{"id":10364,"date":"2023-07-16T17:20:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T22:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=10364"},"modified":"2023-07-16T17:20:02","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T22:20:02","slug":"there-is-no-love-for-west-virginia-in-2023-hillbillies-are-small-and-will-get-kicked-more-often-than-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=10364","title":{"rendered":"There is no love for West Virginia in 2023……Hillbillies are small and will get kicked more often than not….."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photo Credit: ESPN.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“It really kind of pissed me off because I really think it’s kind of lazy reporting in some senses,” Brown told ESPN on Thursday. “We won’t finish where we’re predicted to finish.”<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

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Neal Brown and Garrett Greene (Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports)<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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“The decision goes back to, we’re in a year where we need to have success,” Brown said. “That’s not something I try to hide from. … Really, in a pivotal year, you fall back to your strengths. Last year didn’t go the way we wanted to. We underachieved, especially on the offensive side of the ball.”<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

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West Virginia returns their complete starting offensive line from a team that averaged over 170 yards per game in 2022.\u00a0 That is it folks.\u00a0 The Mountaineers are small, not physical, and lack talent.\u00a0 As one anonymous coach in the Big 12 stated,<\/strong><\/span>
\n“the defense is legitimately bad.”\u00a0 As I said above, the offensive line is just fine if you compare the with a mid-major from the MAC.\u00a0 2023 and Morgantown is not the time and place for winning college football and the wins will be hard to come by.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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As of the\u00a0 head coaching of Neil Brown, in his 5th season (22-25), the Graham Harrell, offensive coordinator, the experiment of a pass first offense has been taken aback.\u00a0 Harrell has been replaced and the running game is key with the return of all the key runners to go along with the o-line.\u00a0 A more than lacking quarterback will hamper West Virginia as the starter had yet to be picked.\u00a0 That is not good as a freshman red-shirt quarterback is a recipe for disaster.\u00a0 Garrett Greene, a junior, has eyes on starting but that is not a given with that red-shirt Nicco Marchiol, a strong candidate.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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As of Brad Smith, Mountaineer beat writer, Nicco Marchiol will be the starting quarterback for the West Virginia Mountaineers in 2023. Remember, college football is a business. Promises must be made and guarantees are a critical part of retaining a team\u2019s best players. It\u2019s not a particularly easy thing for anyone involved \u2013 particularly sports purists \u2013\u00a0 to swallow, but it\u2019s the world we live in today.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Look for West Virginia to run the football, pass it when necessary, and try to stay in games at least through the third quarter.\u00a0 But do not expect the defense to do much three and outs in 2023.\u00a0 A rebuilding of a defense that was bad the year before is not the perfect way to get better.\u00a0 Expect no worse, but do not expect anything better.\u00a0 There will be some big time scores put up on West Virginia and Coach Brown will not only need to fight for his job in 2024 but also work at not getting fired before the end of 2023.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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There are winnable games on the schedule for the Mountaineers but even if they split those games, look for a four win season at best.\u00a0 It could be as bad as a two win year and that is not acceptable in Morgantown.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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(I will give a short preview of each team in the Big 12.\u00a0 \u00a0A final win\/loss prediction of the conference teams will follow before the first game of the conference.)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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“It really kind of pissed me off because I really think it’s kind of lazy…<\/p>\n

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