After losing the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl, should the 2017 season be considered a disappointment for West Virginia football?
As the clock hit 0:00 on Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia fans saw what could have been a great game fizzle into a blowout. The score was 30-6 in favor of Utah until a garbage time touchdown and two-point conversion made it look a little more respectable.
The Mountaineers went from a 5-2 team to start the season with serious Big 12 title hopes to 7-6, finishing the year with a 2-4 record.
That raises the question: was the 2017 season a disappointment for Dana Holgorsen and Co.?
Easy answer: no. West Virginia may have been coming off a 10-win season, but the Mountaineers knew that putting together two double-digit win seasons in a row wouldn’t be easy, especially with a quarterback who hadn’t played a game in two years leading the way.
Fortunately for West Virginia found a potential All-American in Florida-transfer Will Grier and he led the Mountaineers to a 7-3 record through the first 10 games of the season and he broke his finger against Texas after starting 6-for-8 with 50 yards. He wouldn’t return for the rest of the year and the Mountaineers ended up losing that game as well as the season finale against Oklahoma and the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Would things have been different with a healthy Grier? More than likely, but the conference title was essentially out of the question already. Chris Chuganov just didn’t lead the offense as effectively as Grier did.
The good news? West Virginia can rest easy knowing that Grier will be returning in 2018 along with one of the nation’s top receivers, David Sills V. Moreover, 1,000-yard receiver Gary Jennings is also returning along with Kennedy McKoy in the backfield.
Did this season end the way fans, coaches and players would have liked? No, but it’s still far from a disappointment.
Next: Predicting all 41 bowl games and CFB Playoff
It’s time to look ahead and focus on getting to the Big 12 title game in 2018 and knocking Oklahoma off the throne.