Sports - Mountaineers 2009

The Mountaineers are back in the top 25 and Michigan and Notre Dame are unranked. That is enough to wake the slumbering blogger. Still, I'm not quite ready to go dancing in the streets yet. I'd say those latter two teams have better chances of finishing in the top 25 than the Mountaineers. So, let's enjoy it while it lasts.

A recap of the WV's 5-1 start will show that they have yet to play a decent team. Those of you who were fooled by Auburn's quick start should be approaching Earth now after Kentucky beat them at Auburn this past week. That preceded Auburn being spanked by Arkansas 44-23. This should come as little surprise to college football followers. Auburn did not look poised for a turnaround coming into the season and their win over WV was mostly due to Jarrett Brown's turnovers. I watched some of the Kentucky game and the Wildcats are much better than the Tigers. Auburn returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown and still lost by 7. Perhaps Colorado is turning it around as shown by a win at Kansas, but I doubt it. 5 of the 6 remaining teams are better than any team they have faced so far this year, Louisville being the exception. So, let's proceed with caution.

At the beginning of the season, I must confess I was drinking the Jarrett Brown juice. I was buying the hype about him being an NFL quarterback, being a great throwing quarterback and all the rest of the projections of praise. Now I am down on the senior. He is talented, but he is a turnover machine. He also lacked poise in the Auburn game when things started to turn against him. On the first drive of the game against Marshall he lost a fumble and got hurt. Enter Eugene Smith. The coaching staff played it close to the vest in the first half, but they opened up the playbook with him in the second and he responded well going 15 of 21 and most importantly not committing a single turnover. As a Mountaineer fan looking to the future, I admit I'd prefer to see Smith the rest of the way. I hope he gets the start against UConn and we see more of what he can do. I'm not saying WV would win more games with him this year than with Brown, but it could go either way. The scariest part about a Freshman QB is turnovers, and WV's senior quarterback has serious issues in that area anyway. Give the ball to Smith and see what happens.

As for the rest of the team, the defense is much better with Reed Williams on the field. If he can stay healthy, it's not a bad unit. It's not a defense that will fair well against Cincy, but it has a chance to play well or at least good enough in the rest of the games. The special teams continues to be a joke with penalties, turnovers, and poor coverage. Bill Stewart has clearly not mastered Beamer ball. Outside of the quarterback the offense is good, but not great. Devine is too small to run effectively between the tackles, though his quickness is unquestioned. The receivers are improving, but still not a strength of the team. Sanders, Starks, Lyons, and Arnett make a capable group and I like Freshman Tavon Austin, who can also run the ball. The coaching is disappointing, which is saying something since expectations are not high. The team seems flat and undisciplined way too often.

The summary of this team is that we don't know much yet. Their challenging part of the schedule is upcoming. I would expect a win over an underrated UConn team at home, but the Huskies will be playing with extra emotion this week. WV finally beat USF last year. Of course it was in December in Morgantown. At USF in late October looks less promising. Home versus Louisville should be a win followed by a loss at Cincy. WV could be 7-3 heading into the final two games which may define their season. The Mountaineers need to beat Pitt and get the monkey off their back. They host them over Thanksgiving weekend. Then WV finishes at Rutgers who typically improves throughout the season. WV is headed for another 8-4 season and a minor bowl.