(Photo by Ben Queen – USA Today)
Tomorrow is the day we have all been waiting for. West Virginia will have their opportunity to win their first bowl game since 2016 with an Autozone Liberty Bowl date against Army.
While the Mountaineers are certainly the more talented team, many experts expect them to have some trouble with Army’s triple option attack. While this could certainly be the case, I have three scenarios in mind as to how I think this game could play out.
The first I have in mind is that West Virginia wins this game comfortably. In this situation, West Virginia’s defense comes out strong, and takes command of the game early. Should this happen, this game will resemble WVU’s matchup with Kansas State earlier in the season. It’ll be a game of chess early, but Jarret Doege will get into rhythm, and Leddie Brown will once again have a big day.
Honestly, this is what I feel is the most likely scenario to play out tomorrow evening in Memphis. However, there is also a legitimate possibility that it won’t. The next scenario is a defensive slugfest. To compare it to a game earlier in the season, it would be Baylor. The two teams will head into overtime, and the first to make a mistake there will lose the game.
This is the type of game that West Virginia must absolutely not get into with Army. They have a history of taking some of the best programs in the country to overtime under Jeff Monken, and they will eventually come out on top in one of them. The Mountaineers would unfortunately be a prime candidate for this to happen to.
Last but not least is the scenario that Mountaineer fans dread will happen. Army comes out slinging, and the WVU defense fails to stop their triple option all day. The Mountaineers get handed a major loss, and the Climb is officially on a hold. While this is the least likely scenario, this would be something of nightmares for the Mountain State.
So there you have it, folks. Those are the three scenarios for how this game will play out. West Virginia is in for an easy W, a nail-biter likely resulting in a win, or they will have their doors blown completely off. I fully expect Neal Brown to have his guys ready to go tomorrow, and I expect us fans will be able to take a breather late in the game once they add some cushion between them and their opponent.
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