Sunday Morning Thoughts: WVU Has Major Problems and No Quick Fix in Sight

Winning football games isn't easy. If it were, schools wouldn't be firing coaches left and right. Heck, even some of the best coaches in college football are finding that out this year, just ask Dabo Swinney at Clemson, Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State, or even Bill Belichick at North Carolina. Those three and Rich Rodriguez are all struggling for different reasons, but they all share the same feeling — disappointment.

For WVU, the biggest concern is that there are no easy fixes. Offensively is pretty much where all of the issues lie, so that's where we'll keep the focus here this morning.

Starting up front, they continue to roll out the same five guys, hoping that repping it out will fix the issues. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to work. There's a reason why Kimo Makane'ole didn't sniff the field as an offensive lineman at LSU and then had to switch to defense a year ago. That's your starting right guard. And then at right tackle, you have Ty'Kieast Crawford, who couldn't start regularly at Charlotte or Arkansas,

If Josh Aisosa (backup right guard) and Xavier Bausley (backup right tackle) are that far behind those two, then you have a major issue on your hands. There have been way too many gaffes committed through the first four games of the season, and at some point, you have to be willing to mix it up and try a new lineup. Also, Makane'ole and Crawford are done after this season, so if you're going to have issues up front, you might as well have them with younger guys who can gain experience and develop their game for next year.

Because the offensive line is so leaky, it gives Nicco Marchiol zero shot to be successful in this offense. I've said it a million times, and I'll say it a million more: you can't have a pocket passing quarterback when you have no pocket to operate from.

It's not Marchiol's fault. Yes, there are some things he would love to have back, including getting the ball out faster, but it really boils down to the protection. If the trouble continues up front, then you're going to need a mobile option back there to run away from the pressure when the pocket collapses.

The other reason why Marchiol is up against it is that if Tye Edwards is out, there's zero run game. I'm sorry, but Clay Ash isn't getting the job done, and I don't understand why he continues to get carries. I get you want to reward him for busting his tail and always doing the right thing, and maybe Cyncir Bowers and Diore Hubbard aren't where you'd like for them to be, but running Ash, who is averaging 2.7 yards per carry, isn't the answer.

With Ash in the backfield, you have zero burst, zero speed, making life easy for the defense. Pairing him with a pocket passing quarterback, and well, this is why you continue to see three-and-out after three-and-out.

It sucks for Marchiol because he's a great kid and a great competitor, but he needs certain things to happen in this offense to be successful. Jaylen Henderson and the other mobile options in that room don't need as much to go right because they can make something happen out of a busted play.

I don't think very many people forecasted a 31-point blowout loss yesterday, including myself. I understood it was a terrible situation for the Mountaineers because of last week's Backyard Brawl win and Kansas stewing in its loss to its rival for two weeks, but what played out was not because of the situation. There are glaring issues all over the place on offense and special teams, and there's no telling when or if those things are correctable.

Even in the age of the transfer portal, it's going to take time for Rodriguez to build this thing back up. Year two probably isn't going to be all that fun for the fans either, if we're being honest. WVU loses a boatload of seniors, and the underclassmen on the roster haven't shown much of anything to this point, so you'll be banking on their offseason development, a dozen or so transfers, and a freshman class.

Basically, what I'm trying to get at here is that there's a possibility that things get worse before they get better.

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