2010 College Football Predictions: West Virginia

August 3, 2010

The West Virginia Mountaineers enter the 2010 season off back-to-back 9-4 campaigns. With 16 starters returning, Bill Stewart and his staff are hoping they can lead West Virginia to a Big East title. West Virginia has been consistently good for quite some time now, but it has still lost two conference contests in each of the last four seasons. That’s what the program is up against. The Mountaineers should get out of the gate fast, but we’ll find out what they’re really made of when they play Connecticut, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Rutgers in four of their last five games.

Offense: Quarterback Jarrett Brown will not be easily replaced. He made a lot of big plays in big games against Connecticut, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Rutgers last season. Geno Smith has the talent to be even better than Brown, but we will likely only see glimpses in his first season as starter. But he should benefit from playing alongside all-league running back Noel Devine and behind an offensive line that returns everyone but Selvish Capers. Devine came into college highly touted, and he has not disappointed. Through his first three seasons he has gained 3,381 yards on the ground while boasting a ridiculous 6.5 yards per carry average. Last season, he busted out for 1,465 yards and 13 scores. He will be asked to carry the load again as Smith learns on the job. The wide receiver unit is solid, but it is still somewhat unproven. Jock Sanders is the team’s top returning pass-catcher, coming off of a 72-catch, 688-yard, three-touchdown season. Bradley Starks and Tavon Austin have potential, and that potential may be unlocked in 2010 as defenses key on Sanders and Devine.

Defense: Losing linebacker Reed Williams hurts, but with the other 10 defensive starters back, West Virginia will boast one of the best stop units in the league. In 2009, the Mountaineers finished No. 4 in the Big East in both scoring and total defense. They will be able to improve in both areas if they give up a few less big plays. The Mountaineers have serious talent at every level of the defense. Up front, nose tackle Chris Neild and defensive end Julian Miller lead, perhaps, the best line in the league. Miller finished the 2009 season with nine quarterback sacks and Neild is one of the best interior lineman in the Big East. Pat Lazear and J.T. Thomas return to lead the linebacker corps and big free safety Robert Sands heads up the defensive backfield. With five interceptions last season, Sands has asserted himself as one of the top playmakers in the conference.

Prediction: 3rd Big East – West Virginia has had some very good football teams the last four seasons, and all of those teams fell twice in conference play. Three of those teams even had a guy named Pat White playing quarterback. With this in mind, there’s a strong possibility West Virginia will come up just short of a Big East title.  See how I have the rest of the league playing out in my 2010 Big East football predictions.

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