Bears Week 6 Opponent Preview: West Virginia Mountaineers

Can the Bears repeat their dominant performance over the Mountaineers from last season?

Author:
Connor Zimmerlee
Publish date:
Jul 11, 2022 3:43 PM EDT

The Baylor Bears enter their Week 6 matchup against the West Virginia Mountaineers coming off of their bye week. Their bye weeks comes after what will likely be a slugfest with the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a rematch of the Big 12 championship game.

Baylor will hit the road for its matchup against West Virginia, hoping to see the same result as last seasons game which saw the Bears win easily 45-20. The Mountaineers also come off a bye week for this game, as the two teams will square off on a Thursday night for this one.

If the Bears want to repeat as Big 12 champions, winning conference games in tough road environments will be a crucial element in them doing so. While the Mountaineers likely won't be the best team the Bears play all season, Morgantown is always a hostile environment for visiting teams.

As we continue our weekly season preview series here at InsidetheBears, after taking a closer look at Oklahoma State last week we move on to West Virginia and start off with a preview of their projected starters on both sides of the ball.

West Virginia

2021 Record: 6-7 overall, 4-5 in Big 12

Head coach: Neal Brown

Neal Brown is 17-18 as the head coach of West Virginia

Offensive Set: Air Raid Style

To say that offense was a point of struggle for the Mountaineers in 2021 would be an understatement. The Mountaineers would only average 25 points and 371 yards per game, good for ninth and eighth in the Big 12 respectively.

However, while their offense as a whole did struggle, their passing game was the lone bright spot for the Mountaineers. Their passing offense was fourth in the Big 12, averaging 248 yards per game through the air. With the addition of quarterback JT Daniels, the Mountaineers could see themselves taking the next step offensively and improving across the board.

Projected starters on Offense:

QB JT Daniels

RB Tony Mathis Jr.

WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton

WR Sam James

WR Reese Smith

TE Mike O’Laughlin

LT Wyatt Milnum

LG James Gmiter

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C Zach Frazier

RG Doug Nester

RT Brendan Yates

Defensive Set: 3-3-5

While the offensive side of the ball was a major question mark at times for the Mountaineers, the same can not be said about their defense. They held opponents to an average of 351 yards per game, good for fifth in the Big 12.

The Mountaineers were stout against the pass, allowing only 211.5 yards per game through the air. However, they would sometimes struggle to stop the run, allowing opponents to rush for 139 yards per game.

Projected starters on Defense:

DL Taijh Alston

DT Dante Stills

NG Jordan Jefferson

LB Lee Kpogba

LB Lance Dixon

LB Jared Bartlett

CB Charles Woods

CB Naim Muhammad

SPEAR Davis Mallinger

S Hershey McLaurin

CAT- Aubrey Burks