2011 West Virginia Football Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

Despite finishing 2010 with an overall record of 9-4, the West Virginia Mountaineers have to be disappointed with how the season played out. The Mountaineers tied Connecticut and Pittsburgh with a conference-best 5-2 mark, but it was the Huskies who made their way to a BCS Bowl with wins over both the Mountaineers and Panthers. West Virginia’s loss to Connecticut came in overtime, with the Mountaineers fumbling the ball on the 1-yard line. The Mountaineers still made a bowl game with a 9-3 regular season record, but were crushed 23-7 in the Champs Sports Bowl by North Carolina State.

Heading into the 2011 season all the attention has been around the head coaching job. Bill Stewart was suppose to coach one more year at West Virginia, before new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen took over in 2012. Stewart ended up resigning and Holgorsen was introduced as the new head coach shortly after. Holgorsen will have 12 starters back from 2010, but only four of them on the defensive side. Here is a closer look at both sides of the ball, plus my prediction on where the Mountaineers will finish in the Big East.

Offense:

Holgorsen has spent the last six years as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State (’10), Houston (’08 – ’09) and Texas Tech (’05 – ’07). In those six years, Holgorsen produced three quarterbacks who finished with at least 5,000 yards of total offense. That is a very positive sign for junior starting quarterback Geno Smith, who threw for 2,763 yards and rushed for another 217 as a sophomore Smith had an impressive 24 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. If he can catch on to the new system quickly, he should have a monster season in 2011.

The Mountaineers will be without running back Noel Divine, who led the team with 934 yards and six touchdowns last year. While West Virginia returns sophomore Trey Johnson and junior Shawne Alston, freshmen Andrew Buie and Vernard Roberts appear to be the two leading candidates to take over the job in 2011.

With West Virginia moving to a more pass-happy offense, junior wide out Tavon Austin figures to put up some big time numbers. Austin had 58 catches for 787 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore, and should easily eclipse the 1,000 yard mark this season. Austin should get plenty of help from senior Brad Starks and sophomore Stedman Bailey, who each had 317 yards and four touchdowns in 2010.

Not only do the Mountaineers have some big time skill players back on offense, but they should have the best offensive line in the Big East with four of five starters back. Junior center Joe Madsen, senior left guard Josh Jenkins, and senior left tackle Don Barclay are all one of the best in the conference at their respective positions. They also bring back junior right tackle Jeff Braun, who is more than capable of holding his own.

Defense:

The Mountaineers technically only have one starter back on the defensive line in senior Julian Miller, but they also have 2nd Team All Big East defensive end Bruce Irvin back, who finished with 14 sacks in 2010. Junior college transfer Shaq Rowell is expected to take over at nose tackle, and they need him to be a factor inside.

West Virginia returns one of the top middle linebackers in the conference in senior Najee Goode, but lose two very good players in J.T. Thomas and Sidney Glover. If the defense is going to avoid falling off in 2011, they are going to need sophomore Doug Rigg and junior Josh Francis (JC transfer) to step in and play at a high level.

The Mountaineers held opponents to an average of just 175 yards a game through the air in 2010, and should be very strong against the pass against this season. They return two of the top defensive backs in the country in senior corner Keith Tandy and junior strong safety Terence Garvin. Tandy led the team with 11 pass breakups and six interceptions, while Garvin had a team-best 76 tackles. These two will be joined by freshman corner Terrell Chestnut, senior free safety Eain Smith, and sophomore corner Darwin Cook.

2011 Prediction: 3rd Big East - Even though I have the Mountaineers picked to finish third, there isn’t a whole lot that separates the top four teams in the conference. I have the Mountaineers picked to finish behind both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, as they have to go on the road to take on the Bearcats and Pittsburgh appears to have one of the few defenses that should be able to slow down the Mountaineers offense. My biggest concern for the Mountaineers is the fact that they have to replace so much on the defensive side of the ball.

Big East Football Predictions by Team
Cincinnati Football Predictions	Connecticut Football Predictions
Louisville Football Predictions	Pittsburgh Football Predictions
Rutgers Football Predictions	South Florida Football Predictions
Syracuse Football Predictions	West Virginia Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

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