WVU still has a lot to play for in 2023.
Morgantown, WV – You can’t win them all, right? On Saturday, we all witnessed our Mountaineers drop a game after leading by four in the fourth quarter once again. Oklahoma State strolled into Morgantown on Homecoming weekend and left with a 48-34 victory.
Defensively, West Virginia looked lost for the second week in a row, giving up nearly 300 rushing yards to Ollie Gordon, who has seemingly come out of nowhere. The offense had a solid day production wise, but could not get things going when they needed to most.
And finally the special teams..that is another conversation for a different time.
With the loss, West Virginia has dropped to 4-3 overall on the season and 2-2 in Big 12 play. The schedule lightens up with three of their final five games coming against the newcomers, but as we have learned that does not particularly mean much in this conference.
While many are expecting doom and gloom moving forward, I will be one to stay positive. The disappointment is real, there is no doubt about that, but we need to take a look at what has been accomplished so far this year.
Let’s begin with the fact that WVU was picked to finish last in the Big 12 last preseason. Nobody was giving them a fighting chance with some outlets even projecting a one-win season for the Mountaineers. To have compiled four wins before exiting September was a solid feat for them to carry moving forward.
We can also talk about the start the defense had to the season. Despite being gashed the last two weeks, this team still has a lot of potential on that side of the ball. When they come to hungry to play, they can compete with the best teams in the nation. If Jordan Lesley can somehow figure out how to right this ship, there are a lot of games throughout this second half of the season that can be won with that unit.
Finally, Garrett Greene is a major reason for fans to be excited. Though his completion percentage has not been great in 2023, the Florida native has shown flashes of greatness. If he can stay healthy, and if the receivers can keep improving from week to week, a strong finish to the season could be in the cards for WVU.
The Mountaineers will have their first opportunity to get back on the winning side of things when they travel to Orlando this week to battle UCF. Kickoff is set for noon on FS1.
(Photo via West Virginia University)
