A fistful of questions as No. 13 West Virginia (5-1, 3-1) prepares to host Baylor (4-3, 2-2) on Thursday night:
Can the Mountaineers regain their swagger?
Those Big 12 Championship game reservations are on hold after a 30-14 setback in Ames, yet the Mountaineers still control their own destiny. For encouragement’s sake, one need only rewind to last year when Oklahoma recovered from a home loss to Iowa State to win the league and reach the College Football Playoff.
West Virginia hasn’t typically been a strong finisher in the Big 12 — going 26-30 after September — but this team purportedly is blessed with maturity, a special quarterback and stronger chemistry than previous years. And that combination should result in a steadying bounce-back performance after the bye week.
Also from the stats pile: Dana Holgorsen is 18-13 with more than seven days to prepare, but when a Power Five opponent is awaiting, that record is only 13-13.
More flag football?
Baylor fans certainly haven’t forgotten the penalty-laden game in Morgantown that derailed their 2014 playoff hopes. Even having seen the game first-hand, it’s still hard to fathom those egregious numbers — 18 flags and 215 yards … AGAINST ONE TEAM! (West Virginia’s 14 penalties for 138 yards were overshadowed.)
To be sure, Baylor’s defensive backs were clutching and lunging at Kevin White all afternoon, creating a frenzy of pass-interference calls. There also were unsportsmanlike conducts, a kick-catch interference and even a leaping infraction on a field-goal try.
On a 2016 visit, when the Bears lost 24-21, they were struck by 12 penalties for 100 yards. And WVU felt the sting last season in Waco, suffering 134 penalty yards on 11 flags.
In a series that has become a referee’s clinic, Baylor (102nd) and West Virginia (115th) are once again among this season’s most penalized teams in the FBS.
Three times this season — against Youngstown State, Texas Tech and Iowa State — the Mountaineers have piled up more than 100 penalty yards.
Have you Hurd?
After struggling to stop Iowa State’s Hakeem Butler, the WVU defense faces a more dynamic receiver in Jalen Hurd. The 6-foot-4 Tennessee transfer has 47 catches for 622 yards, including 33 that went for 10-plus yards, which ranks fifth nationally.
Hurd has three touchdowns receiving and three rushing, with Baylor using him in goal-line packages.
The former five-star recruit came within 440 yards of becoming Tennessee’s career rushing leader and now has re-positioned himself as an NFL-caliber receiver.
How can Will Grier escape his funk?
From those brutal red-zone interceptions against Kansas to being at the forefront of a complete offensive meltdown in Ames, the rough patch visited upon Will Grier left West Virginia’s quarterback shell-shocked.
Does regaining his form require digging deeper into film study or playing a more carefree style?
“There is a fine line with it. You can’t give him too much,” said WVU offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. “That was about going back to the basics and going back to coaching the fundamentals of each play we had. It’s about each concept.
“There’s a lot going on for Will back there. There’s a lot going on for any quarterback that’s in the game, especially when they’re getting hit.”
This is a familiar tug-of-war when quarterbacks need to mix discipline with freewheeling flare.
“When things aren’t open, they start pressing a little bit, they’re trying to make plays,” Spavital said. “I had the same problems with Johnny Manziel at times. You don’t want to handcuff how special they are and how they can extend plays.”
Will Baylor go the Matt?
After a 1-11 debut, Matt Rhule appears to have stabilized a program beset by off-the-field shadiness. The Bears remain in the hunt for bowl-eligibility and nearly stunned No. 9 Texas in Austin two weeks ago.
Now we must discern whether that 23-17 loss at DKR was truly a breakthrough moment for Baylor, or simply a case of Texas sleepwalking.
“They look way better than last year’s Baylor football team,” said Mountaineers safety Dravon Askew-Henry, who was part of a defense that narrowly survived last season’s 38-36 win in Waco.
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