posted July 14, 2008 at 15:42 in NCAA F Articles

How perfect do you have to be to win a BCS Championship? West Virginia knows something about the tough task as they were one game away from playing for a title last year. The Mountaineers headed to Pittsburgh needing a win but an injury to quarterback Pat White cost them and the football betting community the game, and eventually a shot at the big one.

Now the Mountaineers move on with a new head coach after a protracted breakup with their previous leader, Rich Rodriguez. They will start the season in the top 25 again with high expectations.

Offense

West Virginia is built on speed and quickness and that hasn’t changed under new head coach Bill Stewart. Quarterback Pat White returns for his senior season and will enter the year as one of the Heisman Trophy hopefuls. As evidenced in the game against Pittsburgh, this offense doesn’t go on without him.

The Mountaineers lost Steve Slaton to the NFL Draft and as good a career as he had in Morgantown, he wasn’t so much of an impact player by the end of the season. Noel Devine is a pretty good replacement and he might be more of a factor this year than Slaton was last year.

The offensive line is stout with two potential All-Americans in tackle Ryan Stanchek and guard Greg Isdaner.

Overall, this offense is going to look familiar with some minor tweaking. There will be some more motion and deception, and more passing. Run or pass, there aren’t many concerns on offense.

Defense

One of the reasons West Virginia was a national title contender last year was because the defense was significantly improved. They allowed only 14.8 points per game in the first eight games of the season after giving up over 22 a game the previous year.

The defense will have to rebuild the entire secondary, which figures to be a problem. Playmaking safeties Eric Wicks and Ryan Mundy have to be replaced along with a couple of cornerbacks.

The linebackers return two of the top tacklers from last season but the real key for this defense will be up front, where more replacements have to be made. If Scooter Berry and Chris Neild can step up and help get pressure, it should allow the secondary some time to grow.

Stewart has booted a number of players off the team for disciplinary reasons, including three potential starters. It hasn’t been a good offseason in Morgantown.

This defense looks like it might revert back to its 2006 ways where they gave up points and yards in bulk. That’s not a good omen for the Mountaineers national championship expectations.

Outlook

The Mountaineers are still the favorite in the Big East and should cruise through the first month of the season. But the weakened defense should be a consistent theme and a consistent hindrance.

The best news for the Mountaineers is that they only have five road games. Aside from tricky contests in Colorado and Connecticut, all their tough games come in their own backyard.

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