WVSports.com: Staff Predictions: WVU vs. East Carolina
WVSports.com staff members Keenan Cummings, Vernon Bailey and Patrick Kotnik offers their predictions for West Virginia's home opener against East Carolina as well as the key to the game and who needs to be the MVP for the Mountainers.
KEY FOR A WVU WIN?
KC: West Virginia needs to do itself. East Carolina is a struggling program right now and the Mountaineers are coming off an inspiring performance in the opener, albeit a loss. East Carolina has never won a game in Morgantown and will enter this one never having won a road game under second year head coach Scott Montgomery. The Mountaineers don't need to go out of their element and simply take care of business on both sides of the field. It's simple really, the Mountaineers need to take care of the football, run its offense and avoid busts on the defensive side. As long as they play smart this one should lead to a the first win of the 2017 season.
VB: East Carolina is a struggling team right now but West Virginia is coming off of a disappointing loss and they can't afford to have a poor showing against the Pirates. The Mountaineers need to take control early with a balanced offensive attack and the defense needs to pressure ECU's first time starter at quarterback. West Virginia clearly has an advantage at the skill positions but to control the game they must first control both the offensive and defensive lines.
PK: West Virginia cannot afford to overlook East Carolina. The Pirates have shown the ability to compete with and defeat Power Five conference teams in the past, including the Mountaineers. East Carolina’s most recent win against the Mountaineers came in 2008 when the Pirates defeated Virginia Tech and West Virginia in back-to-back weeks. Though this year’s Pirates don’t pose a serious threat to the Mountaineers, history is on West Virginia’s side. East Carolina is 0-13 all-time against the Mountaineers in Morgantown. If West Virginia can come out firing on all cylinders right away, the Pirates will be in for a long game.
WHO NEEDS TO BE MVP?
KC: I'm tempted to say that special teams is the answer here, but I'll save that one for another day. I'm going with the offensive line. East Carolina gave up over 400-yards rushing to James Madison a week ago and struggled to stop the run. West Virginia has a great group of backs that I expect will take advantage of that and the offensive line is going to need to provide protection for quarterback Will Grier when he drops back to throw the football. As long as the offensive line plays well, this offense is going to play well. I expect that West Virginia's offensive line will do that.
VB: Will Grier may very well put up astronomical numbers but Mountaineer running back Justin Crawford can set the tone by helping the offense establish itself. Look for him to do just that as he proves to be West Virginia's MVP in week two.
PK: Senior running back Justin Crawford will be the player to watch on Saturday. Crawford didn’t see a ton of carries against Virginia Tech since West Virginia relied heavily on its passing attack. Still, Crawford managed to rush for 106 yards on 13 carries against arguably the best defense West Virginia will see all season. He’ll be up against an East Carolina defense that allowed 422 rushing yards last week to James Madison, the reigning FCS champions. Unlike like last week, West Virginia this week will likely hand it to Crawford early on to get the ground game going. How Crawford performs when he’s given more carries against a faulty rush defense is something to watch for on Saturday.
SCORE PREDICTION?
PK: West Virginia rolls to a 45-7 victory. Offensively, expect the Mountaineers to utilize their rushing attack mixed in with some passing against East Carolina's defense. Defensively, if Tony Gibson’s unit comes out playing physical and tough as it did last week against the Hokies, West Virginia shouldn’t have much trouble against Duke transfer Thomas Sirk and the East Carolina offense. In the end, West Virginia’s offense will be too much for the Pirates to handle as the Mountaineers earn their first win of the season.
VB: West Virginia has too many weapons for a struggling ECU team and this one could get ugly. The Mountaineers score early and often on their way to a 52-21 win. The majority of the Pirates' offensive success will come against WVU's reserves.
KC: West Virginia should have no trouble dispatching an East Carolina team that lost to an FCS program at home a week ago, although a good one in James Madison. I expect that the Mountaineers are going to avoid a hangover here and pull away from the Pirates early in the game and allow their backups to get some valuable time on the field. I like West Virginia 48-17.
