Way-Too-Early Thoughts on the 2022 WVU Football Season

The Mountaineers ended the 2021 football season on a sour note with an 18-6 loss to Minnesota in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Once again, the defense made enough plays to win the game and truly kept them in it while the offense sputtered all night long. Finishing with a 6-7 record, Neal Brown now has two losing seasons in his first three years on the job. If he doesn't produce results in 2022, he will either be on the hot seat or even worse, fired.

So, what exactly are my thoughts on how the 2022 season will go for the Mountaineers? Lucky for you, I decided to crank this article out the day after the game instead of waiting until the weekend.

Doege's decision

Jarret Doege has been very inconsistent throughout his two plus years as the starting quarterback. For all the bad moments he's had, he has also had some good such as throwing for nearly 400 yards in the win over Iowa State earlier this season.

Utilizing the extra year of eligibility makes sense for a lot of guys. Some players use it to come back and try to either improve their draft stock or pop up on the NFL's radar. Let's be honest, Doege isn't going to be next year's Kenny Pickett. He's played five years of college football so at this point, he is what he is which may sound a bit harsh but that's the reality. What is another offseason going to do? It's not going to increase his mobility, decision-making, or footwork to a point where he becomes one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12.

Neal Brown knows he's got to win next year which leads me to believe he would like to have Doege back instead of inserting one of the three young guys (Garrett Greene, Will Crowder, or Nicco Marchiol). I also get that much of the fanbase would like to see Marchiol start from day one but in my opinion, dipping into the transfer portal wouldn't be a bad idea. There are a ton of starting quarterbacks in the portal and a handful that could elevate the play of this offense immediately. If Doege returns, the ceiling for this team is seven wins and that might be generous considering the schedule.

Challenging slate

Speaking of the schedule, it's not an easy one. The Mountaineers open up the season with road games at Pitt and then at Virginia Tech a couple of weeks later.

I have no idea what to expect from the Hokies in their first year under new head coach Brent Pry, but that's a tough environment to play in and they're not going to forget losing at the goal line in 2021.

Sure, Pitt is losing some key playmakers, such as Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett, but they return their entire offensive line, Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison, and add USC transfer QB Kedon Slovis to the fold - they're going to be pretty good once again.

In terms of Big 12 play, they will hit the road for games against Texas, Texas Tech, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State. Unless some major changes happen, WVU looks like they'll finish in the middle of the pack in 2022, at best.

What Neal Brown needs to do to keep his job

I don't believe Brown should be fired this offseason for many reasons. The most obvious one being, you've already missed the window to hire a quality coach. There may be a few out there but hiring a coach after the early signing period isn't a good idea. Many of those kids could try and back out of their NLI and the NCAA would likely allow them to.

As far as on the field goes, it's eight wins. Minimum. I do not expect this team to just all of a sudden figure everything out and go from 6-7 to being a nine, ten win team and competing for a Big 12 title. No one in their right mind would believe that. However, getting bowl eligible just isn't good enough anymore. The honeymoon stage between Brown and WVU was over after the 2020 season. Going 6-6 or 7-5 just isn't going to cut it. Now if it's 7-5 with a bowl win to finish 8-5, I don't think many would be too upset with that, especially with potentially a first-year starting quarterback. If he doesn't get to eight wins in the regular season or via a bowl game, I'd have to think he's on the hot seat at the very least.

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