Big 12 team preview: Can West Virginia become this year’s TCU, move past years of mediocrity?

Editor’s note: Seventh in a series previewing each team in the Big 12.

One of the more intriguing games on BYU’s first Big 12 schedule is set for the first Saturday of November, as the Cougars travel across the country to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on the Mountaineers.

It won’t be the first-ever matchup between the seemingly dissimilar schools — the Mountaineers downed the Taysom Hill-led Cougars 35-32 at FedExField in suburban Washington, D.C., in 2016 — but it will feature of clash of styles and cultures, on and off the field.

It could also be a make-or-break game for West Virginia coach Neal Brown, whose seat is as hot as anybody’s in the Big 12 because the Mountaineers have gone a mediocre 22-25 overall in Brown’s four years at the helm.

Losing to one of the league’s newcomers who has made the 1,930-mile trip in front of the faithful could be the death knell for Brown, especially if the game the week before at UCF doesn’t go well for the blue and gold.

And that’s the thing: West Virginia has one of the more difficult schedules in the league — in or out of conference. Not only do the Mountaineers have to travel to Texas three times to play Houston, TCU and Baylor, they also have to travel to expected league leader Oklahoma.

They do avoid Texas in the Longhorns’ final season in the Big 12, but their nonconference games include an opener at Penn State and a Week 3 showdown with Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. If Brown keeps his job — insiders say he needs at least six wins — he will have earned it against that schedule.

The question is: Has West Virginia improved?

Like BYU, West Virginia had tons of movement in and out of the transfer portal. Whether that movement results in a net gain, or net loss, remains to be seen.

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Before spring camp started, Brown said a key to the 2023 season would be the ability to have some stability.

“We’ve got to hold our roster,” he said. “That’s where you start. And then we’re going to add some pieces. We’ve got to get a lot of work done — not just from a strength and conditioning standpoint, but from a football standpoint, too, in all three phases.”

Identifying a capable starting quarterback is also on Brown’s offseason checklist.

Respectable QB JT Daniels transferred to Rice, leaving junior Garrett Greene and redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol to duel for the starting job. Greene got more chances at the end of the last year, but completed just 55% of his passes.

Marchiol is seen as the more talented overall QB, but lacks playing time.

After the spring game in which Greene performed better and had better stats, Brown declined to name a starter, saying the derby will go into fall camp.

“Like I said, this is going to be a long (process),” Brown said after the spring game. “Regardless of what happened today or happened through the first 15 (practices), this was going to be winter, spring, summer. It is going to go through summer and into fall camp before we figure it out.”

West Virginia’s offense was just OK last year when the Mountaineers went 5-7 overall, 3-6 in the Big 12. It averaged 5.5 yards per play.

Offensive line will be a position of strength, with center Zach Frazier and tackles Doug Nester and Wyatt Milum back.

Top running back Tony Mathis transferred to Houston, but former receiver CJ Donaldson should get more carries and has shown he’s probably just as good as Mathis. The Mountaineers averaged 4.6 yards per carry in 2022.

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So the offense is going to be better than average.

It is the defense that has folks in the Mountain State concerned. Sound familiar, BYU fans?

West Virginia allowed an average of 33 points a game last year, second worst in the Big 12. Only Kansas, which allowed 35.4 ppg., was worse.

Generating a decent pass rush was a seasonlong issue, and could be the same as edge rushers Taijh Alston and Lanell Carr moved on. Jared Bartlett and Sean Martin will be asked to increase their productivity. Tyrin Bradley comes in from Abilene Christian, one of the best teams at the FCS level in the country last year.

West Virginia’s secondary was not good last year, so Brown and company hit the transfer portal hard and came up with Minnesota’s Beanie Bishop, Buffalo’s Keyshawn Cobb and Kent State’s Montre Miller.

West Virginia’s defense could be better in 2023, but may not be able to show it against explosive teams such as Oklahoma and Penn State.

Overall, the prevailing storyline for the Mountaineers is the status of Brown, which may or may not be known when BYU visits on Nov. 4. After the Cougars depart, it probably will be.

West Virginia Mountaineers 2023 preview

2022 record: 5-7 (3-6 Big 12)

Local ties: None

2023 schedule

Sept. 2 — at Penn State
Sept. 9 — Duquesne
Sept. 16 — Pittsburgh
Sept. 23 — Texas Tech
Sept. 30 — at TCU
Oct. 12 — at Houston
Oct. 21 — Oklahoma State
Oct. 28 — at UCF
Nov. 4 — BYU
Nov. 11 — at Oklahoma
Nov. 18 — Cincinnati
Nov. 25 — at Baylor