2011 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Predictions, Odds, Picks and Schedule – 2011 West Virginia NCAA Football Preview

2011 West Virginia Mountaineers College Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – West Virginia NCAA Football Preview: It was not long ago that West Virginia was home to one of the most potent offenses in the country and was consistently in the mix for a spot in the national title game. The Mountaineers slow but steady fall from the ranks of the elite culminated with a 9-4 record last season. West Virginia may be down, but thanks to a weak Big East, the Mountaineers are from out. Armed with one of the top quarterbacks in the conference, a revival in Morgantown could be in the works in 2011-12.

The days of the option-based Rich Rodriguez offensive attack are a thing of the past, but even with a more traditional offense, the Mountaineers can still put up points. Junior QB Geno Smith figures to one of the players putting up plenty of those points. He threw for nearly 2,800 yards last season, along with 24 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions. Smith is also mobile outside of the pocket but has a pass-first mindset coaches look for. Smith is more than capable of winning conference player of the year honors.

New coach Dana Holgorsen is installing a spread offense that will take full advantage of Smith’s skill set and pro-caliber arm. Wide receiver Tavon Austin should flourish as a big play option, and running back Vernard Roberts is being heralded as the next home run hitter out of the backfield for the Mountaineers. Holgorsen has built productive offenses at every stop in his career, and he has the weapons at West Virginia to do the same in Morgantown.

Defensively, seven starters will be missing from last year’s unit. However, star defensive end Bruce Irvin returns, coming of a season when he was among the nation’s best with 14 sacks. The senior will be the anchor and leader of a relatively young defense, but if Irvin can provide the same type of pressure he did a year ago, he will make life a lot easier for the rest of his West Virginia teammates.

The Mountaineers will run their traditional 3-3-5 base, and the unique setup, along with Irvin, will help hide some of the weaknesses that an inexperienced defense is bound to have. With five defensive backs on the field, West Virginia utilizes speed rather than size to disrupt the offensive rhythm or its opponents. The scheme has consistently put the Mountaineers at or near the top of the Big East in terms of overall defense. Given the inexperience, the unit probably won’t lead the conference this season, but they won’t be doormats either.

Not to mention the fact that the conference schedule isn’t exactly a murderer’s row. The two toughest games figure to be at the end of the year when the Mountaineers welcome Pittsburgh to Morgantown and then head to South Florida for the season finale. If all goes according to plan, the final two regular season games will probably decide the Big East championship. An out-of-conference contest against LSU seems borderline unwinnable, but in the end, the game will have no impact on West Virginia’s conference title hopes.

Expect the West Virginia defense to be good but not great this season. However, as long as Smith stays healthy, the Mountaineers’ offense should be more than powerful enough to carry the load. The showdown against LSU will show the country just how big the gap between the SEC and Big East really is, but the Mountaineers should escape the conference portion of their schedule with little or no damage. One hiccup along the way is likely, but depending on how the rest of the conference plays out, West Virginia could still end up grabbing the BCS bid.  

2011 West Virginia Mountaineers College Football Predictions: 10-2 Record

Preseason 2011 West Virginia Mountaineers NCAA Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: +2500
Odds to Win 2011 Big East Champonship: +250
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2011 West Virginia Mountaineers College Football Schedule
Sun, Sep 4 Marshall 3:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 10 Norfolk State TBA —
Sat, Sep 17 at Maryland 12:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 24 LSU TBA —
Sat, Oct 1 Bowling Green TBA —
Sat, Oct 8 Connecticut TBA —
Fri, Oct 21 at Syracuse 8:00 pm —
Sat, Oct 29 at Rutgers TBA —
Sat, Nov 5 Louisville TBA —
Sat, Nov 12 at Cincinnati TBA —
Fri, Nov 25 Pittsburgh TBA —
Thu, Dec 1 at South Florida 8:00 pm —

Check out NSAwins.com’s official 2011 Big East Football Picks, Odds and Preview article.

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