1. New-look defense for West Virginia
For a team who held their opponent to only 14 points, the West Virginia defense needs to regroup following their season-opener — and fast.
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The Mountaineers lost starting linebacker Charlie Benton – who was expected to be a key contributor — for the season after he suffered a knee injury in the second quarter against Tennessee. West Virginia, already tasked with replacing injured linebackers Quondarius Qualls and Brendan Ferns, become even thinner at the position after Benton’s injury.
This shifts the focus to alignment adjustments rather than simply the next-man-up mantra typically heard after an injury. Players like Shea Campbell and Exree Loe will see an increased role for the ‘Eers, but new wrinkles formation-wise will be on full-display.
On a handful of plays Saturday, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson went away from his typical 3-3-5 stack look, instead opting to play four down-lineman and two linebackers. The emergence of graduate-transfer Kenny Bigelow, along with Darius and Dante Stills, gives West Virginia impact players upfront they’ve lacked in recent years, but also the flexibility to rotate.
Expect the Mountaineer defense to experiment with new formations and lineups against Youngstown State. With superior talent, WVU will be able to get away with a mistake here or there. They’ll certainly need to figure a few things out before getting into Big 12 play.