Week 2/3 Mountaineer Review and Preview

[smackemz]

Week 2 Score: West Virginia 20 Liberty 14

POTG: WVU RB Chad Dolis - 21 rushes for 93 yards. 1 TD, 8 catches for 57 yards

What happened: The main theme in the week 1 loss was West Virginia's turnovers and in their week 2 game against Liberty they were able to rectify that issue. Shelby Musa came out and had an overall efficient game completing 66% of his passes for 224 yards and a touchdown. The biggest positive is he took care of the football and had 0 turnovers on the day. Sophomore wideout Leo Gilbert would rebound from his struggles in week 1 by having 80 yards on 5 receptions and hauling in a touchdown reception. Avery Sterling would continue to flash his big play potential by having 79 yards on 4 catches. The player of the game would go to Chad Dolis, who would pace the Mountaineers with 148 all purpose yards and a touchdown. Dolis' ability to get the tough yards would keep the chains moving and help keep the Mountaineer defense off the field.

 

Speaking of defense -WVU would make life difficult for Liberty's Derrick Thompson. Thompson would only complete 33% of his passes for 101 yards and would toss an interception to Mountaineer linebacker Anthony Flores. Ricky Kerridge would struggle on the day only having 50 yards on 14 carries, but Devin Thomas would keep the flames in striking distance with 86 yards on an ultra-efficient 6.46 yards per carry. Middle linebacker Marvin Williams would pace the Mountaineers with 6 tackles, while SS Jacob Thompson and DE Mike Anderson would tally TFLs.

 

Week 3 Preview

 

Match-up: West Virginia (1-1) at Army (1-1)

The Mountaineers will head to New York to take on Army. Army is coming off a 28-7 victory over rival Air Force led by a strong rushing attack.

 

What to watch for (WVU): Can the Mountaineers force Army into a game where they have to pass the ball? In Army's victory over Air Force they were able to control the game early on the ground and limit QB Jose Dedmon to 18 pass attempts. RB Jonathon Perez was able to control the game with 178 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns allowing Army to play their brand of football. In their loss to ULL they got behind early and Dedmon responded with 33 passing attempts for less than 100 yards and an interception on the day. If WVU can get an early lead and slow down the run game, they should be in good position to limit the Army attack.

 

What to watch for (Army): Does Army have anyone capable of slowing down big play threat Avery Sterling? Sterling is quietly building good chemistry with QB Shelby Musa as the big play guy. Army's ability to stop these big plays will be crucial for their ability to win the football game. They don't have the necessary firepower to play from behind, so they need to limit WVU's ability to score quickly.

 

What will happen: Army has a stout ground attack, but the Mountaineers showed improvement in slowing down the run in their victory over Liberty. We think the Mountaineers have more diversity in the way they can attack the defense, and that should put a lot of pressure on Army quarterback Jose Dedmon. Dedmon has shown an inability to pass efficiently so far this season, so we expect WVU to lean on their defensive line strength and leave with a victory.

 

Prediction: WVU 27 - Army 13