The West Virginia Mountaineers have been mediocre since the start of the Neal Brown era in 2019. They haven’t gotten more than six wins in a season and haven’t contended for the Big 12 title in years. Neal Brown seems to be on his last strike to get a season where they get more than six wins in a single season. Can the Mountaineers get over the hump of mediocrity in the Big 12? Here is the preview for the 2023 West Virginia Mountaineers.
Offense
The Mountaineers have been going from transfer quarterback to transfer quarterback year in and year out. However, this is not the case in 2023 as they are going to start a quarterback that they have signed for the first time since 2013. They have either junior quarterback Garrett Greene or freshman quarterback Nicco Marchiol fighting for that starting job. For the Mountaineers receiving core, they bring in Devin Carter (NC State) to be their big playmaker at receiver. West Virginia won’t be a pass heavy team in 2023.
The West Virginia style of offense is going to be a run-heavy, especially since their running backs coach got promoted to offensive coordinator this season. They are going to be led by sophomore running back CJ Donaldson Jr. Donaldson Jr rushed for 526 yards to go along with 8 touchdowns and averaged 6 yards per carry. He is poised for a big breakout season and the Mountaineers have the group up front to help him. The Mountaineers bring back all five starters on the offensive line that helped the team rush for over 2,000 rushing yards last season. With Donaldson Jr at the helm, and Justin Johnson Jr and Jaylen Anderson alongside him, the West Virginia rushing attack is going to be good yet again in 2023.
Defense
This Mountaineers defense wants to rebound from a horrendous 2022. They finished last in the Big 12 in points per game. This defensive line unit is led by defensive end Sean Martin, who had eight tackles for a loss and four sacks last season. Another key player for West Virginia in the front six is none other than linebacker Lee Kpogba. Kpogba led the team in tackles last season and is going to be a vital part of this West Virginia defense. This Mountaineers defense up front is going to need other guys to step up, but Martin and Kpogba are the two best defensive talents up front.
In the secondary, they are led by Aubrey Burks who was the second leading tackler on the defense last year. This group has some talent with Montre Miller coming in from Kent State. West Virginia was one of the worst teams in the country when it came to interceptions last season. They only had four as a team and only one player had more than two. In order for the Mountaineers to make a change defensively, they need to be able to create more turnovers. If they don’t do that, it’ll be another long season in West Virginia.
Win Total Bet
The win total is set at 5.5 on the FanDuel Sportsbook, with the odds on the over at +142 odds and the under at -176 odds. The Mountaineers aren’t the traditional team that plays in the Big 12. Employing a run-heavy offense that struggles to throw the football is not a traditional Big 12 offense. This could be the final year of Neal Brown’s tenure in West Virginia. I don’t see a lot of things going right for the Mountaineers this year. They stay under the win total and with the odds where it is, I will stay far away from this win total bet.
Schedule Predictions
Loss at Penn State (0-1)
Blowout Win vs Duquesne (1-1)
Win vs Pittsburgh (2-1)
Win vs Texas Tech (3-1)
Loss at TCU (3-2)
Loss at Houston (3-3)
Win vs Oklahoma State (4-3)
Loss at UCF (4-4)
Close Loss vs BYU (4-5)
Loss at Oklahoma (4-6)
Loss vs Cincinnati (4-7)
Huge Loss vs Baylor (4-8)