West Virginia Football 2014 – Better, Worse or about the Same?

OFFENSE

I think the offense will be improved. Last year West Virginia was a mish-mash of skill position players that had never been on the same field at the same time. The familiarity alone will make everything a lot better. The key, though is obviously the Quarterback position is the crux. One of Clint Trickett, Skyler Howard, or Paul Millard is going to have to step up and be the man or the offense won’t run smoothly.

DEFENSE

The defense is finally filled with some quality upper classmen who are ready to take charge. They showed improvement from the 2012 mess early last season, but faltered under the pressure that the inept offense put them under. Karl Joseph and Isaiah Bruce should emerge as leaders here. West Virginia also has key depth returners from season-ending injuries last year in CB Nana Kyeremeh and LB Shaq Petteway. Once again, they’re going be tested by the Big 12, but there’s nowhere near as much youth as they’ve had in the last two seasons.

West Virginia safety Karl Joseph (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

West Virginia 2014 – Better, Worse or about the same as last year?

This is a tough question for me. I think West Virginia is going to be a dramatically improved team, and frankly, I don’t think they were as bad as the record indicated last year. This was a team that was a few blown second half leads from being 8-4 instead of 4-8. It’s tough, but that’s life in the Big 12 and this is the year that they have to win those kind of games.

I worry, however, that the schedule won’t allow the record to show how much they’ve improved (and, likely, save Dana Holgorsen’s job). Starting out the season with Bama is, well, what it is, and the remainder of the schedule doesn’t get easier. A second straight road trip to Maryland, and the rough Big 12 schedule don’t necessarily paint the prettiest picture of the Mountaineers prospects.

If you put a gun to my head and tell me to give you a record, I’d say 5-7, but there’s definitely a chance that WVU goes bowling if the bounces go the right way. It’s a tough task, though.

Matthew Kirchner of The Smoking Musket provided the information for our West Virginia Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up.  For more West Virginia football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Matthew on Twitter @MKirchner12.