The Dire, Desperate, Dreary and Delusional State of the West Virginia Mountaineers

 

Everyone in the great fan base of the Mountaineers will try to continue to be faithful, and be strong through thick and thin, especially me. I'll never quit loving them.

But here's the thing: West Virginians can't be delusional about this.

• For the first time in over a decade, the Mountaineers are not going bowling.
• WVU just lost to one of the worst teams in all of college football, the Kansas Jayhawks.
• West Virginia has 3 oh-so-close losses, to Texas, Texas Tech, and Kansas State. that could be blamed on some questionable decisions by coaches. One major point is Shannon Dawson and Dana Holgerson's questionable handling of the school's quarterback competition.
• The team lost to a mediocre Maryland team 37-0, barely escaped an FCS school of William & Mary, and beat an underwhelming TCU squad in overtime.

I know they are a young team, but West Virginia's defense is so full of great talent, and a few great SENIORS, that they shouldn't be giving up 31 points to the Kansas Jayhawks. 

They shouldn't give up 7 points to the Kansas Jayhawks.

If the Mountaineers had won their last two games, against Kansas and Iowa State, some of the worst teams in the country, I would have still been barely behind head coach Dana Holgerson. It's over for me. It's been way too inconsistent this year. I'm sorry to all of those who say that Holgerson hasn't been given enough time, but Holgerson is not a good head coach in college football. He simply just doesn't get his kids well prepared enough for football games, and can't fix problems that would be easy fixes if he'd realize them. One of the most embarrassing cases on the team is with special teams coordinator Joe Deforest. Deforest, who is under an NCAA investigation for cheating during his time at Oklahoma State, was defensive coordinator last year at WVU, and did a horrible job. Holgerson actually decided to keep him around, as special teams coordinator, where Deforest has ruined the corp. What I'm afraid is about Deforest, is Holgerson is letting his friendship with Deforest come before actually playing good football. I just think, that during the offseason, that if Deforest isn't the first to go, that the whole athletic department has some SERIOUS problems. And maybe I'm wrong about Dana Holgerson. Maybe he is trying his best here, but the incompetence of OC Shannon Dawson, DC Keith Patterson, and Deforest are really the people killing this team. But, as the old saying goes, the team is a direct reflection of the head coach. Dana Holgerson needs to be fired as well.  But there is a problem in the logic that all of WVU's problems would vanish is Holgerson would get the ax.

In order to jettison Holgerson, WVU has to buy out his contract, at $11 million. After he's gone, there might not enough money for the program to go after a good coach, like Texas A&M co-offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. Yeah, things are grim in Morgantown. I hope that, as a Mountaineer fan, the school makes the right decision in the end, but for the next year, it's sad state for a once great program.