After narrowly escaping a comeback attempt last Saturday at the hands of Maryland and amidst the conference realignment speculation, West Virginia readies themselves for their biggest game of the season this Saturday. #2 LSU Tigers (3-0) come into Morgantown to take on the #16 Mountaineers (3-0) at Milan Puskar Stadium 8 p.m. on ABC. If the rumors of West Virginia filing an application for the SEC conference are true, then they will get a sample size of what the weekly competition will be like as they get set to battle the Tigers.
“You don’t win three national championships in a decade and be average and that doesn’t just turn south very quickly. They’ve done a good job with sustaining their program. They’ve been in two big games this year, which they’ve handled each opponent fairly easily. To say it’s not going to be a challenge would be crazy,” coach Holgorsen said during his weekly press conference.
While Holgorsen knows that Saturday is going to be a challenge for his team, he wants them to understand that it’s just another game.
“We started focusing on LSU Sunday night, which is the same routine for every team we play,” Holgorsen said.
“They all count as one win. If you put that much into one, then it takes away from the others. You can be 4-0, lose the next one and be 4-1, or win this one and lose the next one; the record comes out the same. Teams that win championships have to have the ability to understand that and have the ability to be able to prepare each week the same way and put yourself in a position to understand what your opponent is doing and what it’s going to take to win the game. Parity is upon us and we’ve got a lot of teams on our schedule that are capable of beating us. Our job is to prepare the same way each week and try to get the win regardless of who it is,” Holgorsen added.
With the Mountaineers designating this game as a “Gold Rush” and with College Gameday in town, there’s no question that the fans are going to come fired up looking for an upset. With LSU being from the SEC, they play in front of packed houses on a weekly basis and big crowds are normal for them. However, Coach Les Miles is impressed with what he’s heard about Morgantown.
“People say Morgantown is a wonderful place to play, very much like an SEC opponent and venue and we look forward to it,” Miles said during his weekly press conference.
While the fans will be behind the Mountaineers in full force Saturday night, it’s going to take a lot more than that to defeat the Tigers. The Mountaineers are looking to finally get their up-tempo offense to gel and give the Tigers problems. However, LSU defeated Oregon, the quickest team in the nation, fairly easily to open up the season. Quarterback Geno Smith will face a defense unlike one he’s seen before as LSU is loaded as a unit. Eric Reid, Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne are just a few of the faces manning the stout secondary for the Tigers.
If you thought the secondary was good, LSU’s defensive line is just as good, if not better. The Tigers have allowed only 143 rushing yards through three games, the lowest amount since 2007. You heard Penn State called “Linebacker University” for their knack of turning their linebackers into pros. Well, start calling LSU “Defensive Line University” as they’ve had at least one lineman drafted in each of the past eight years, including Tyson Jackson, Marcus Spears, Glenn Dorsey and most recently, Drake Nevis. The Mountaineers are averaging just over 78-yards per game on the ground. If the Mountaineers are unable to run the ball against the Tigers at all, then it could be a long night.
Senior defensive end Bruce Irvin needs to pressure LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee consistently in hopes of slowing down the Tigers attack and causing the senior quarterback to rush some throws. LSU wide receiver Russell Shepard will make his season debut against the Mountaineers this Saturday after being suspended the first three games of the season. Expect to see a lot of Shepard early on.
” We will be using ‘Shep’ in a number of ways on special teams and with our wide receiving core. Anytime you have a veteran that you know where he is going to be, it just gives you another weapon to use,” Miles told reporters.
The Mountaineers need to get the most out of running backs Andrew Buie and Vernard Roberts to try to keep the offense balance and involve wide receiver Tavon Alston as much as possible. Alston, who coach Miles said was “very, very dangerous,” will also look to create havoc on special teams.
West Virginia will come out fired up and ride the momentum of the crowd to keep it close early on. However, against a program that’s as good as LSU, I don’t foresee the best for the Mountaineers in the second half. Look for LSU to pull ahead for good in the third quarter, 24-14.
Photo Credits: Associated Press
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