HOUSTON, TX- The West Virginia Mountaineers hopped on a plane on Wednesday and flew to Houston where they will have a Thursday night primetime matchup with the Cougars at 7:00 PM on FS1.
West Virginia is 4-1 (2-0, Big 12) so far this season and have already surpassed many expectations the ‘experts’ had for them. Going against the Cougars will provide the Mountaineers a chance to get another victory, move one step closer to bowl eligibility, and try to defeat their former head coach, Dana Holgorsen, who now leads Houston (2-3, 0-2 Big 12).
Holgorsen was the head man at WVU from 2011-2018 and had a lot of success with players like Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, Steadman Bailey, Will Grier, Wendell Smallwood, David Sills and Gary Jennings, among others. However, Holgorsen bolted to H-Town after the 2018 season that saw the Mountaineers climb to no. 6 in the national rankings before they lost their last three games to close that year out.
Neal Brown replaced Holgorsen and got off to a rocky start and coming into this season, Brown’s seat was as ‘HOT’ as it could be. He was basically sitting on the sun looking down on the world. But Brown and the Mountaineers have used old school football principles this year of defense and running the ball to jump out to a quick and surprising start. However, at some point, the WVU offense is going to have to be consistent. They are averaging just 26.4 points per game and a big chunk of that came against FCS foe, Duquesne (56 points). Luckily, the defense is allowing just 19 points per contest and is forcing turnovers at a rate not seen in Morgantown in several years.
On paper, the Mountaineers have the clear advantage, but this may be one of the biggest trap games in recent memory. Houston has struggled on defense all year and their offense has been inconsistent although they have playmakers at key spots. Former West Virginia wide receiver Sam Brown leads the Cougars with 34 receptions, 518 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Donovan Smith (1,347 yds, 9 TD, 3 INT) has beaten WVU already in his career when he was at Texas Tech. Both teams were off this past Saturday as well, so Holgorsen had extra time to prepare for his former team.
The Mountaineers will put a healthy Garrett Greene back on the field tonight after he led the team to their 24-21 win over TCU a week-and-a-half ago. Greene is 36-of-68 for 544 yards and four TDs this season and has run for 182 yards and three more scores. He is dynamic, has a strong arm and can run, and he will need to do all the above tonight for WVU. CJ Donaldson will be key against Houston as well. The 6’1”, 238-pound sophomore has 348 yards and four TDs and can wear a defense out with his power running style. Ne. Brown needs to find a way to use freshman running back Jaheim White as well to compliment Donaldson. White is averaging around 9 yards per carry in limited action but brings that home run threat where he can score from anywhere on the field.
Hudson Clement, Devin Carter, Preston Fox and Rodney Gallagher will need to catch the ball tonight when they get an opportunity. Dropped passes have hurt the Mountaineers passing game more than anything. Receivers must make tough catches especially on the road in a pivotal game such as this one.
Final Thoughts:
Can the WVU defense continue its dominance as we have seen over the last three games? The Mountaineers are slowly garnering national attention for their defensive work lately. They go 10-deep on the defensive line, have good linebackers led by Lee Kpogba, and their secondary is improving thanks in part to Minnesota transfer Beanie Bishop. However, a couple injuries against TCU may leave the defense slightly undermanned. Trey Lathan broke his leg in that game and the up-and-coming star is out for the season. The leader of the defense and potential high NFL draft pick, Aubrey Burks, also went down against the Horned Frogs and is questionable against Houston.
West Virginia still has enough firepower on defense led by the front-7 that have been manhandling opponents, but will the depth at other positions become an issue?
Holgorsen and the few former WVU players on the Houston roster (Sa. Brown, Tony Mathis, Mike O’Laughlin, Noah Guzman) have had this game circled on their calendars since the spring. Holgorsen downplayed those stories in his media conference this week, but everyone knows he wants nothing more than to defeat his former team and the administration who began to lose interest in him after eight years.
However, if the Mountaineers can run the ball, throw it enough, and force a few turnovers, a couch or 10 may start burning in Morgantown around 10:30 PM.
To put it simply, this a huge game for coach Brown and West Virginia if they want any chance at competing for a Big 12 title.
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