There may be more hope than ever around WVU’s team — in a different way

As WVU’s football season opener with Penn State edges closer and closer, there might be more hope for the Mountaineers than ever before.
It’s just not in the way we’re used to.
Yes, there’s excitement around WVU’s team. The Mountaineer Ticket Office announced football season tickets, and the Penn State home game are officially sold out. After nine wins last season, there’s a buzz, despite being picked seventh in the Big 12 media poll. Athlon has WVU with a national rank of 26. Look around the internet and you can find the Mountaineers in a few of the million rankings now available.
Is there more buzz heading into the season of some coached by Don Nehlen, Rich Rodriguez, Bill Stewart and even Dana Holgorsen?
No. Mountaineer head coach Neal Brown still needs that statement win against a team like, yes, Penn State to add rocket fuel to the program.
But go back and read my first sentence. I wrote there might be more HOPE. For a few reasons.
First, there’s the WVU schedule. At first blush you may notice the Mountaineers have five ranked opponents on there — but also only five away games.
Within the expanded Big 12, The Mountaineers will face perhaps the nation’s best running back Ollie Gordon II and Oklahoma State on the road (as well as No. 21 Arizona and its exciting tandem of QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan), but won’t face, for instance, Travis Hunter and Shadeur Sanders of Colorado or No. 12 Utah and standout QB Cameron Rising. No. 22 Kansas and stud QB Jalon Daniels visit Morgantown. Ditto No. 18 Kansas State and dual-threat QB Avery Johnson.
Also, and this is the biggie, West Virginia doesn’t necessarily have to run the proverbial table to get into the new College Football Playoff. It’s not just an SEC and Big Ten playoff party anymore. “The 12 participating teams will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams.”
Even if WVU loses to Penn State, there’s still hope. (I keep thinking how sweet it would have been with this setup in 2005 with Pat White and the gang.)
The question, of course, is how much hope will the team itself give the fans.
As a member of America’s marketing team, Wheelhouse Creative, I don’t have my nose in WVU practices, press conferences, etc., anymore. But from what I’ve picked up, there’s a lot to like.
The Mountaineer offensive line lost Zach Frazier and Doug Nester from last season, but it appears to remain stout with Wyatt Milum and company. It won’t be Alabama or Georgia stout (Texas has a left tackle in Kelvin Banks that goes 6-4, 324), but it should be stout enough.
Thus, I’m looking forward to watching the rushing attack, which includes QB Garrett Greene, who has received a ton of hype this offseason. He ran for 772 yards and 13 TDs. I want to see CJ Donaldson completely healthy and what can be a true thunder and lightning duo with Jaheim White throughout the season.
I’m really, really interested to see if the passing game can be solid. It will have to be against Penn State for sure. Greene’s 53 percent passing accuracy of last season won’t cut it against what will be a stacked box on Saturday – and probably every Saturday. I’m sure Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray will help. I want to see if Greene improves on that accuracy and if Traylon Ray, Hudson Clement, Rodney Gallagher and Preston Fox can give WVU fans a top-flight receiving corps. Will 6-7 tight end Kole Taylor receive even more targets?
Also, can the Mountaineer defense hold up? It improved last season, but we’ll see. Tough to make a call these days with so many transfers moving in and out, right?
The point is, there’s a bunch of hope swirling around WVU. There’s hope coming off a nine-win season. There’s hope that a win over Penn State could catapult the team and program. There’s hope that even with a loss, making the playoff isn’t a pipe dream. And there’s hope because the schedule provides enough ranked teams to be respectable but a bunch of home games to help the Mountaineers click.
Beginning Saturday, we’ll start to find out.
Now, let’s bring on those Mountaineers.
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