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Through their first five games of the 2022 season the West Virginia Mountaineers are sitting with an overall 2-3 record (0-2 in the Big 12). They rank #77 in yards per play on offense, #83 in yards per play on defense and 115th in pass defense efficiency. Outside of our placekicker, who has been excellent, the rest of the Special teams aren't very good either. We could go on, but you get the idea.
Right now we thus all recognize that this has not been a very good football team, and the more difficult portion of the schedule remains. Many of us were able to watch portions or all of games involving Big 12 teams the last two weekends, and what we saw was from top to bottom this is a very good league. There may not be a playoff contender, but the depth of the conference is probably the best in college football. When a program as good as Oklahoma is getting embarrassed, losing 55-24 and 49-0 the last two weeks, it speaks to the quality of its opposition.
So it will be a rough road for West Virginia over the next seven weeks. As it stands now the Mountaineers would be underdogs in each of its remaining games. That doesn't mean, of course, that the season can't be turned around. There is no question that WVU has a chance to win on any Saturday because of good quarterback play. But for upsets to happen the defense must improve significantly. The pass defense was exposed against Kansas and Texas and we are going to see excellent quarterback play from remaining league opponents as well, so the secondary must improve.
Fans are now aware of the impact the transfer portal has had on college athletics. Players no longer must sit out a year when transferring to another school, and it is essentially free agency.
While WVU did get a much needed upgrade at the quarterback position in JT Daniels and a few other players who are contributing, the net effect has been negative. The Mountaineers lost its best defensive lineman, best linebacker, two defensive starters in the secondary, and three receivers who totaled over 2000 career receiving yards.
Gone are the days when a coach could "build" a program with good quality recruits who then spend four or five years at one school. When WVU supporters criticize head coach Neal Brown, as many have, we now have to look in the rearview mirror and realize that the landscape has changed in college football since Brown had several years of success at Troy. Maybe what worked for him there isn't as successful now. That isn't intended as an indictment or defense. It is simply the present reality.
THIS THURSDAY: With all the negative vibes in the air it would be easy to conclude that the Mountaineers have little chance for a win when Baylor comes to Morgantown for a Thursday night game. The Bears are the better team but have not won in five trips to Morgantown. Part of the fun of college football is the unexpected.
WEST VIRGINIA 30 BAYLOR 28.