West Virginia will look to bounce back this weekend against FCS opponent Albany which could present some challenges for the Mountaineers.
The Great Danes are coming off an 11-4 season where they advanced to the semifinals after being co-champions of the Coastal Athletic Association. Now, there has been some considerable turnover from that team but under head coach Greg Gattuso, Albany has been active in the transfer portal.
“This is the best FCS program that we’ve had coming here since the first game in 2019 when we played James Madison,” head coach Neal Brown said. “And so they’ve got our attention.”
This year is no different with over 20 division one transfers.
“We’ve got an opponent coming in this week that has played football at a high level. This Albany team, the thing that sticks out to me the most is I watched them last night and this morning is extremely well coached,” Brown said.”
The Mountaineers fell 34-12 against Penn State but are looking forward to the opportunity to again play in front of their home crowd under the lights.
The Great Danes will rely on running the football and use a lot of different formations to accomplish that with running back Griffin Woodell leading the way after rushing for over 900 yards and 7 touchdowns a season ago.
They have good size on the offensive line and have a talented group that features several players that could play Power Four football. Myles Burkett is the quarterback, a transfer from Wisconsin, and completed 12-26 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown in the season opener.
"They know who to block and they do what they do and they're good at it," defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said.
The defense features a four-down look that plays gap-sound football and tackles. The defensive line is well-coached despite the fact that several players have gone onto other power four programs in recent years showcasing the development there and they have corners capable of playing man. But even with a lot of new faces, the Mountaineers are expecting to see a similar brand of football.
"Head guy has been there for a while, defensive coordinator was there last year. So they’re going to recruit guys that fit within their system. Obviously we got one game to work off of so we watched that game and watched the game last year," coordinator Chad Scott said.
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