By: Justin Walker | WV Sports Chat
For the 108th time, the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Pitt Panthers will face off against one another on the gridiron. This is the last meeting between these heated rivals before the series takes a three year hiatus. So far, the home team has won every contest in this current four-game run, with Pitt leading 2-1. This year’s game is in Morgantown. It takes place at 3:30pm EDT/2:30pm CDT and will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Mountaineers (1-1) look to bounce back after the ugly road loss to the Ohio Bobcats. Meanwhile, Pitt (2-0) is coming off a convincing win over Central Michigan.
WVU will likely be led once again by quarterback, Nicco Marchiol. However, don’t be surprised if Rich Rodriguez looks to get a spark in the quarterback run game from Jaylen Henderson, the transfer from Texas A&M. We could even see a third quarterback on the field for the Mountaineers on Saturday.
On his weekly radio show, Rodriguez announced that Jahiem White is officially out for the season after the injury he sustained against Ohio. Pair the loss of your star running back, with the recent struggles of the rebuilt offensive line, and it’s not a good combination against a stout Panther defense. Pitt only allowed 113 rushing yards per game and sacked opposing quarterbacks 41 times last year. They return seven starters from that squad, including their linebacker corp, which have been dubbed, “The Sharks.” Phil Steele named this unit the fifth best in all of college football.
Rich Rodriguez will likely need to be creative to figure out ways to get yards and points against this Pitt defense. With both White and wide receiver Jaden Bray out with injuries, he will likely lean on Cam Vaughn to make plays for this WVU offense. Vaughn, the former quarterback turned wide receiver, followed Rodriguez from Jacksonville State and has shown great playmaking ability.
The Mountaineer defense has played much better than the offense the first two weeks of the season. In two games, they have allowed only 20 points and have forced five turnovers. Safety Fred Perry has been the spark so far. He leads the team with 15 tackles. Look for Perry to be all over the field for the Mountaineers. Middle linebacker, Chase Wilson, leads WVU in sacks so far with three.
Defensive Coordinator Zac Alley’s defense will have their work cut out for them. Quarterback Eli Holstein returns for Pitt. Holstein led Pitt to a 7-0 start last season before getting banged up the second half of the season. The 6-foot-4 inch signal caller carved up the Mountaineer defense a year ago, using both his arm and legs to make plays.
Also returning for Pitt is running back, Desmond Reid, who can be a one-man highlight reel. His ability to make people miss in space makes him not only a running threat, but also a threat to make plays in the passing game. So far this season, he is averaging 6.2 yards per carry and has six receptions.
While the Mountaineer defense has forced turnovers and kept opponents from scoring a ton of points, they have been inconsistent at times when it comes to tackling. They often struggled against Ohio quarterback, Parker Navarro, who was able to make WVU defenders miss on multiple occasions. If these struggles continue on Saturday, Reid could be in for a huge day on the ground.
Overall, this will be a great challenge for Rich Rodriguez and this WVU Mountaineer team. With 81 new players and a whole new staff, they are still trying to figure things out going into this game. The contest is a sellout and a raucous crowd is indeed expected for one of the top rivalries in all of college football. That crowd will be needed and must be a factor if the Mountaineers have any chance to defeat Pitt on Saturday.
