We welcome Matt Kirchner to answer questions about West Virginia’s QB situation and more!

In this week’s Q&A we welcome Matt Kirchner of The Smoking Musket to preview the Oklahoma Sooners’ opponent — the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Let’s get this out of the way early — with OU and Texas on the way out and BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston on the way in, are West Virginia fans optimistic about the future? What do they see as the positives and negatives of the developments?

West Virginia belongs in the ACC. I think that any Big 12 fan who watched the Virginia Tech game for any amount of time saw an atmosphere in Morgantown that they had never witnessed and one that I had forgotten was even possible. Being in that stadium brought back emotions about college football that I had sort of buried, given that I don’t really have any feelings about any Big 12 teams besides wanting to beat them the week that we play every year. I think the ACC remains the goal of West Virginia’s administration and any moves made by the Big 12 haven’t—and shouldn’t—change any of that.

That being said, for as long as the ACC remains a goal rather than a reality, the new look Big 12 is a fine spot for West Virginia that absolutely deserves a seat at the table in whatever the next stage of college football ends up looking like. I think that they added the best football fits available and it will remain one of if not the best basketball conferences (which doesn’t matter for expansion, but matters to me). It also doesn’t hurt that the new look will be easier for West Virginia to win on occasion and no matter what the league looks like, winning builds brands. It’s how West Virginia climbed up from the old Big East and it’s exciting to have that opportunity again without Oklahoma standing at the end like an unbeatable final boss. I realize that “stroking Oklahoma’s ego” isn’t popular right now, but pragmatically it’ll be nice to be in a league that doesn’t require beating y’all twice to win it. If I’m the Big 12, I’m doing two things as I move into this new era: 1) firing Bowlsby ASAP and 2) looking at the old Big East model and trying to get some fun marquee games on prime time weekday spots. West Virginia and Louisville built brands that way and it’s an opportunity for this new look league as well.

In light of OU and Texas leaving, which conference opponent will West Virginia fans hate the most?

I think I answered this above with my response about the ACC, but none of the above. Like, I guess Baylor on principle?

Of the new additions, West Virginia will reignite a minor rivalry with Cincy and it will be fun to finally have an opponent in driving distance again.

I also already hate UCF even though I’ve only known them for five minutes and am frantically looking for the receipt on this one.

West Virginia’s defense had a subpar outing against Maryland but seemed to buckle down against Virginia Tech. What seems to have changed between the opener and now?

I think that West Virginia’s defensive showing against Maryland was a bit misleading. They did well throughout the middle of that game and just got caught out of gas once the offense had sputtered enough and kept them on the field for nearly the entire second half. West Virginia’s defense remains the motor of this team and is the unit Neal Brown will lean on to win games.

While we’re on the topic, which defensive players should OU fans keep an eye on when the Sooners have the ball?

The defensive line is West Virginia’s strength and they can rotate in a good bit of guys that can win at the line of scrimmage and create pressure with four guys, which will be huge against Oklahoma considering that we are not going to want to blitz Rattler. Dante Stills and Tajh Alston are great but I think the most talented player on the defense is sophomore Akheem Mesidor. He will be a force and is definitely a Sunday player on the defensive line.

OU didn’t face WVU a year ago and faced Austin Kendall in 2019, so what about Jarrett Doege’s skill set should OU fans be aware of?

This is going to sound rude but not much?

He’s a game manager at the core and can be successful during scripted sessions but has a tendency to collapse for the rest of the game as soon as he makes his first mistake. I think that the clock is ticking on his time as WVU’s starting QB. It’s not to say that he’s not able to make any throws, but he’s just proven himself unable to elevate the team around him to more of the sum of its parts.

Speaking of the QB group, West Virginia has used Garrett Greene at the position to give a bit of a different look. How much of him should we expect to see this weekend?

I think that West Virginia will use Garrett Green a good bit on Saturday and I think this may be the last week he’s not the starter—assuming Jarrett Doege doesn’t transcend reality somehow. He brings a different element in the running game that Doege gives you absolutely none of. So much of Brown’s ideal offense is based off of zone read concepts and when Doege is no threat to keep it and run, not even a cursory time or two to keep defenses honest, it absolutely ruins anything that West Virginia wants to do.

We haven’t seen too much of Greene throwing yet, but he brings a lot of energy to the position and carries himself like a gamer. He has a lot of Baker Mayfield energy in how he carries himself even if he hasn’t had a chance to do a ton on the field yet. I think West Virginia absolutely needs to see what they have in Greene considering that they have their best QB recruit since Geno Smith hitting campus next year.

Of WVU’s offensive weapons, who is most likely to make an impact play on Saturday?

Leddie Brown is the best player on the offense and is the easy answer. They’ll feed him the ball (he’s the only RB getting serious snaps at this point) and try to get it to him in creative ways. Other than Leddie, Winston Wright has been a Tavon Austin-esque weapon on kick returns and they have to do a better job getting him the ball on offense. He has the potential to score every time he touches the ball.

We ask about this every year, but what’s your favorite variety of pepperoni roll?

I’m pretty basic on this. Sliced pepperoni and cheese. Nothing fancy. Sticks are weird.

Who is the greatest West Virginia alum outside of sports?

The easy answer here is Don Knotts, but I have a soft spot for Chris Sarandon who played Prince Humperdinck in one of my all time favorite movies, The Princess Bride and voiced Jack Skellington in the Nightmare Before Christmas. Billy Mays attended WVU but did not graduate, which is entirely on brand.

OU is 8-0 versus WVU since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012.

Let the six-time Big 12 title defense begin! This weekend at the Palace on the Prairie, under the lights, Lincoln Riley and his No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) will host Neal Brown and his West Virginia Mountaineers (2-1) to open conference play. OU hasn’t looked incredibly sharp to start the 2021 season, but with another game comes another opportunity.

In case you missed it, if you plan on going to the game, make sure your phone battery is charged come kick-off, because OU wants to do a special ‘Light up the Night’ presentation where all the fans hold up their devices and shine their flashlights at the same time. It should look great in-person and on television, so do your part and spread the word.

On Friday, Oklahoma officially revealed the alternate uniform combination the players will be donning this Saturday night. Personally, I’m a big fan of the white helmet/black stripe look. Boomer!

Date, Time & TV: Saturday, Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC

Line: Oklahoma -17 (as of Friday at 4 p.m. CT)

O/U: 56.5

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Major Storylines

Long time, no see, West Virginia

The last time Oklahoma played WVU on the football field, Jalen Hurts was OU’s quarterback, as was Austin Kendall for the Mountaineers (he now starts for Louisiana Tech). Also, the iconic Sooner Schooner took a tumble that thankfully looked scarier than it turned out to be.

That game was all the way back in 2019. Last season, these two teams were originally scheduled to play once again, but COVID-19 related issues eventually led to the contest’s cancellation. Ultimately, it worked out fairly well for both squads, but especially Oklahoma, who still made it back to the Big 12 Championship Game and claimed a sixth consecutive conference title.

After being forced to take a break in the series last year, it will be interesting to see how Lincoln Riley’s group matches up with Neal Brown, who is now in his third year in Morgantown despite only facing the champs once thus far.

Can Spencer Rattler throw his way out of his funk?

After seeing how Rattler finished the 2020 season, a lot was expected of the now redshirt sophomore coming into 2021. Although he’s not playing terribly by any measure, he has made some questionable decisions with the ball that are eerily reminiscent of his erratic play as a young starter last September.

If this team wants to achieve all of its goals, including winning the Big 12, returning to the College Football Playoff and advancing to the national championship game, Rattler will have to take the next step in his progression as a quarterback. Fortunately, he’ll have a prime opportunity to show he’s making those moves in the right direction against a capable West Virginia defense.

Watch out for backup WVU QB Garrett Greene

West Virginia’s starting redshirt senior QB Jarret Doege has a live arm, but it’s no secret that his greatest weakness is making plays with his legs. That’s where backup QB Garrett Greene comes in. In two games this season, the redshirt freshman has amassed 126 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries (7.0 average yards per carry). Now, at 5’10 and 193 pounds, he’s not a physically imposing threat as a runner, but he’s agile enough to pick up a first down or more with the ball in his hands. Oklahoma’s D-line and linebackers need to stay alert when No. 6 comes in on offense, because it’s highly likely that they’ll see plenty of Greene in some key situations on Saturday.

Turnovers & Takeaways

One stat that may come as a surprise is the stark difference in turnovers between Oklahoma and West Virginia. Entering this weekend, the Sooners have an impressive turnover margin of (+5), which is tied for 7th nationally. On the other side, the Mountaineers have a TO margin of (-6), which is near the very bottom of the FBS at 127th. If OU continues to take care of the ball while also creating extra possessions for itself, and if WVU continues to plague itself with mistakes of this variety, it’s going to be an extremely long night for the ‘Eers.

Something has to give in the red zone

Coming into college football’s Week Four, Oklahoma’s offense is No. 1 in the nation when it comes to scoring in the red zone (for teams with greater than 15 attempts). The Sooners come up empty only once out of 18 tries after reaching the opposition’s 20-yard line. Meanwhile, West Virginia’s defense also ranks 1st in the red zone, as they’ve let just four of 11 total red zone trips result in points, including a mere two touchdowns

Whenever OU breaches the red zone this weekend, something will have to give. Keep an eye on if those drives in particular are ending in points, and if they are, take note on if those points are from the end zone or the uprights.

Prediction

Ask any Sooner fan, and they’ll tell you Spencer Rattler and Lincoln Riley haven’t exactly looked like the peak versions of themselves through three games. I see that shift beginning to turn this weekend against West Virginia. Although the Mountaineers’ defense is a respectable unit, I predict they’ll be walking into a buzz saw after last week’s poor showing against Nebraska left a lot to be desired. Defensively, OU is going to feast in the backfield, but WVU’s Garrett Greene and Leddie Brown will cause enough problems to make things interesting. In the end, I predict this to be Oklahoma’s most complete performance from start to finish (not counting the Western Carolina paycheck game). After the game, the talk and concerns about Rattler will come to a whisper, and all will be right in the world.

Oklahoma 41, West Virginia 17

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Here are some scattershot thoughts on OU’s next opponent.

The West Virginia Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012 with hopes of riding the momentum in football built during a successful stint in the Big East. They haven’t gotten over the conference’s biggest hump, however, going winless against the Oklahoma Sooners as members of the Big 12. OU’s imminent departure for the SEC means the two teams may meet on Saturday for the final time as conference rivals.

Through three games, the Sooners appear stuck in a rut. Games against Tulane and Nebraska both finished in unexpectedly close fashion, raising questions about the hype surrounding a team expected to contend for a national championship.

We’ll probably find out this weekend if OU has another gear.

WVU offense

*The Mountaineers rank around the middle of the country in Offensive SP+ at 59th overall. It’s not a bad unit. It’s also not extraordinary. Nothing about it stands out.

*WVU is averaging 70 offensive plays per game through its first three contests, roughly the same as OU. The Eers are averaging 33 passes per game and 37 runs per game.

It’s worth noting that WVU’s 66-0 win over Long Island skewed its play breakdown for the year. The Eers had 87 snaps for the game, including 55 rushing plays. In each of their games against Maryland and Virginia Tech, they had about 60 snaps.

*The Mountaineers can probably count on their rushing attack more than taking it to the air.

Featured runner Leddie Brown is averaging more than 5 yards per carry. WVU fed him the ball 19 times last week against Virginia Tech, and he produced 161 yards and a touchdown. It does bear mentioning that Brown’s first carry of the game on WVU’s second play went 80 yards for a touchdown right through the A gap. The Eers used motion to get a favorable look in the run box and let Brown do the rest.

WVU’s primary quarterback, Jarret Doege, doesn’t bring much to the table as a runner. Backup Garrett Greene does check in on occasion to give defenses something to think about with called runs from the QB spot.

*When the Mountaineers take to the air… things happen. Again, not much stands out – good or bad – here.

Doege doesn’t have a true go-to option among the receiving corps, opting to spread the ball around among five or six consistent targets. Sam James is arguably the best of the receivers. Keep an eye on Brown coming out of the backfield, too – he has nine catches for 92 yards and a score this year.

*The biggest concern in the this matchup for WVU has to be the Oklahoma pass rush. The ‘Eers have already allowed seven sacks this season, and they haven’t seen anything yet like what the Sooners are bringing on Saturday. Look for WVU to lean on the quick game when they’re throwing against OU in hopes of cranking out solid gains and potentially exploiting shoddy tackling by the defensive backs.

WVU defense

*The best word to describe the WVU defense: resourceful. The talent on the side of the ball won’t overwhelm most of the teams on its schedule, but they do just enough well enough.

The ‘Eers come in at 31st overall in Defensive SP+. It helps that they’re surrendering just 2.6 yards on average when opponents run the ball against them.

On the other hand, WVU looks vulnerable through the air. Opponents are averaging seven yards per throw against WVU, and they’re moving the ball efficiently. WVU’s D has a passer rating of 141.0, 94th in the country.

Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

*The Mountaineers run hybrid defensive fronts and usually keep five defensive backs on the field. Personnel-wise, the headliner is defensive lineman Dante Stills. He combined with brother Darius last season to give WVU one of the better duos on the interior in the Big 12. Now Dante is showing what he can do on his own. Stills has the size (6-4, 280 pounds) and athleticism to slide around to any spot on the line.

Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Watch out for VanDarius Cowan, though. A former member of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Cowan has struggled to stay healthy since he transferred to WVU after the 2017 season. This year, he has started all three games at the Bandit position, which is akin to a RUSH outside linebacker for OU. The injuries have robbed Cowan of some of the explosiveness that made him a coveted recruit coming out of high school, but he can still create problems behind the line of scrimmage.

*Given the inconsistency of OU’s passing game this year, the Sooners’ ability to strike through the air will go a long way towards determining their fate Saturday night.

Maryland found a lot to like in that regard versus WVU in the first week of the season. Taulia Tagovailoa completed 26-of-36 pass attempts in the game for 332 yards and three TDs. The combination of lanky wideout Dontay Demus and jitterbug Rakim Jarrett caught 12 balls for 255 yards and a couple scores.

The Terrapins scorched WVU in a number of ways. At times, they used multiple deep routes to open up space on underneath routes. In other cases, UMD used the Mountaineers’ aggressiveness against them with screens and delay routes that victimized WVU defenders who got too far upfield.

This potentially sets up freshman receiver Mario Williams for a big game.

They also recap OU’s uninspiring win over Nebraska a week ago and look ahead to the Sooners’ upcoming game against West Virginia.

Blatant Homerism host Allen Kenney and weekly guest (and Allen’s brother) The Skinny offer their best bets in college football for week four of the 2021 season. Games on the slate this week include Texas A&M-Arkansas, Notre Dame-Wisconsin and Texas-Texas Tech. They also recap OU’s uninspiring win over Nebraska a week ago and look ahead to the Sooners’ upcoming game against West Virginia.

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NORMAN – University of Oklahoma senior Jocelyn Alo has been named a finalist for the 91st Amateur Athletic Union James E. Sullivan Award, the AAU announced earlier this week.