It feels like a lifetime ago, but many WVU fans were asking; ‘who can beat this team?’
Three weeks later, fans are likely wondering; ‘who can this team beat?’
If the Mountaineers’ defense doesn’t get at least a smidge better, I believe the answer to the latter question is… no one. Read more: The Mountaineers may not win another game this year.
Miscellaneous gripes
Call it an overreaction, call it spite, call it what you will.
Consider these quick hits, because I have enough to get through.
WVU allowed 52 points to an Arizona squad with its entire starting wide receiver corps sidelined. The Wildcats scored touchdowns on four drives in the second half, and each of the four took three plays or less.
That’s not just embarrassing, it’s coaching and personnel negligence.
These aren’t walk-ons missing a tackle here and there — but money-making borderline professional athletes and hired guns just being outmatched and outcoached.
In similar fashion to the previous two losses, there was an early spark for WVU. They erased a 14-3 deficit this time, and knotted it at 17-17 before it fell apart.
Related: Rich Rodriguez ‘as frustrated as I’ve ever been’ after WVU’s loss to Arizona
Related: Turnovers, defensive struggles doom WVU against Arizona
The sad reality of Saturday’s loss is that it wasn’t just a defensive meltdown. WVU left several points on the table, and unfortunately the two players carrying this program made some brutal mistakes. Red zone fumbles, poor reads, missed throws — Michael Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook may be saints for the Mountaineers, but they’re not without blame.
I bring all of these up to set the stage for the article’s title. I, for the sake of avoiding redundancy and writing for less and less viewers by the week, hope this isn’t the case. Nothing sucks more than people giving up on a program’s season. But take a look at what’s remaining on the schedule.
Remaining gauntlet
It starts with Cincinnati next week, an opponent WVU has fared well against over its long, shared history. The downside is, any team with a pulse can score at least 25-30 against the Mountaineers. This is probably the best chance WVU has at keeping fans invested before it completely falls off the rails. They’re saved in part by a guaranteed decent crowd on Homecoming weekend. Lose this, no one cares what happens down the stretch.
They head back on the road to face TCU in Fort Worth October 24. Pray this isn’t a night game.
It seems like an eternity from now, but the team (and fans, at this rate) are spared with a bye week on Halloween.
Then November hits.
The final month of the season is a grueling stretch where it will take a miracle for this current squad to get away with a win.
It starts on the road against Texas Tech, a team which hasn’t lost a game this year and made the College Football Playoff last year. The Red Raiders may not be as untouchable as they appeared when they dealt WVU a historic home loss a year ago, but they’re unbeaten and ranked highly for a reason.
The easiest of the November bunch comes in the form of Kansas coming to Morgantown. Keep losing and that home field advantage won’t matter.
The final two games are long shots at best. Granted, Houston is the first of the two. WVU shocked the Cougars in the Lone Star State last year, which can totally happen again.
Perhaps the most difficult of challenges awaits in Salt Lake City, Utah. The regular season comes to a close Black Friday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where WVU will try to pull the upset against the Utes. Utah, like Texas Tech, made light work of the Mountaineers a year ago.
Simply put — the road is long and winding for the current version of this team.
You don’t need quotes and a box score to see how poor this team has become. It’s actually more impressive than anything, considering the drastic change in quality before and after Week 3.
This is just the worst case scenario
I really hope I’m wrong.
I can see this team putting it all together for a couple wins if they can simply make one or two stops. As we’ve learned, though, that’s a tall order. That’s why I don’t see it happening as of today.
Cincinnati is the next test coming down the pipe. WVU has a chance to make this column obsolete and salvage a once-promising season.
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