West Virginia Mountaineers 2022 College Football Preview

West Virginia Mountaineers 2022 College Football Preview

Created July 24, 2022

2021 Recap

Record – 6-7

ATS – 6-7

It was another mediocre season for the Mountaineers as they scratched and clawed their way to a mark of 6-7. There were a couple of pleasant moments along the way as they managed to take down Iowa St and Texas, but there wasn’t much that fans could get excited about.

HC Neal Brown probably has one more shot to get this program headed in the right direction. Will year four be the charm? Let’s find out.


West Virginia Mountaineers 2022 Outlook

OFFENSE

West Virginia didn’t get much done on offense LY (#8 Big 12 total offense, #9 scoring offense) and were putrid when it came to moving the ball on the ground for the third year in a row (123 YPG, dead last Big 12). There’s lots of changes to report and we like what we see, yo. The Mountaineers made a yuuuge scoop in the transfer portal by snagging former Georgia Bulldog and USC Trojan (!) QB JT Daniels, and how about hiring OC Graham Harrell who worked with Daniels at USC? They’ll go with a committee at RB given the departure of 1,000-yard rusher Leddie Brown and those backs will enjoy making tracks behind a good-looking OL that returns five starters (!) and over 100 career starts. Two of the top-three WRs are back for duty (Ford-Wheaton, James) and they should both shine in Harrel’s offense. Look for much improved numbers on offense.

DEFENSE

The defense was sound LY as they allowed just 350 YPG (#37 FBS) and 23.8 PPG (#45). The alarm bells at MEGALOCKS HQ are going RINGY DINGY DINGY as we inform you that the Mountaineers lose their top-five tacklers and return just four starters to the stop unit. The good news is that they look fine at DL with the return of all-Universe tackle Dante Stills (15 TFL, 6 QBH LY) and DE Taijh Alston (5 sacks, 11 TFL) but the LB and DB groups look really sketchy, and note that the secondary doesn’t feature a single returning starter. We expect the defense to fall into the bottom-half of the Big 12 in most statistical categories.

SPECIAL TEAMS

West Virginia will need to find replacements for almost all of their key pieces other than PK Casey Legg who did a good job in 2021 (19/23 FG, 4-7 40+; 35-35 XP).

Schedule Analysis

Overall – The non-conference schedule contains a pair of nasty road games (Pitt, Hokies) and November won’t be an easy month to navigate as they must face Oklahoma (H), Oklahoma St (A), and Iowa St (A).

Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing heinous is noted.

Season Win Total

per BetOnline July 24

Over 5.5 +105

Under 5.5 -135

MEGALOCKS says:

No leanage.

This looks a lot like a five or six win team, and that makes the season win total market a coin toss at this price.

MEGAmazing Tidbits

West Virginia has been a MONEY BURNER over the L10Y posting an ATS record of 54-69-1(44%). Backing the Mountaineers in Big 12 play has not been a great idea over that time horizon (40-48-1, 45%).


MEGALOCKS Outlook:

If you value offense more than defense, it’s likely that you feel pretty good about West Virginia exceeding expectations and making a bowl appearance. If the reverse is true, you are really worried about the defense and see them finishing near the bottom of the conference along with Kansas. We’re reluctantly positioned in the 2nd camp and think that they’ll fall just short of bowl eligibility.  


Want more West Virginia football ?

WEBSITE

https://wvusports.com/sports/football

FORUM

https://247sports.com/college/west-virginia/Board/Football-103745/

https://westvirginia.forums.rivals.com/forums/game-day-discussion.22/

https://247sports.com/college/west-virginia/Board/West-Virginia-Mountaineers-Message-Board-Forum-Blog-58/

NEWS

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/Sports/WVU

http://www.wvillustrated.com/wvu-football

http://www.smokingmusket.com/

http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/277/west-virginia-mountaineers