This is the biggest game of the year for WVU. The question on everyone’s mind is, can the Mountaineers pull off the upset against LSU? If the Mountaineers can play tough all four quarters of play, then they should be able to beat the Tigers.
One thing the Mountaineers will have to focus on is holding onto the ball. Last week they gave up one fumble and almost a second, if the ball hadn’t gone out of bounds. LSU will take advantage of this and try to pop the ball loose as much as possible. If
the Mountaineers keep a tight hold on the ball then they should give up no easy turnovers. On the topic of turnovers the receivers will have to play tough in order for them to get passes and not allow Geno Smith to throw any interceptions. If the Mountaineers can keep from giving the ball away then their chances of winning improve.
The other area of concern for the Mountaineers is their defense. Last week they proved that they can make interceptions. The defense will have to create as many turnovers as possible if they want to stop the surging LSU offense. They also have got to get into the backfield and make sacks. That is the biggest problem the defense has had this year, Bruce Irvin has been held at bay and Keith Tandy hasn’t gotten a chance to bring down the quarterback. The Mountaineers’ defense will have to do whatever it takes to create turnovers or sacks if they want to keep the Tigers’ offense off the field. The secondary also cannot the LSU receivers get past them otherwise they will burn them for huge yards and probably a few touchdowns.
There are some things the Mountaineers' offense will have to do if they want to beat the LSU defense. If their passing game can continue to produce like it has in the previous three games there should be no reason why they can’t produce big gains and even bigger touchdowns. The running game will also have to make more of an impact this game if they want to tire out the LSU defense which if they do, will allow for the passing game to pick them apart it the later quarters.
Of course besides the game, the other big news in Morgantown is that College GameDay will be here to cover the game. This has gotten students even more excited for the game and it will increase the intensity at the game as well. For this game WVU students set a new record by requesting 17,056 tickets and only about 11,000 were granted tickets. Students have also been camping out for days in order to get a good spot for GameDay.
So if the Mountaineers' defense can create turnovers and get sacks it should stop the LSU offense in its tracks. The Mountaineers’ offense will also have to run the ball since Geno Smith can’t do everything by himself and it will also cause the LSU defense to breakdown after a while. If the Mountaineers can figure out a way to pull off a win then Morgantown will glow from the fire of the burning couches.
Prediction: WVU-20 LSU-34 (It pains me to do that)
WVU Player of the Game: Geno Smith 19-34 250 yards 2 TDS 2 INTS
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