Week 3/4 Mountaineer Review and Preview

[smackemz]

Week 3 Score: West Virginia 15 Army 3

POTG: WVU DE Mike Anderson -7 Solo TKL, 2 Asst TKL, 4 TFL, 1.5 Sacks

What Happened: In the preview leading up to this game we said it was paramount that the Mountaineers force Army out of want they want to do and make QB Jose Dedmon pass the ball. That's exactly what the Mountaineer defense was able to accomplish, although the Black Knights had relative success on the ground they were unable to turn those drives into points. WVU Sr. Defensive End Mike Anderson was a terror all game racking up 4 TFL and 1.5 sacks on a day where the Mountaineer defense would get 4 total sacks. Lamar Smith would have a costly fumble and Army kicker Franklin Golson would miss 2 long field goals forcing Army into a game where they needed to pass the ball. Dedmon would toss the ball 30 times and only have 97 yards to show for it and on a drive where Army was showing promise he would toss an interception to Mountaineer Pedro Gathers effectively ending any sort of comeback bid.

 

The Mountaineers would only be marginally more effective on the offensive side of the ball. QB Shelby Musa would have 221 yards passing, but only complete 50% of his passes on the day. RB Chad Dolis would have a rushing touchdown, but overall did not have a lot of room to run having 96 yards on 27 attempts. The mantra for WVU victories so far this season has been low-scoring games where they don't turn the ball over. Avery Sterling would again flash his big play potential having 110 yards receiving on only 3 receptions. Overall WVU has a winning record for the first time in the smackemz era.

 

Week 4 Preview

 

Match-up: #6 Kansas State (2-0) at West Virginia (2-1)

The Mountaineers will return home to face off against the red hot #6 Kansas State Wildcats. KSU is coming off a 42-14 home victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

 

What to watch for (WVU): Do the Mountaineers have enough offense to make it a game against the high flying Wildcats? In WVU's 2 victories they have leaned heavily on their defense to win the game, and the offense did their job by taking care of the football. That's not going to work against superstar QB Brandon Smith and his bevy of offensive weapons. Smith threw for 300 yards and 4 touchdowns in their victory over Arizona State, if that's not enough to worry about Mitchell Reynolds also had 172 yards on the ground. The Mountaineers have been stout on defense all season, but they are going to need Musa/Dolis/Sterling to show up big time and score some points. In their victories they have scored 15 and 20 points, that's simply not going to cut it against Kansas State regardless of how well the WVU defense performs.

 

What to watch for (KSU): Is Brandon Smith a legit Heisman candidate? Smith had a fantastic game against Arizona State, but was unremarkable in their home opener. Billed as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, Smith could use this game as a launching point for his Heisman campaign. WVU might not have one of the best rosters in the country, but they do bring it on defense and a big game here could go a long way in the eyes of the voters. Smith is blessed to have a true superstar wide receiver in Danny Cichy who hauled in over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Sun Devils. Mitchell Robinson is a stud in his own right and allows Smith to face defenses that can't focus solely on the passing game.

 

What will happen: We're excited by how the Mountaineers have improved this season, but this is a major step up in competition level. The WVU defense has been solid all season, but their offense hasn't really shown an ability to put up the points needed to beat a team like Kansas State. We expect the defense to compete, but unfortunately the talent gap is just too wide here for us to predict a WVU victory.

 

Prediction: KSU 31 - WVU 13

 

Bonus Recruiting Update

The Mountaineers were able to secure their first commitment of the cycle. 4 star tight end Juan Corral from Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia signed his letter of intent to play at WVU. Corral is an explosive pass catching weapon who's got fantastic size at 6'5" to go up and get the football. Scouting services are labeling him as a vertical threat and we're also hearing from scouts that he has solid potential and should grow into a fantastic weapon for the Mountaineer offense as they look to retool and build their roster.

 

Commits:

 

4 * TE Juan Corral