. If they’re able to pull the upset against the Tigers, dreams of an undefeated season will start to gain traction among fans. West Virginia gets Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut at home. However, the trips to South Florida and Cincinnati can be tricky.
Best Case: The head coach transition is smooth, the offense is productive, the upset win over LSU happens and the Mountaineers suffer only one conference loss in heading to the BCS, most likely a trip to the Orange Bowl.
Worst Case: The offense produces but the defense fails to replace its talented players , leading to a disappointing loss at Maryland. Another sound defeat to LSU leads to an inconsistent season where the Mountaineers drop contests that should be wins like at Rutgers. An eight-win season still takes place but not a conference championship.
Uniform grade:
I’m usually not a fan of navy blue because it clashes too much with black when those two colors are worn together but the West Virginia version compliments gold very well so it works for the program. I’ve warmed up to the alternate uniform with the grey helmets. However, they need to retire the all-gold uniform look because gold pants and gold jerseys together make you look like a bottle of mustard. That look drops them a half letter grade in my book. Grade: B+ (that’s right, they were so close to getting my first “A” level grade in y predictions this year but it didn’t happen).
Favorite Football Alum:
There were a surprisingly large amount of options to choose from. I liked Steve Slaton, Major Harris, Chris Henry, Adam “Pacman” Jones and even legendary former New York Giants Sam Huff and Jeff Hostetler.
However, I’m taking Pat White who I’m surprised didn’t find a spot in the NFL.
Alumna Crush:
I know that Cheryl Hines actually graduated from Florida State but she started at West Virginia…
Final thoughts: The Big East is West Virginia’s to lose and I don’t think that they will. The question is whether the squad has an outside shot at a national title. I think losses to LSU, possibly Maryland and one road conference game will prevent this from happening. However, this still doesn’t mean that a BCS bowl is a longshot.
Prediction: 9-3
The Sports Inquirer 
Leave a comment