West Virginia football came up short by seven points to the Virginia Tech Hokies on the final drive of a Labor Day weekend season opener.
Sunday, Sept. 3, was a great day to watch college football. The UCLA Bruins pulled off a comeback of 34 points vs. the Texas A&M Aggies. Also, the No. 22 West Virginia Mountaineers fought hard against the No. 21-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.
Some of the biggest storylines to follow in those two games included the probable last season opener for Josh Rosen with UCLA, coaches on the hot seat, and Will Grier’s first game with West Virginia. Two of the up and coming coaches in college football, Dana Holgorsen and Justin Fuente, bumped heads in what was quite the entertaining matchup.
West Virginia was the underdog, by four points, entering the game. Virginia Tech made a run to the ACC Championship Game last year, falling just short of the eventual National Champion Clemson Tigers. The Mountaineers reached 10-wins for the first time under Holgorsen.
Both programs had a lot on the line as they try to improve even more from successful campaigns in 2016. Virginia Tech controlled the pace of play for most of the game. Yet, Will Grier never seemed to let the Mountaineers get too far behind.
Virginia Tech outscored West Virginia in the first and third quarters. The score was tied in the second and fourth. It came down to the final drive and the Mountaineers had a chance to win. Wide receiver David Sills had the chance to catch the tying touchdown but it was too low and he could not come up with it.
The loss gives West Virginia motivation and something to improve on entering Big 12 play in a few weeks. The Mountaineers have it easy the next three weeks. East Carolina and Kansas are the only two FBS teams that WVU faces. Delaware State, out of the FCS, is the other opponent. It should be easy for the Mountaineers to win three straight before facing TCU on Oct. 7.
5. Dana Holgorsen deserved his contract extension
West Virginia had its best season since leaving the Big East last year. The Mountaineers actually contended in the Big 12 for the first time since joining the conference. For that reason, West Virginia gave Dana Holgorsen a contract extension in the offseason.
Sometimes, fans might think the motivation levels of a coach will drop after receiving a pay raise. However, Holgorsen has his West Virginia squad ready to make a run in 2017. He recruited Will Grier to come play in Morgantown and gave him a tremendous receiving corps to work with.
If the Mountaineers are knocked out of the top 25 after this loss, they’ll get back in pretty soon with a likely three-game winning streak on the horizon. West Virginia has a real chance to win the Big 12 this year.
The Big 12 has a long list of good head coaches. Kansas State’s Bill Snyder, Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, and TCU’ Gary Patterson are all some of the best in the country. Holgorsen could add his name to that list soon if he keeps winning.
4. Mountaineer defense is one of the worst in the Big 12
Starting a redshirt freshman, Virginia Tech’s offense should not have moved the ball as easily as they did. West Virginia struggled to give their offense a chance to get ahead on the scoreboard. Josh Jackson traded blows with Will Grier and ultimately overcame the West Virginia defense.
Virginia Tech is not a team that scores outrageous amounts of points. When West Virginia starts Big 12 play it’ll start to face some of the best offenses in the country. The Oklahoma State Cowboys, Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Tech Red Raiders showed us that they’re ready.
The one thing that Virginia Tech does consistently have on offense is a solid ground game. Jackson rushed for more than 100 yards. The fact that the Hokies now have a quarterback that is as good with his legs as he is with his arm is very scary for ACC opposition.
Considering how young the West Virginia defensive line is, it could take time for them to improve. They have three weeks to do some against inferior opponents. Kansas did not look great against Southeast Missouri and East Carolina lost to an FCS opponent by 20 points.
3. Best receiving corps in the country resides in Morgantown
One of the more underrated programs at producing receivers in the last few years is West Virginia. Three years ago, they had Kevin White, one of the best if not the best receiver in the nation while he was in college. Following White, they had Shelton Gibson and Daikiel Shorts, a one-two punch that was hard to stop for any opposing defense.
The next man up for West Virginia is Gary Jennings. With Ka’Raun White expected to be the star of the receiving corps, Jennings is the guy that could slip through coverage and rip apart secondaries. Jennings caught 13 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown vs. Virginia Tech.
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White only caught four passes for 74 yards. Even David Sills caught nine passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. One of those touchdown catches was the first in Grier’s career with West Virginia.
Now that West Virginia has a formidable receiving corps to go along with a potential All-Big 12 level QB, they can really challenge some defenses. Holgorsen had the Mountaineers putting up impressive numbers of points last year and it could get even better this year.
2. West Virginia can still win the Big 12
To win the Big 12 this year, teams need to dethrone the Oklahoma schools at the top. The Oklahoma Sooner and Oklahoma State Cowboys are two top 10 teams for a reason. Moreover, OU and OK State both looked very good in Week 1, dominating lesser competition.
The problem for West Virginia is that while Will Grier is good, he does not quite measure up to Baker Mayfield and Mason Rudolph. West Virginia does have the leg up of one of the best home field advantages in the conference at Mountaineer Field.
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The Mountaineers do at least get Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech at home. In 2013, West Virginia knocked off Oklahoma State when the Pokes had a real shot at winning the National Championship. They have the ability to defeat almost any team when they’re in Morgantown.
West Virginia entered the season as one of the four highest-ranked teams in the Big 12. Even with a Week 1 loss, they’re still one of the best teams in the conference. Virginia Tech is a quality opponent and the Mountaineers hung with them the entire way.
1. Will Grier is a Heisman contender
The two quarterbacks that entered Week 1 with the most hype as transfers were Will Grier and Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham. Grier joined the Big 12 after leaving the Florida Gators. Stidham joined Auburn after transferring out from a Big 12 program in Baylor.
Grier had one of the best Week 1 performances of any QB. He tossed three touchdowns and racked up more than 400 total yards. West Virginia fans got to see the versatility of Grier and how good he can be as a runner.
For Grier to win the Heisman, he’d have to at least take the Mountaineers to the Big 12 Championship Game. He’d have to show that he can lead West Virginia further than Skyler Howard did a season ago.
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Against a rock solid secondary, Grier still found room to find his receivers. Imagine what he can do against Texas Tech, Texas, Kansas, Iowa State, etc. He’ll have the numbers at the end of the year to be a Heisman finalist.