College Football Top 25: West Virginia Mountaineers #13

All, College Football Jason Lisk August 24th. 2012, 9:46am

West Virginia Mountaineers (2011: 10-3, beat Clemson 70 billion to 33 in the Orange Bowl)

Notable Player: Geno Smith threw for almost 4,400 yards and 31 touchdown passes last year in Holgorsen’s system. He had 6 touchdowns in the destruction of Clemson in the bowl game. With Robert Griffin and Brandon Weeden gone, he comes into the Big XII with some people talking about him as the best quarterback in the league. (Landry Jones and Smith would appear to be the favorites entering the year to claim honors). If West Virginia is going to make a major impact in year one and return to a BCS bowl, Smith will have to live up to all that and more.

Four-Year Trend: 2008 (9-4), 2009 (9-4), 2010 (9-4), 2011 (10-3)

Top Newcomers: Ford Childress (QB), Sam Lebbie (LB), Noble Nwachukwu (DE)

Circle This Game: West Virginia at Oklahoma State (Nov. 10). Dana Holgorsen returns to Stillwater, where he served as offensive coordinator in 2010 and helped turn Oklahoma State into an elite offense.

Why We Like Them: The Mountaineers’ explosive offense seems perfectly capable of blending in the Big XII quickly. Dana Holgorsen is one of the best offensive minds in the game, and this team enters his second season in Morgantown and makes a big jump with Geno Smith at quarterback along with a top notch receiving group.

Best-Case Scenario: The defense lost most of its best players, but when you give up over 26 points a game, change can be good. The offense emerges as one of the best in the country, the defense improves dramatically, and the Mountaineers compete for the Big XII title right away.

Worst-Case Scenario: The 2011 defense was bad even by recent Big XII standards, and that does not improve. West Virginia loses shootouts in unfamiliar places, and flounders to a 7-5 record with the upgrade in competition.

Projected Bowl: Cotton Bowl

25. Kansas State 24. Virginia Tech 23. Clemson 22. Boise State 21. Stanford 20. Michigan State 19. Notre Dame 18. Nebraska 17. Oklahoma State 16. Wisconsin 15. TCU 14. Florida

[photo via US Presswire]

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27 Responses to “College Football Top 25: West Virginia Mountaineers #13”

1
The Stigs American Cousin Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 9:56 AM
The defense lost most of its best players, but when you give up over 26 points a game, change can be good.
Had me until this bit. If the guys that didn’t play last year are starting this year, that defense is going to suck giant donkey balls. It isn’t like they brought in a top 5 recruiting class full of 5* defenders.
2
The Stigs American Cousin Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 9:56 AM
Also, aren’t you posting this about 7 hours early?
3
The Wayne Fontes Safari Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:00 AM
but when you give up over 26 points a game,
“That’s not bad.”
- Greg Robinson
4
spencer096 Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:01 AM
i have a raging holgerboner.
/no homo
5
GloriousMullet beats jokes into the ground Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:05 AM
(2011: 10-3, beat Clemson 70 billion to 33 in the Orange Bowl)
This almost put me in the floor for some reason
6
geoffreyvs hired a PR firm to get his son's coach fired; now I'm running for Senate! Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:10 AM
Hey, another shooting. This time right outside the Empire State Building.
7
PeerLessPrices Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:11 AM
This almost put me in the floor for some reason
It’s the little things that do the most.
/no coop
8
vajayjay redick Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:16 AM
One bowl game (against jekyll-and-hyde Clemson of all teams) can really change perception. WVU was not a good team last season; they needed a tremendous amount of luck down the stretch just to get into the Orange bowl. They’ll be fun to watch but they are taking a serious step up in class in the Big XII.
9
VladimirCrouton Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:17 AM
Hey, another shooting. This time right outside the Empire State Building.
Dozens of people are shot and or killed in Detroit and Chicago every weekend.
10
The Stigs American Cousin Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:18 AM
They might be going to a better conference, but it isn’t like they really need a defense there, right? As long as that offense does 90% of what it is projected to do, they should be in the hunt for a conference title.
That all hinges on what happens in Texas and Oklahoma. Neither of which are in The South.
11
PeerLessPrices Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Dozens of people are shot and or killed in Detroit and Chicago every weekend
I see what you’re saying, and there isn’t much difference. I guess the difference is the amount of people shot at once causes a sudden alarm to go off, like it’s totally different. It’s sad, but true reality.
/real sad, not pathetic donor sad
12
Liquor Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:20 AM
WVU was not a good team last season; they needed a tremendous amount of luck down the stretch just to get into the Orange bowl.
Exactly. In a terrible conference they needed a lot of luck to get to 9 wins. I mean freaking Syracuse blew them out.
13
spencer096 Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:22 AM
Exactly. In a terrible conference they needed a lot of luck to get to 9 wins. I mean freaking Syracuse blew them out.
THEY HUNG 70 ON CLEMSON.
fuck the team…DAT OFFENSE.
14
Liquor Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:24 AM
THEY HUNG 70 ON CLEMSON.
Meh, Clemson gave up 5 minutes into the game. Like most confederates they surrender quite easily.
15
spencer096 Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:26 AM
Meh, Clemson gave up 5 minutes into the game. Like most confederates they surrender quite easily.
/imagines clemson players with scurvy and festering wounds waving a white flag begging for a WVU doc to amputate their leg
16
vajayjay redick Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:27 AM
I see what you’re saying, and there isn’t much difference. I guess the difference is the amount of white people shot
/assuming
17
sousedbergin Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:28 AM
Hey, another shooting. This time right outside the Empire State Building.
This never would have happened if literally every single person was armed with two thermonuclear warheads.
/NRA’d
18
squawkbox Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:31 AM
Hey, another shooting. This time right outside the Empire State Building.
Somebody arrest that gun!
19
The Stigs American Cousin Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:32 AM
This never would have happened if literally every single person was armed with two thermonuclear warheads.
/NRA’d
I’m really glad you are so level-headed. If you had to rely on rhetoric and exaggeration, I just don’t think it would be as much fun.
20
squawkbox Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:36 AM
I guess the difference is the amount of white people shot
No. For the press coverage, this matters:
1. Large number of people shot in one instance
2. Black person shot by white person
3. White person shot by black person
White-on-white and black-on-black individual crimes are essentially ignored unless a celebrity is involved
21
sousedbergin Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:43 AM
I’m really glad you are so level-headed. If you had to rely on rhetoric and exaggeration, I just don’t think it would be as much fun.
Reductio ad absurdum brah.
22
Nada Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Dozens of people are shot and or killed in Detroit and Chicago every weekend
There you go, ignoring New Orleans again.
/ Breesus’d
23
Nada Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 10:52 AM
WVU was not a good team last season; they needed a tremendous amount of luck down the stretch just to get into the Orange bowl.
WVU is just one of those programs that always seem to play down to the level of competition. They tend to look really good against high-level opponents, then fall on their face against Pitt or Miami, Ohio, or (last year) Syracuse.
24
The Stigs American Cousin Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 11:07 AM
Reductio ad absurdum brah.
Yeah, you’re doing it wrong. Go drink more, that should help.
25
Walking Underwear Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 11:13 AM
spence, you can comment on the garcia post here
26
Walking Underwear Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 11:16 AM
No. For the press coverage, this matters:
1. Large number of people shot in one instance
2. Black person shot by white person
3. White person shot by black person
plus there’s some east coast bias to this morning’s news
27
Watsonian Says:
August 24th, 2012 at 12:28 PM
/watches Holgerson’s offense
//goes #3

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College Football Top 25: West Virginia Mountaineers #13

27 Responses to “College Football Top 25: West Virginia Mountaineers #13”

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