West Virginia Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2019
By Phil Poling
What will West Virginia football look like under head coach Neal Brown? We’ll run down the 2019 schedule and predict their record.
Rich Rodriguez’s inaugural season at West Virginia was a bumpy one, finishing with only three wins and eight losses. Dana Holgorsen on the other hand, went 10-3 during his first campaign, capping the 2011 season with a 70-33 shellacking of Clemson in the Orange Bowl. How many games does Neal Brown have to win in his first season at the helm for it to be considered a success?
It was expected to be an up-hill battle with Will Grier, Gary Jennings, David Long and David Sills taking their talents to the NFL, but it was the unexpected off-season departures that could prove to be detrimental to Brown’s first season.
Derrek Pitts and Kenny Robinson were expected to lead the WVU secondary in 2019, while Marcus Simms was pegged for an increased role offensively. The first two transferred, while Simms entered his name into the NFL’s Supplemental Draft. The Mountaineers, although an exciting bunch, seem a bit unknown and depleted to kick off the 2019 season.
The starting quarterback has yet to be named, but there’s plenty to be excited about in Morgantown with possibly the deepest stable of running backs in the entire country. Leddie Brown, Kennedy McKoy and Martell Pettaway all return after combining for 1,871 rushing yards and 18 scores in 2018.
Throw in Alec Sinkfield and Tevin Bush, and the Mountaineers have a plethora of players who can run the ball. Defensively, the Stills brothers, Dante and Darius, are primed for breakout campaigns. Mountaineer fans are familiar with them, but it’s time to show the nation what they’re made of.
While Brown & Co. sort out the starters and shore up their depth charts, we’ll break down each 2019 opponent and predict the winner. Ready? Let’s Go.