Bold Predictions: Texas Christian

After what seems like an eternity since the last West Virginia football game, it is once again time for the Mountaineers to take the field. Depending on how your psyche is slanted these days, you are either excited about the prospect of WVU football or are preparing for the worst.

It has been two long weeks since we last saw the Mountaineers getting thrashed in front of a capacity home crowd. The good news is that the extended time off has given the Mountaineers plenty of time to work out their issues and improve on both sides of the ball. Tomorrow, WVU will get to start their Big XII redemption tour, at home against TCU.

For the Mountaineers, this game cannot be any more important. WVU needs to break this losing streak and playing a banged up TCU squad is the perfect opportunity to do so.

But after the past two games, some of our writers are at a loss for words, so they look to lyrical masters for assistance.

Ken Durbin:

After two straight games of my bold predictions going awry, you’d think that I’d dial it back this week. That’s just not going to happen. We call them bold predictions because we swing for the fences here at HailWV. If they don’t pan out, it just makes more fodder for trolls.

This week, with the weight of BCS and Big XII title hopes all but lifted from his shoulders, I expect Geno Smith to find his Heisman-calibur rhythm again. In a game where the Mountaineers need to make a big statement, look for Smith to show the nation that he is still an elite quarterback.

In the face of a top 25 defense, Geno will lead the Mountaineers to a statement victory. Look for Geno to throw for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns.

For the game, I’m going with the Mountaineers to tighten things up on both offense and defense. West Virginia tops TCU 41-33.

Oct 6, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) on the field before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. West Virginia beat Texas 48-45. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

Brandon Miller:

Here we go again! We’ve had the bye week to lick our wounds and recover a bit from two very, very bad weeks. It took me a while to calm down from being embarrassed on our own turf by Kansas State, but time has given perspective. We’re not in the Big East anymore… we’re playing Big 12 football with Big East players. It’s going to take time to adjust to playing Big 12 ball week in and week out.

We’ll be fine though. If you haven’t already, check out the WVU All-Time fantasy draft the HailWV staff completed this week. It gives you a sense of how many really, really good players have donned the old gold and blue over the years. I had quite a few players on my draft board that didn’t get picked by anyone.

And that doesn’t even touch the defensive side of the ball. We’ve been really good for a really long time, and we will continue to be a really good program in the Big 12.

Up next, TCU comes to Morgantown. I’m apprehensive about what we’re going to see. The defense isn’t going to be much better. The same group of inexperienced players will be playing the same scheme coached by the same coaches- no reason to think anything will change very much. Fortunately, TCU’s offense doesn’t seem to be as talented as the others we’ve seen in conference play this year, so that might keep the numbers more reasonable. But that doesn’t mean that their QB won’t be in the Heisman race after the game though.

The big question is what WVU offense shows up? That will decide the outcome of the game. We’ll win if our offense is clicking. We’ll get blown out otherwise. It’s as simple as that. Usually I have a gut feeling on these things, but I’m at a total loss when it comes to the offense right now.

Game predictions:
-Terrance Garvin will have a solid game and finish up with a sack and 8 tackles.
-Karl Joseph will step up with a big game too and record 10 tackles and an interception.
-Pat Miller will get burned a few times early, get yanked, get reinserted in the 2nd half, make a few good plays, then get burned again and sat down for the rest of the game.
-The play of the secondary will push my blood pressure to dangerous levels at least 10 times.
-Final score; TCU 44, WVU ? – Your guess is as good as mine.

Alan Searles:

My prediction: Pain!

What is there to predict? We’ve looked like Wilford Brimley humping Charlie Weiss’ hover round the last two weeks.

In my professional opinion, if you have any idea what this team is going to do today, then you are either a genius or a lucky guesser. I’d hope that we would contain an offense far inferior than our previous opponents, and our offense will bounce back from its implosion, but those are just hopes and aspirations that may or may not come true. I hope we win a hard fought game with some defensive improvement. I hope for 35-33. We’ll see.

Patrick Pishko:

Unfortunately, work responsibilities have handcuffed my time this past week and I have not had time to preview the TCU Horny Amphibians like I would most weeks…so my bold prediction may be a tad skewed; this could also be a byproduct of the horrible taste the KState game has left in my mouth.

I believe the defense will actually show up today; I gather the coaching staff has simplified the roles and stripped everything down to basics. Something tells me Holgs had Dunlap spend some time with the defense these past two weeks.

Anyways, I do not anticipate jaw-dropping defensive stats, but I think a fundamentally sound and solid effort will be put forth.

The D will keep the Frogs under 325 yards passing and will cap the rush at about 80 yards. TCU will score 3 TDs today. Like I said, nothing spectacular, but I’d take this after the dismantling we’ve witnessed the past two contests.