Good Monday morning, Mountaineer fans! It's time to crack open this week's West Virginia On SI mailbag.
From @MrEd315:
Q: What’s your crystal ball, ouija board or friendly neighborhood psychic medium saying about how many wins WVU football will have the rest of the season?
A: Ooh, I know it's Halloween time, but you scared me with the Ouija board mention, haha! I think two is possible, and maybe a third if the defense shows any signs of life. Kansas is the one you absolutely have to get. It's at home; they're not very good, and they don't have a terrific offense. This team is good enough to outscore people, like we just saw, so maybe there's a surprise victory thrown in there somewhere, possibly Houston or Utah. The Utes are 3-0 in league play but were in a one-score game late with Iowa State, up three on Kansas heading to the 4th, and barely beat Colorado.
From @wvufan2023:
Q: What does the football team need to do in order to keep the momentum going, and what are some different things that you wanna see from them in the game with TCU next week?
A: Offensively, keep playing clean football. Hawkins has two turnovers this season, Cook has three fumbles, and DJ Epps has a fumble. With the way the defense is playing, you can't gift possessions away. Defensively, it's pretty simple — be where you are supposed to be and tackle somebody. As strangely as this may sound, there were good moments on that side of the ball against Cincinnati. The problem was, they didn't last long enough.
From @MmaMountaineer:
Q: Told you I had a feeling we were gonna win this one. Still, though, what the heck are we gonna do with this defense? And how do we keep MH Jr. from transferring? We need him for next year. He’s gonna be vital to keep if the money can bring in some valuable defensive players next.
A: Good call! Defensively, whew! It's anyone's guess. As for Hawkins, it's not a money-chasing situation; I can tell you that. Now, obviously, West Virginia has to pay him what he's worth, but he's not going to bolt because of money. It's going to be about the situation. WVU has to make sure they have enough money after paying him to field a competitive roster, and if it's one he thinks puts him in the best situation, he's not going anywhere. The Hawkins family loves WVU and has developed a strong relationship with the staff. I wouldn't worry too much right now. As I mentioned last week, West Virginia has already started conversations with his representation and is working on getting things in place to give him the deal he deserves. I wouldn't expect anything to be done anytime soon, though.
From @Mountiealum97:
Q: Do you see any more wins this season?
A: Two is certainly within reach, and three isn't completely out of the realm of possibility. TCU and Kansas are probably the most winnable games you have left on the schedule. But crazy things happen all the time in college football. You have a bye week to rest and prepare before you play Texas Tech, and you get Houston at home. Do I think they win either of those games? No, but with this offense, anything can happen in a shootout.
From @damunheru:
Q: When the D got a couple stops in the first, it seemed like RR went into his run-the-ball-to-death mode; the offense went 3-and-out. We see the weapons in the pass game. Is he making the games closer than the need be with this approach, especially after the D gets a rare stop?
A: Part of it was just trying to do what they do best and sticking to their bread and butter. Once Cincinnati showed that it could slow down the ground game and he opened it up with the quick-game throws, it put them (Cincinnati) in a vulnerable spot. We will certainly see more of that moving forward.
From @TMRTroopers:
Q: I know it hasn’t been consistent, but are a healthy Strachan and Epps WVU’s best WR duo since Sills/Jennings?
A: Ooh, that's a really good question. You might be onto something here. I think the potential for this duo is there, but unfortunately, we will only see five, maybe six more games of it because of Epps departing at the end of the season. Even in that small stretch where you have both, I think you could certainly make the case for it. There haven't been many strong duos since, though, if we're being honest.
From @PattersonH24821:
Q: What “major” defensive adjustments can we “expect” this week?
A: Nothing major. If anything, a continuation of simplifying things to make it easier for the defense to play fast and free. Even in a game where they gave up over 600 yards of total offense, I think you saw at times when they looked more comfortable with what they were doing. Don't get it twisted, though. It was like a handful of possessions, so there's clearly a TON of room for that group to improve. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
From @jlegg1289:
Q: What is the solution for the defense? Is there one?
A: I'm starting to think there isn't. At this point, you're just going to have to fight through it, get to the offseason, and bring in new guys who can pick things up quicker and have more production under their belt. This portal group had some, but very few were high-level performers at their previous stops.
From @goJohnnyA:
Q: Someone has to ask but.. at some point why not randomly onside kick it to try and steal a possession? The defense has been especially brutal in the second half of games. Though YPP was down in 2H this game.
A: It's such a low-percentage play. But then again, I don't know. Do you have a better chance of forcing a punt or recovering an onside kick? Yikes! The fact that's a hard question shows how poorly that side of the ball has played. If anything, I thought there might have been some consideration to go for it at the end of the game if they didn't get the 3rd and 9 deep ball to Prince Strachan. It's hard to go for it on 4th and 9 from your own two, but if you are going to give up a score, you'd still have time to do something.
From @WVU_Sports_Fan:
Q: Does DJ Epps have any eligibility remaining after this year?!
A: Nope. Unfortunately, this is the end of the road for him at the collegiate level. He spent four years at Troy, so this is his fifth and final year.
To participate in next week's mailbag, send me a DM on X (@Callihan_) reply to my tweet asking for submissions on Saturday, or place your question in the comments section under my post on Facebook.
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