West Virginia @ Maryland 9/4/2021
- West Virginia faces their first real test of the season in week 1 when they travel to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins. WVU is no stranger to the Terrapins. The WVU-Maryland strife runs all the way back to 1919 when WVU pitched a 27-0 shut-out in the first ever meeting. In more recent years, WVU has owned Maryland winning 9 out of the last 10 meetings. The most recent victory for the Mountaineers was in 2015. The Mountaineer offense put up 601 total yards of offense behind QB Skyler Howard’s four touchdowns and sent Maryland fans on a long drive home. This year, the game will be over as soon as the Mountaineers step off the bus. I expect Jarett Doege, Leddie Brown, and the rest of the WVU offense to be nothing short of dominant. The strides Head Coach Neal Brown has described makes me feel confident in the offense that hardly anyone was confident in last season. We know the defense will be there, despite the key loss of Tykee Smith and Darius Stills. WVU still returns guys like Alonzo Adae, Vandarius Cowan, and Akheem Mesidor. One thing to keep in mind, Maryland will likely start Taulia Tagovailoa, brother of the infamous Alabama QB Tua Tagovailo who was merely impressive last season. Throwing for just 1,011 yards with a 7/7 TD-INT ratio in 4 games.
Score: WVU 37 Maryland 16
Long Island (LIU) @ West Virginia 9/11/2021
- In Week 2 the Mountaineers welcome into Morgantown the LIU Sharks on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. LIU only played 4 games last season, so there isn’t much sample size to truly see what they bring to the table. Nonetheless, I fully expect West Virginia to take care of business in convincing fashion.
Score: WVU 45 LIU 9
Virginia Tech @ West Virginia 9/18/2021
- Every WVU football game brings in an ungodly amount of excitement from fans, but this game is the one everyone is really looking forward to. It is a sin that this game was granted the Noon slot on FS1. Regardless, its Virginia Tech-West Virginia. The Virginia Tech and WVU rivalry runs deep between both fanbases. Heartbreak has come at the hands of both schools. WVU fans look back to 2017 in Landover, Maryland in Will Griers debut as a Mountaineer. Virginia Tech crushed the hearts of 1.8 million, escaping with a 31-24 victory after a last second play into the endzone failed for WVU. Now, it’s time to return the favor. This time, in front of a home crowd. Virginia Tech had a below average season at 5-6 in 2020. However, their offense led by QB Hendon Hooker who put up pretty decent numbers, boasted 31 points per game. WVU averaged just 26. The biggest difference maker was the defense. Virginia Tech allowed 32 points to their opponent on average. West Virginia? Just 20. That will be the difference maker in this highly anticipated matchup.
Score: WVU 26 Virginia Tech 13
West Virginia @ #2 Oklahoma 9/25/2021
- The Big 12 season starts off with a bang for West Virginia, and not in a good way. It’s not that I do not have any faith in our beloved Mountaineers, but starting Big 12 play on the road is hard enough, especially when it’s the high powered Sooners. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 circumstances, WVU didn’t get to host Oklahoma in the 2020 season. A game that many were looking forward to and thought WVU was going to pull off the upset. WVU is winless against Oklahoma since joining the Big 12, and with the way the college football landscape is changing, this could be the last chance. We know how powerful the Oklahoma offense is, and their defense under Alex Grinch has been maybe the most improved defense in the conference. I just don’t see WVU escaping Norman with a win. I do see however, a hard fought game that will determine a winner in the final quarter.
Score: WVU 23 Oklahoma 31
Texas Tech @ West Virginia 10/02/2021 (Homecoming / Stripe The Stadium)
- The second week of Big 12 play gets significantly easier, but we know how tough any conference game can be. We saw it first hand when the Mountaineers visited Lubbock in 2020. The game was coming down to the wire at a 27-27 tie. It was then when Sam James fumbled, and Texas Tech’s Zech McPhearson returned the fumble 56 yards for a touchdown with 8 minutes to go. That was all she wrote. Texas Tech will debut Oregon transfer QB Tyler Shough who has tremendous talent. This year, things will be different. In a sold out Milan Puskar stadium, WVU will route the Red Raiders. Jarett Doege will have his coming out party, and the WVU defense will stifle the transfer quarterback.
Score: WVU 49 Texas Tech 14
West Virginia @ Baylor 10/09/2021
- Baylor-West Virginia has put on some barnburners throughout West Virginia’s big 12 tenure. The most famous being the 70-63 game in 2012. Last season, was also a back and forth battle which thankfully went West Virginia’s way in overtime. A Jarett Doege touchdown pass to Bryce Wheaton was the difference maker in a 27-21 victory. With a much improved team overall, I don’t expect WVU to have any trouble with Baylor. But that doesn’t mean they won’t. After a pummeling win over Texas Tech, WVU will find themselves fighting for their lives in Waco.
WVU 19 Baylor 14
West Virginia @ TCU 10/23/2021
- West Virginia gets a bye week to get the bad taste out of their mouths from the ugly Baylor win and shift their focus to TCU. It doesn’t get any easier for WVU. West Virginia handled TCU pretty soundly in a 24-6 victory in Morgantown in 2020. There’s no doubt West Virginia has the better squad, but QB Max Duggan, who is coming into the season with high expectations, will stun the talented Mountaineer defense. WVU loses a heartbreaker in Fort Worth.
Score: WVU 27 TCU 36
#7 Iowa State @ West Virginia 10/30/21
- Halloween weekend if fun, but it’s even more fun with a top 10 team coming to Morgantown. At this point, the Mountaineers are sitting at a respectable 5-2 and are getting top 25 votes. In a game that is pivotal to the growth and development of Neal Brown’s football program, West Virginia derails Matt Campbells perfect season bid on a chilly, frightful night in Morgantown.
Score: WVU 38 Iowa State 27
Oklahoma State @ West Virginia 11/06/2021
- Last season, West Virginia came into Stillwater riding high after a 56-10 thrashing of Eastern Kentucky. It didn’t last long, as WVU’s offense was held to just 13 points and in my opinion, one of the ugliest games in recent memory. With two pretty even squads meeting up this time in Morgantown, my expectations are for West Virginia to take care of business. That is what will happen. West Virginia builds on their huge win vs Iowa State with a thumping over the Pokes.
Score: WVU 33 Oklahoma State 9
West Virginia @ Kansas State 11/13/2021
- West Virginia, boasting a 7-2 record and a top 25 ranking are headed to the ever most dreaded Manhattan, Kansas. West Virginia has played some of it’s ugliest ball there, and that trend will continue in 2021. West Virginia fans are used to heartbreak, and that is what they will experience on this dreadful November day.
Score: WVU 31 Kansas State 33
#21 Texas @ West Virginia 11/20/2021
- It is safe to say that the pure hatred of Texas now runs deeper than ever. Texas and Oklahoma jumping ship has left the other Big 12 schools scrambling to find homes. On this day in November, Texas will walk off Mountaineer Field to the sound of 60,000 Mountaineer fans chanting “SEC SEC SEC” after getting throttled by the Mountaineers. It will be a major bounce back win for West Virginia, setting them up for their first 9 win season since 2016, when Skylar Howard led the Mountaineers to a 10-2 campaign. \
Score: WVU 45 Texas 24
West Virginia @ Kansas 11/27/2021
- This will be like any other year in the Big 12. Generally, 9 schools will at the very least make things interesting, while the basketball school sits back and watches it’s football program go up in flames. West Virginia will handle business in Lawrence, completing the first 12 game season since 2018.
Score: WVU 31 Kansas 16
