West Virginia Football: Dana Holgorsen needs Skyler Howard to save his job

West Virginia hasn’t had a 10-win season since Dana Holgorsen’s first year in 2011 and could lose his job if Skyler Howard doesn’t step up at quarterback.

West Virginia football was one of the successful programs from 2002 to 2011. They went a combined 96-33 including four 10-plus win seasons. Since their move to the Big 12, they are struggling and head coach Dana Holgorsen is on the hot seat.

The Mountaineers need to have a solid 2016 season if they want to keep Holgorsen around. The offensive guru has seen his team go from a consistent winner to a mediocre bowl squad.

In the Mountaineers final year of Big East play, they won the 2012 Orange Bowl behind record-breaking quarterback Geno Smith. Smith would lead the team in its first Big 12 season and then signal caller chaos ensued.

Since Smith’s exit, West Virginia has seen five different quarterbacks get significant playing time in the last three seasons. The team’s record mirrored the QB dysfunction with a 26-25 record over that span.

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The only consistent starter of note is 2015’s starter, Skyler Howard. Howard started the final few games of the 2014 season and retained the starting role last year. He seemed to be everything Holgorsen was looking for to lead his offense. He showed a knack for big play ability and efficient passing in just four games. The team hadn’t seen a dual-threat starter of this caliber since Geno Smith’s tenure.

Howard’s 2014 stats were impressive for a sophomore with no experience. He threw for 829 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. His ground numbers were even more impressive at 140 yards at 6.4 yards per carry.

West Virginia football looked to be in good hands heading into the 2015 season. The 2015 season began with promise as Howard led the Mountaineers to a 3-0 start.

But under deeper analysis, he beat down three lower tier schools. West Virginia routed Sun Belt opponent Georgia Southern, FCS power Liberty and Big Ten, cellar dweller Maryland. But he was consistent during the win steak throwing for 916 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. The jury was still out if he could beat the best the Big 12 had to offer.

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Then the gauntlet of Big 12 powers brought the Mountaineers back down to earth. The Mountaineers would lose four straight to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU. Howard’s performance was a huge reason for the four-game losing streak.

He completed 69-of-143 passes good enough for a 48 completion percentage, that’s not good. He threw for fewer yards in the four-game losing streak than the three-game winning streak with 810 yards. And he became a turnover machine tossing six interceptions to seven touchdowns over that span.

Holgorsen’s seat never got hotter than the team’s 2015 losing streak, but Howard dug them out over the final six games of the season. He would lead West Virginia to a 5-1 record and its first bowl win in four years by beating the middle tier and bottom tier Big 12 squads.

To end the season, he put up a ridiculous performance in the team’s 43-42 Cactus Bowl win over Arizona State. He threw for a cactus bowl record 532 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. West Virginia finished the season 8-5, its best record since entering the Big 12.

However, it was an inconsistent season at best. Howard put up big numbers but at a detriment to the team’s turnover margin. He threw for 3,145 yards and 26 touchdowns but he also threw 14 interceptions. He added 502 rushing yards and six touchdowns, but he still needs to find consistency for the sake of Holgorsen’s job.

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For all the accolades and great offenses he’s built, he still hasn’t taken West Virginia to the next level. He’s been the Mountaineers head coach for five seasons and patience is running thin. If he doesn’t reach at least nine wins next seasons he will be gone.

His biggest hope is for a huge progression from Skyler Howard. If Howard can cut down on the turnovers and beat the big boys of the Big 12, Holgorsen will be back in Morgantown.