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Week 6 offseason preview: West Virginia Mountaineers
The offseason reviews march on to the half way point with a look in at Syracuse’s Week 6 opponent – the West Virginia Mountaineers.
What we know
Last season there was some speculation on Bill Stewart’s ability to keep WV’s program momentum moving forward following the defection of Rich Rodriguez to Michigan. There was an initial adjustment period, but Stewart did not disappoint, leading the Mountaineers to a 9-4 record, a tie for 2nd in the Big East and a bowl victory.
The wins were to Villanova, Marshall, Rutgers, Cuse, Auburn, UConn, Louisville, South Florida and North Carolina in the Meinke Car Care Bowl. Losses were to East Carolina (briefly igniting Skip Holtz’s name into the Cuse coaching sweepstakes), Colorado, Cincinnati and Backyard Brawl nemesis Pittsburgh. And to be far, two of these losses (Colorado and Cincinnati) were in overtime.
The Mountaineers return 7 offensive and 7 defensive starters. However they will need to replace the flagship of the team the last four years in QB Pat White. White established 25 school, conference and NCAA records, and compiled more than 10,000 total yards. The Orange did not face White in last season’s 17-6 loss. The game was a tight one until the Orange failed to capitalize inside the Mountaineer 10 yard line. Then came this play and it was all over:
Spring Developments
As I mentioned, the keys to the offense have been given to Jarrett Brown who is now a senior. He is going to have to stay healthy because there is no one behind him now thanks to the injury to potential backup Eugene Smith. The skill positions are all back with the exception of suspended Jock Sanders so there is talent at RB/WR. The line needs to gel as it must replace 3 starters and are inserting mostly sophomores in the depth chart. The offense will be point of concern as they ranked only 73rd nationally in scoring, despite rating 15th in rushing. It was the anemic 104th rated passing rating that took a toll on this team.
Conversely, the defense is a real strength this season. Last year they rated 11th nationally in points allowed and were 36th ranked overall. All of the major cogs are back, led by Scooter Berry who is moving to DT from end to make room for Julian Miller who came on late and recorded 3.5 sacks in November. The LBing core gets a boost with the return of Reed Williams who missed most of last season with double shoulder surgery. His return moves last year’s starter, Anthony Leonard into a backup role, so there should be plenty of depth at LB. CB Brandon Hogan and SS Sidney Glover lead a strong secondary as each posted 60+ tackles last season.
Much like the Orange, West Virginia has some huge shoes to fill in the kicking game with the departure of Pat McAfee. Look for freshman Tyler Bitancurt to get the call on PATs and FGs and Scott Kozlowski will handle the punting duties.
Here is Brian Bennett’s spring wrap up of the Mountaineers.
Interesting Fact
Since I took a look at USF’s twitter, I figured I might as well check in on Bill Stewarts’. As of this posting he has 3617 followers. Aside from his apparent unbridled love of MSNsportsNet.com’s John Antonik, he tries to play regular guy with posts like this one:
Sunday will be FAMILY DAY for US. Going to try n cut my HAYFIELD between these Rains!!
Somthing tells me that the HC of a major college program with recruiting in high gear hasn’t seen a mower in quite a long time.
Chattering Masses
A great place for WV blogging is the Smoking Musket. They love to take pot shots at Pitt whenever possible. Check’em out.
Why we can win
Take a look at last season for proof. If you can control the running game of WV you can hang around. If we could have made just a few more plays that game was very winnable. Most pundits are not predicting WV to win the BE. They are in the mix for sure, but concern a plenty is out there. Take Dennis Dodd’s picks for the BE:
5. West Virginia — Sorry, West Virginians. You lose Pat White and your prospects don’t improve. White was one of the Big East’s best-ever players and perhaps the best player in West Virginia history. The slippery quarterback cannot be fully replaced, but Jarrett Brown will give it a shot. The senior gets his shot to start in his final season. The 6-foot-4 Brown is more of a physical dual-threat quarterback. What Brown can’t do, tailback Noel Devine can. After rushing for almost 2,000 yards in his first two seasons, this could be Devine’s breakout year. A Heisman run wouldn’t be surprise. The Mountaineers will have to win at least nine again to make it happen. That could be a struggle.
Why we can lose
WV is on the proverbial short list of teams in the conference where you see them on you scheduling and you think ‘L’. I think the fact that we played them tough last year may be to our disadvantage as it may be harder to sneak up on them. And that may be the case if we pull off an upset of USF as I picked last week. Noel Devine still has that speed and he will challenge our LBers to get to the edge and make plays. This is a team that can run you into the ground if you cannot stop them.
The Pick
Going into the season, I liked the prospect of stealing a W against someone in the conference not named Louisville. This is a team we could possibly do that to. However, I am deeply concerned about scoring against a defense that only allowed 17 points a game last year. Right now our kicking game is a complete unknown, as is theirs and that will play a critical role in this game. I believe that this could be another low scoring game that will hinge on TOs, field position and a big play here or there. Right now I am going to give the nod to WV in this one, to the tune of 21-13.
What do you say?
