Can Someone Remind Me Why We Are So Worried About WVU Again?!?

#126
#126
jakez4ut said:
there's a couple things in play here for me about this game.

1. no one really knows what we're bringing to the table. it's easy to see a 4-8 team coming back with a lot of the same players and a completely new staff and see that team struggle the next year. so i get that, and in some way agree with it. even if we're better than we think, it's still a lot to ask to have all the things that need to come together, to actually come together in year 1. but...who knows.
2. i don't trust WVU to live up to or surpass the hype. Heisman trophy QB. some peoples pre season pick to win the Big 12 and make the play off. how does that program handle being put on a pedestal? they're going to be expected to beat us, handily. wonder how the pucker factor affects them if things are close in that game....???
3. on paper, this is a bad match up for us, defensively. they should be good on offense. they have skill players, and experience.
4. WVU is going to have to, at some point, actually show they have a championship caliber defense. i think there's still some opportunities for us to match up against them on that side of the ball.
5. it's game 1. crazy ish happens. and where is it written that we can't win a game or two we're not supposed to?
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I can say with 100% surety that a first time HC isn't going to fix 5 years of Butch Jones and Co.'s development and conditioning problems in 6 months of being on campus.

WV has a good offense, and their defense was uncharacteristically bad last year in regards to previous years.

By the end of the season we should see substantial improvement if Pruitt is "the guy", but this first game will probably be ugly for us. Potentially, extremely ugly.
 
#128
#128
BeardedVol said:
I can say with 100% surety that a first time HC isn't going to fix 5 years of Butch Jones and Co.'s development and conditioning problems in 6 months of being on campus.
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Fortunately, that's not the task at hand. WVU isn't OU or Oregon from a few years back. In the SEC they're a middling team at best. Some of you guys think they're monsters that they are not.
WV has a good offense, and their defense was uncharacteristically bad last year in regards to previous years.
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Did you check that? In '14 they allowed 400 ypg. '15 they allowed 397 ypg. '16 426. '17 445 ypg.
That is worse but it looks more like trend than an anomaly.
By the end of the season we should see substantial improvement if Pruitt is "the guy", but this first game will probably be ugly for us. Potentially, extremely ugly.
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If THIS WVU team beats THIS UT team "ugly"... then I won't be very optimistic about Pruitt being the guy or seeing substantial improvement by the end of the season.
 
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#129
#129
I would not necessarily say I am worried about the game, but the uncertainty of a new staff and how the team will look is what I am thinking about. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think Pruitt and Co. has us going in the right direction and we will be a different football team in the years ahead. I am just anxious to see how the team performs. The one positive is all the pressure is on WV. They return a solid QB/WR combo and are the betting favorites. Our boys can go in there and just play without the additional pressure of being the team getting all the hype from outside sources.
 
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#130
#130
sjt18 said:
Fortunately, that's not the task at hand. WVU isn't OU or Oregon from a few years back. In the SEC they're a middling team at best. Some of you guys think they're monsters that they are not.
Did you check that? In '14 they allowed 400 ypg. '15 they allowed 397 ypg. '16 426. '17 445 ypg.
That is worse but it looks more like trend than an anomaly.

If THIS WVU team beats THIS UT team "ugly"... then I won't be very optimistic about Pruitt being the guy or seeing substantial improvement by the end of the season.
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WV had the 28th ranked defense in 2015, and 37th in 2016 using S&P+. They were 97th using the same model last year, so yeah I'd say last year is the outlier at the moment.

The WV game does not make or break Pruitt, regardless of the outcome.
 
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#131
#131
Because Tennessee sucks until I see different. I just hope WV does not hang 70 on Tennessee. This game could turn into a national embarrassment.
 
#133
#133
LibertyVol said:
Because Tennessee sucks until I see different. I just hope WV does not hang 70 on Tennessee. This game could turn into a national embarrassment.
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tenor.gif
 
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#134
#134
Bubbs said:
Look. I know the Will Grier hype is in full effect but he went 7-3 in the Big 12. They went 7-6 overall. Look at their schedule. It was a joke. They lost to every half decent team they played. Their O-Line returns 4 starters. Their O line was overmatched against quality competition. David Sills had 18 TDs against nobodies and didn't catch a single one after Grier went down. The defense struggled all year. They gave up 200+ yards on the ground in the Big 12. That was a healthy West Virginia team at full strength. Lol

Then look at all the injuries and drama we had last season. O line was decimated. Kirkland Out. Jennings Out, Chance Hall Out. No position group stayed healthy throughout the year. Down to third string on the O-line. Kids playing out of position. Incompetent leadership. Shoop couldn't get guys to learn the defense and we don't acknowledge just how terrible of an offensive coordinator Larry Scott was. You all saw it too. It looked worse than a blind toddler's coloring book. Team giving up on the coach because they knew he was gone towards the end of the year. That coaching staff was a cluster.

I just can't see how with a healthy UT team and at least adequate coaching we don't blow these guys out of the water. We brought over a veteran coaching staff with proven ability and I know stars don't tell the story but out of 22 projected starters I want to say about 18 or 19 of these guys are 4 star recruits or better. Over the past four years we've averaged a recruiting ranking of 14.75. Meaning give or take we are a top 15 team talent wise.There is no shortage of talent or experience on this roster. Outside of Will Grier we're leaps and bounds better at almost every position. I don't see why we're dampening our expectations. We can easily win 8 or 9 games this season without the Lyle handicap.
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I ain’t sceeeertttt aight!

Vols 31
WVU 21

👍👍👍
 
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#136
#136
OnlyGodForgives said:
Tennessee has a virtually winless record against the Big 10/12 over the last twenty years. teams such as Kansas State, Oklahoma, and former members Missouri and Nebraska virtually swept TN when they were part of that conference and afterwards in the case of the Tigers. Grier is a pre-season Heisman frontrunner, and as usual the TN fanbase has been writing checks and expecting the players to cash them with their on-field results. If you think positive remarks reach players and recruits, you better believe all the low-brow ad hominem attacks against the state and its fanbase have reached the attention of the West Virginia contingent. But by all means keep that up.
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N.C. State. Ga Tech. Nebraska Iowa Northwestern were jokes!

WVU has sucked since they sold out to big 12 or however no defense schools there are! I mentioned those above because we were supposed to lose!

GTFO
 
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#137
#137
Vfl2407 said:
Both teams will be prepared and highly motivated.
They have better overall talent than we do on offense.
We do on defense.
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Based on what? Playing candy ass big 12 defenses?

I’ll take JJ, Ty Chandler, Galloway, Johnson, Dominick, Trey Smith, Kennedy, JG or KC and wouldn’t exchange any of them for any of WVU players! So I’m calling BS!

👋
 
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#138
#138
Why are we worried? First game with a coach that has never been a head coach with a new O and D scheme none of our guys have played in with coaches that they have never been coached in a game by?
 
#139
#139
If we lose, what then? Lot of worrying wasted on very little reason.
 
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#140
#140
BeardedVol said:
I can say with 100% surety that a first time HC isn't going to fix 5 years of Butch Jones and Co.'s development and conditioning problems in 6 months of being on campus.

WV has a good offense, and their defense was uncharacteristically bad last year in regards to previous years.

By the end of the season we should see substantial improvement if Pruitt is "the guy", but this first game will probably be ugly for us. Potentially, extremely ugly.
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who said he was goin to fix the last 5 years in 6 months? in fact, i'm pretty sure i alluded to that not being very likely.

as for WVU defense, they've not been very good historically. at least not championship level defense. and in the big 12, defense is relative.

i don't think anyone can say anything with 100% certainty about this game, good or bad. too many unknowns on our sideline. and that doesn't automatically = bad for us.
 
#142
#142
BeardedVol said:
WV had the 28th ranked defense in 2015, and 37th in 2016 using S&P+. They were 97th using the same model last year, so yeah I'd say last year is the outlier at the moment.

The WV game does not make or break Pruitt, regardless of the outcome.
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meh, those defenses weren't world beaters. middling at best and definitely not enough to be championship worthy.

agree on the last point. game 1 in year 1 is not a referendum on CJP's career here.
 
#143
#143
I think we can win, but I don't agree with blowing them off as some appear to be doing. WVU will be a very formidable opponent. If we win, it won't be by a large margin.
 
#145
#145
Because Tennessee has been horrible and underwent a complete coaching change, UT was particularly bad on defense, while West Virginia was pretty good overall and very good on offense.
 
#150
#150
tennesseeduke said:
Based on what? Playing candy ass big 12 defenses?

I’ll take JJ, Ty Chandler, Galloway, Johnson, Dominick, Trey Smith, Kennedy, JG or KC and wouldn’t exchange any of them for any of WVU players! So I’m calling BS!

👋
Click to expand...
You can't follow up to the post about WVU's proven offensive playmakers by name dropping a bunch of guys that collectively did next to nothing last year. I agree that the big 12 plays no defense but then again most SEC teams we played last year rewrote their record books against our D. I imagine we'll see some improvement out of the gate considering the new coaching staff, but WVU will definitely score points. It should be a great game.
 
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