West Virginia is set to open the season on the road against No. 7 Penn State in primetime Saturday on NBC and there are definitely still some unknowns heading into the contest.
But that isn’t different than any other season opener.
The purpose of fall camp is to put players in as many difficult or challenging situations as possible, but you truly never know how players will react, especially newcomers, until they’re in the moment. That obviously isn’t the case for experienced pieces on the roster but outside that it’s hard to gauge.
That is further complicated by the fact that there is a checklist for every possible scenario that could unfold on offense, defense of special teams that coaches must cover in either a meeting or practice.
“You don’t know until you know,” Brown said.
Offensive coordinator Chad Scott recognizes that while the team has been playing against each other for over a month, the impact of an actual game with over 100,000 fans in the stands can cloud things.
In terms of what Penn State could throw at West Virginia there also is the possibility for some wrinkles on either side of the ball, but the coaching staff has had plenty of time to prepare for that as well.
“Just worrying about you see and adjust as we go,” Scott said. “We show the guys what we’ve seen and the things we’ve seen multiple times from what they’ve shown but the best thing we can do is be great at what we’re great at.”
Brown believes his team had a very productive fall camp but now they’re to the point where he is simply excited to watch how his football team performs in a raucous environment. The Mountaineers are listed as considerable underdogs in the season opener and Brown believes there are things his team will need to do in order to compete against the Nittany Lions.
On offense, West Virginia will need to rely on their strength on the offensive line and win some one-on-one battles against a very talented Penn State defensive line. The offense has to also show the ability to break tackles against a unit that is filled with talented pieces.
Defensively, the Mountaineers need to win in coverage matchups given the impact that the Penn State running backs can have on the game. So that means that the defense has to avoid giving up shots down the field and tackle in one-on-one situations as well.
Brown has been part of some upsets in the past during his time at Troy and in order to win those type of games it starts first with a belief throughout the team. Then you must eliminate errors that can get teams beat such as turnovers, procedural penalties and missed assignments.
Finally, it comes down to winning those 50/50 balls, or making critical plays in order to get the game into the fourth quarter with a chance to win.
There’s a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to how a college football team is going to come out and perform in the season opener but the wait is almost over.
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