West Virginia Football: 5 reasons the Mountaineers will struggle in 2018

4. Fast start to the 2018 slate

While West Virginia doesn’t face a single Power Five opponent ranked inside the top 25 of the Preseason Coaches Poll outside of Big 12 play, that doesn’t mean two of the teams it faces aren’t tough. The 2018 slate starts off against the Tennessee Volunteers, and then takes to Raleigh, NC, to face the NC State Wolfpack two weeks later.

Tennessee doesn’t have the brightest outlook for the 2018 campaign, but the Vols did take down the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the 2017 season opener. Expect Tennessee first-year head football coach Jeremy Pruitt to at least come in prepared for the neutral site affair at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., for Week 1.

Pruitt was is the former defensive coordinator with the Alabama Crimson Tide, so he’ll know how to prepare to stop a high-powered offense like that of West Virginia. Moreover, NC State has a quarterback that’s talented and proven enough to at least compete with the likes of Grier in senior Ryan Finley. NC State also has one of the better receiving corps in the nation.

You could consider NC State the ACC version of West Virginia this year. Since the Wolfpack also has home field advantage against the Mountaineers, it could be tricky for Dana Holgorsen to work through this one. The Kansas State Wildcats await the Mountaineers in the Big 12 opener the week after West Virginia faces NC State. If West Virginia gets caught looking beyond the NC State contest, this team could pay dearly in Week 3.