West Virginia Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2017
By Phil Poling
Baylor head coach Matt Rhule will get his first taste of the Mountaineers midway through the season, and hopefully by then he’ll have an established quarterback.
Zach Smith and Arizona graduate-transfer Anu Solomon are battling for the starting job. Smith enters his sophomore campaign after starting the Bears’ final four games from a year ago. Solomon on the other hand played under Rich Rodriguez at Arizona and had more ups-and-downs than the roads in the West Virginia hills. His stats while there put him in elite company within the school’s record books: 6,922 passing yards rank fourth, and his 69 touchdown passes rank third.
Terance Williams rushed for over a thousand yards and 11 touchdowns last year, but will miss the beginning of the season due to injury. Going with a running-back-by-committee approach, JaMycal Hasty and the freshmen duo of Jon Lovett and Trestan Ebner look to keep the ship afloat in Williams’ absence.
More: Baylor Bears’ projected 2-deep depth chart
The Mountaineers had a tough fought game a year ago against Baylor, winning by just three points. But with a new regime in place, a quarterback battle to be won, and an inexperienced backfield, the Bears simply won’t have enough juice to beat the Mountaineers.
Will Grier dazzles a week before a showdown with the Cowboys, and wide receivers Gary Jennings and David Sills are the beneficiaries. Ka’Raun White does some damage too against a Bears’ secondary that still can’t figure their corner back position out by the seventh game of the season.