Coming off a road win against Cincinnati the Mountaineers host rival Pittsburgh. This is the most anticipated game of the season for Mountaineer fans.
Last week against Cincinnati Geno Smith threw for 372 yards and one touchdown. Look for him to continue his domination through the air as he looks to rack up even more yardage. Smith has thrown for over 400 yards three times this season and there is a very good chance he could do it against the Panthers.> While the Mountaineers are a pass first team, they still have a decent running game. Although against the Bearcats it seemed to suffer as their highest rusher had 21 yards. Shawne Alston and defensive lineman Julian Miller each had a touchdown, the Mountaineers really should run the ball as equally as they throw it if they want to tire defenses out and crush them with the pass later in the game.> Miller’s touchdown came from a fumble in the endzone. Receiver Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey had huge games with Austin getting 9 receptions for 126 yards and Bailey getting 6 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Bailey definitely stepped his game up after dropping several passes the week before against Louisville. If both these receivers can get open look for them to tear off huge yards and possibly get some touchdowns.
The defense continued its domination last week as they recorded one fumble which lead to a touchdown, an interception and one sack. The fumble was forced by Bruce Irvin and was recovered in the endzone by Julian Miller. Keith Tandy had the interception and returned it sixteen yards; this is Tandy’s third interception of the year. The sack was recorded by Najee Goode which gives him a total of two sacks on the year. The Mountaineers were also able to injure starting quarterback Zach Collaros which just shows that there is no messing around with this defense. If the defense can play like this against the Panthers expect more turnovers, sacks and maybe a few injuries if they’re lucky.
Up until now the special teams has been horrible, but that was before they blocked the kick against the Bearcats that would’ve sent the game into overtime. The defensive special teams came up big on that play, but they also seemed to tackle better as they only allowed 70 total yards on kick returns. On the offensive special teams Austin and Bailey had a combined 84 kick return yards and Austin recorded 50 yards on three punt returns. It seems like the special teams might be getting things together, since they have been one area the Mountaineers could not produce well on. If they continue to tackle on kick and punt returns and find holes when they are returning then the special teams should be just fine for the rest of the season.
If the offense, defense and special teams all show up then the Mountaineers should be able to give the home crowd something to cheer for. Hopefully, the Mountaineers won’t be to full on turkey and pie to slow them down in what should be a victory.
Prediction: WVU-44 Pitt-21
Player of the Game- Geno Smith 30/44 425 yards 3TDs
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