Red Raiders Week 8 Opponent Preview: West Virginia Mountaineers
It's Week 8 of the 2022 season, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-3, 1-2) have had some success in new coach Joey McGuire's first season, but have also shown some deficiencies.
The Red Raiders come out of a much-needed bye week after being on the road for back-to-back losses against ranked opponents Kansas State and Oklahoma State.
Tech certainly seems headed in the right direction in Year 1 under McGuire, but there are still questions about who should be the starting quarterback.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (3-3, 1-2) are in their fourth season under coach Neal Brown and also are working with questions after 7 weeks. Brown is now 20-21 all-time as the head coach of the Mountaineers. This is a “prove it” year for Brown and his staff.
The Mountaineers struggled on offense a season ago, scoring 25.2 points per game (9th in the Big 12). In 2022, they've raised that average to 39 points per game.
West Virginia finished 6-7 in 2021 with a loss to Minnesota in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Make sure to follow along at RedRaiderReview.com as we preview every matchup for Texas Tech during the 2022 season.
West Virginia Mountaineers
2022 Record: 3-3 (1-2 Big 12)
Head Coach: Neal Brown
Brown enters his 4th season with the Mountaineers and holds a 17-18 overall record.
Offensive Set: Air Raid
Defensive Set: 4-2-5
Offense:
There is optimism in Morgantown on offense after Neal Brown brought in transfer quarterback JT Daniels from Georgia. Daniels excelled as the starter at USC and Georgia, but injuries have plagued his career. If Daniels is anything like he was fully healthy at his previous stops, the Mountaineers will be improved on offense.
The Mountaineers also return all five starters on the offensive line for the first time since accurate starting production data began in 2006.
Graham Harrell, the new offensive coordinator, brings a lot of excitement to Morgantown with his Air Raid offense. Harrell led productive offenses at USC each of the last three seasons.
Offensive starters:
QB: JT Daniels
RB: Tony Mathis
WR (X): Bryce Ford-Wheaton
WR (Z): Kaden Prather
WR (H): Reese Smith
WR (Y): Sam James
TE: Brian Polendey
LT: Wyatt Milum
LG: James Gmiter
C: Zach Frazier
RG: Jordan White
RT: Doug Nester
Defense:
The defense has been the strength of Neal Brown’s squad in each of his seasons as the Mountaineer head coach.
The Mountaineers allowed 23.8 points per game in 2021 (5th in the Big 12). Injuries were an issue all season on defense, despite a respectable product.
The Mountaineers have a lot of veteran production to replace on defense. Coordinator Jordan Lesley will have to earn his paycheck in 2022 if the Mountaineers want to match their defensive production from recent years.
Defensive Starters:
DE: Sean Martin
DT: Dante Stills
NT: Jordan Jefferson
BAN: Jared Bartlett
WLB: Lance Dixon
SLB: Lee Kpogba
CB: Rashad Ajayi
CB: Wesley McCormick
SPEAR: Davis Mallinger
FS: Aubrey Burks
CS: Marcis Floyd
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