My fiver on where we stand heading into a huge game for Neal Brown and this program in awful College Park ------
1. QB. Just going to go ahead and start with the elephant in the room. Seems to me that, using a pie chart, 50% of WVU fans think: "Jarrett Doege is not going to get us to where we want to be, he's a middling game manager without the ability to win the big one or produce a 10-win type season. 7 or 8 wins is his ceiling". I'd say another 45% of WVU fans are in my category -- "Wait and see. Could be good -- we can win big with him, but he needs help from his WRs and OL. If he gets that help, anything is possible." Then, there is I'd say just around 5% who think/wish Garrett Greene should be starting. Jarrett Doege produced numbers last year in big games. He hit 35 of 50 passes for 317 yards at Texas. Against a ranked K-State at home, he went 22 of 34 for 301 yards and two TDs. He threw zero INT in both games. However, as a drunk once said: "you can't score yards". Doege's bad habits of lobbing passes off his back foot and continuing WVU's long honored tradition of the strip-sack need to end, like yesterday. That said, our OL need to give him time. Luckily, Junior Uzebu is no longer around to roller skate on turf, and our line seemingly will be a strength in 2021. I have very high hopes for Zach Frazier, Doug Nester and Wyatt Milum. I think they're going to seriously maul some folks. Secondly, our WRs - starting with Agent Zero BFW - need to squeeze the damn ball in. Make some damn contested catches like Isaiah Esdale does. If Mike O'Laughlin squeezes in that touch pass in the corner of the end zone from Doege on fourth-and-goal vs. Texas, we get a huge "W" in Austin once gain, and we finish the season 7-3. I guess I'm trying to make my case that Doege has been good & bad, but the jury is still out. And, Saturday is when the see-saw tips. I can envision Doege having another 24 of 34 day with 325 yards, 3 TDs in a 34-17 WVU victory. Yet, I still have visions of that bowl game performance vs. Army. After Saturday, that pie chart is going to change significantly. And, if WVU can climb to 3-0, Jarrett Doege will have far more believers.
2. Dante Stills-Akeem Mesidor-Tahj Alston-VanDarius Cowan. I'm buying our DL this year, with two former four-star recruits up front and a Freshman All-American in Mesidor. What Neal Brown is doing by playing a smaller, yet faster and strong DL, reminds of those 90s Miami Hurricane teams. They weren't necessarily the biggest up front, but they were fast and strong. On Saturday, this is where we can really disrupt everything that Mike Locksley and Maryland try to do. While Taulia Tagovailoa is certainly considered a "mobile" QB, he isn't exactly Pat White. His stats running last year were 26 carries for 44 yards. He is not a great decision maker. If we put the heat on him, he'll give the ball to us. Our DL vs. Maryland's OL is the matchup to watch.
3. Neal Brown, year trois. Brown, at Troy, went 4-8 in year one, then went 10-3, 11-2, 10-3. Through two seasons as HC at WVU, Brown stands at 11-11 with one bowl victory over Army. 2021 is his jump-off. Either jumping off of a cliff into a sea of WVU faithful acrimony, or jump off into the level of the "next guy who can take us to the top". Make no mistake about it, Saturday is a huge game for Neal Brown. Mike Locksley is 8-43 as a D-1 HC, 5-12 at Maryland since his return there as HC. He's no Matt Campbell. Neal Brown needs to do what other WVU coaches have done - Don Nehlen, Rich Rod, Dana - they took teams into Maryland's awful stadium - whether we had more talent or not - and we got out of there with a "W" because we were always, ALWAYS, the better coached team. Even when we had a functioning drunk as an HC who didn't give a lick about defense. Whether it was a blowout win like Nehlen's 37-7 victory in College Park in '92 or nail biters like Dana's 37-31 ('11) and 40-37 ('14) wins, WVU's HC has beaten Maryland in their house on the reg because their coaching is either marginal (Fridge) or downright terrible (Edsall). That continues in 2021. It better for Neal Brown, the Climb may no longer be Trusted.
4. Corners. I like our safeties. Feel really good about the talent and depth there. However, I'm not sold on our corners, despite the fact that last year we led the country in pass defense YPG. Nicktroy Fortune is solid. He's no Aaron Beasley, or even Ellis Lankster. He's solid. What do we have on the other side of the field? Jackie Matthews, Daryl Porter Jr., Charles Woods. I've heard good things about all three, but they are unknown quantities going into Saturday. Losing Dreshum Miller hurts. But, free agency is just part of the deal now. We brought in Charles Woods as insurance for this position, and I'm hopeful that Matthews or Porter are up to the task at corner, and we can keep Woods locked into depth at the Spear.
5. Maryland and 2021. This is a big year for "the Climb", no doubt about it. It's not the Waterloo that 2018 was for Dana, but it is close. And, starting Saturday, we need to win the games where we are close or have an edge on talent, and perceptively, in coaching. Both the Maryland and VT games fall into this category. I basically am breaking our season into two parts: First three, then Big 12. And, so far as I can see, 3-0 is a very, very realistic goal for WVU come September 18. The one thing I really like about Neal Brown is that he is building our team inside-out. He's not try to skill-guy other teams to death. Instead, he's focused on the trenches. That is a winning formula for our program. With the lines as strengths, it will keep the chains moving, it will provide Leddie room, it will provide Doege coverage, and will help force teams to punt often. Now, what we need to do is cut out the #$@!#!$ing mental mistakes that cost games. As stated, NO MORE STRIP SACKS like at OSU and Army. Continue to field punts and not pull the ballyhooed WVU tradition of the "muff". No more fumble return TDs like Lubbock last year when we are trying to drive down the field to win the game. No more delay-of-game penalties after touchbacks!!!!!!!! Stop the drop, BFW, Sean Ryan and Sam James. Often, as we tend to do, we are our worst enemy. But, that is magnified when you have weak line play and either can't protect your QB, can't convert 3rd-and-1, and can't get the opposition off the field. If our line play ends up a strength, as I believe it to be, and if - big IF - we cut out the maddening errors, this team will get to 3-0 and will set up the possibility of a 1984-esque run, or 2005-esque run. It starts in a little over 5 days.
Buckle up, pour a stiff drink or two, and get ready.
1. QB. Just going to go ahead and start with the elephant in the room. Seems to me that, using a pie chart, 50% of WVU fans think: "Jarrett Doege is not going to get us to where we want to be, he's a middling game manager without the ability to win the big one or produce a 10-win type season. 7 or 8 wins is his ceiling". I'd say another 45% of WVU fans are in my category -- "Wait and see. Could be good -- we can win big with him, but he needs help from his WRs and OL. If he gets that help, anything is possible." Then, there is I'd say just around 5% who think/wish Garrett Greene should be starting. Jarrett Doege produced numbers last year in big games. He hit 35 of 50 passes for 317 yards at Texas. Against a ranked K-State at home, he went 22 of 34 for 301 yards and two TDs. He threw zero INT in both games. However, as a drunk once said: "you can't score yards". Doege's bad habits of lobbing passes off his back foot and continuing WVU's long honored tradition of the strip-sack need to end, like yesterday. That said, our OL need to give him time. Luckily, Junior Uzebu is no longer around to roller skate on turf, and our line seemingly will be a strength in 2021. I have very high hopes for Zach Frazier, Doug Nester and Wyatt Milum. I think they're going to seriously maul some folks. Secondly, our WRs - starting with Agent Zero BFW - need to squeeze the damn ball in. Make some damn contested catches like Isaiah Esdale does. If Mike O'Laughlin squeezes in that touch pass in the corner of the end zone from Doege on fourth-and-goal vs. Texas, we get a huge "W" in Austin once gain, and we finish the season 7-3. I guess I'm trying to make my case that Doege has been good & bad, but the jury is still out. And, Saturday is when the see-saw tips. I can envision Doege having another 24 of 34 day with 325 yards, 3 TDs in a 34-17 WVU victory. Yet, I still have visions of that bowl game performance vs. Army. After Saturday, that pie chart is going to change significantly. And, if WVU can climb to 3-0, Jarrett Doege will have far more believers.
2. Dante Stills-Akeem Mesidor-Tahj Alston-VanDarius Cowan. I'm buying our DL this year, with two former four-star recruits up front and a Freshman All-American in Mesidor. What Neal Brown is doing by playing a smaller, yet faster and strong DL, reminds of those 90s Miami Hurricane teams. They weren't necessarily the biggest up front, but they were fast and strong. On Saturday, this is where we can really disrupt everything that Mike Locksley and Maryland try to do. While Taulia Tagovailoa is certainly considered a "mobile" QB, he isn't exactly Pat White. His stats running last year were 26 carries for 44 yards. He is not a great decision maker. If we put the heat on him, he'll give the ball to us. Our DL vs. Maryland's OL is the matchup to watch.
3. Neal Brown, year trois. Brown, at Troy, went 4-8 in year one, then went 10-3, 11-2, 10-3. Through two seasons as HC at WVU, Brown stands at 11-11 with one bowl victory over Army. 2021 is his jump-off. Either jumping off of a cliff into a sea of WVU faithful acrimony, or jump off into the level of the "next guy who can take us to the top". Make no mistake about it, Saturday is a huge game for Neal Brown. Mike Locksley is 8-43 as a D-1 HC, 5-12 at Maryland since his return there as HC. He's no Matt Campbell. Neal Brown needs to do what other WVU coaches have done - Don Nehlen, Rich Rod, Dana - they took teams into Maryland's awful stadium - whether we had more talent or not - and we got out of there with a "W" because we were always, ALWAYS, the better coached team. Even when we had a functioning drunk as an HC who didn't give a lick about defense. Whether it was a blowout win like Nehlen's 37-7 victory in College Park in '92 or nail biters like Dana's 37-31 ('11) and 40-37 ('14) wins, WVU's HC has beaten Maryland in their house on the reg because their coaching is either marginal (Fridge) or downright terrible (Edsall). That continues in 2021. It better for Neal Brown, the Climb may no longer be Trusted.
4. Corners. I like our safeties. Feel really good about the talent and depth there. However, I'm not sold on our corners, despite the fact that last year we led the country in pass defense YPG. Nicktroy Fortune is solid. He's no Aaron Beasley, or even Ellis Lankster. He's solid. What do we have on the other side of the field? Jackie Matthews, Daryl Porter Jr., Charles Woods. I've heard good things about all three, but they are unknown quantities going into Saturday. Losing Dreshum Miller hurts. But, free agency is just part of the deal now. We brought in Charles Woods as insurance for this position, and I'm hopeful that Matthews or Porter are up to the task at corner, and we can keep Woods locked into depth at the Spear.
5. Maryland and 2021. This is a big year for "the Climb", no doubt about it. It's not the Waterloo that 2018 was for Dana, but it is close. And, starting Saturday, we need to win the games where we are close or have an edge on talent, and perceptively, in coaching. Both the Maryland and VT games fall into this category. I basically am breaking our season into two parts: First three, then Big 12. And, so far as I can see, 3-0 is a very, very realistic goal for WVU come September 18. The one thing I really like about Neal Brown is that he is building our team inside-out. He's not try to skill-guy other teams to death. Instead, he's focused on the trenches. That is a winning formula for our program. With the lines as strengths, it will keep the chains moving, it will provide Leddie room, it will provide Doege coverage, and will help force teams to punt often. Now, what we need to do is cut out the #$@!#!$ing mental mistakes that cost games. As stated, NO MORE STRIP SACKS like at OSU and Army. Continue to field punts and not pull the ballyhooed WVU tradition of the "muff". No more fumble return TDs like Lubbock last year when we are trying to drive down the field to win the game. No more delay-of-game penalties after touchbacks!!!!!!!! Stop the drop, BFW, Sean Ryan and Sam James. Often, as we tend to do, we are our worst enemy. But, that is magnified when you have weak line play and either can't protect your QB, can't convert 3rd-and-1, and can't get the opposition off the field. If our line play ends up a strength, as I believe it to be, and if - big IF - we cut out the maddening errors, this team will get to 3-0 and will set up the possibility of a 1984-esque run, or 2005-esque run. It starts in a little over 5 days.
Buckle up, pour a stiff drink or two, and get ready.
Last edited:
