Why Beau Pribula could be West Virginia football's worst nightmare in Week 3

The West Virginia Mountaineers will make the trip to Charlottefor a Week 3 showdownwith the Virginia Cavaliers in the Duke's Mayo Classic, in one of the week's marquee non-conference showdowns.

The Mountaineers and the Cavaliers both enter undefeated at 2-0, and Virginia also enters ranked No. 25 in the AP Top 25. The game provides West Virginia the perfect opportunity to start the season 3-0 for the first time in a decade, and to put the college football world on notice that the program is relevant again after several years of mediocrity in the Neal Brown era. But there is one Virginia player could ruin that for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia must find an answer to Virginia QB Beau Pribula

This year, the Cavaliers feature a veteran journeyman at quarterback in senior Beau Pribula, who began his career with Penn State before transferring to Missouri last year, and then to Virginia is year. Pribula found mixed success with the Tigers, but has looked much stronger this year in the opening weeks of the season.

In a Week 0 ACC showdown, Pribula torched NC State's defense with both his arm and his legs. He went 9-for-11 passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns in that contest, while also adding 110 yards on 15 carries. Last week against Norfolk State he went 12-for-14 with three touchdowns and one interception, but had negative yardage on two carries, one of those a sack.

While it's not for certain why he was used so little last week in the run game – though it's likely due to wanting to get him some rest before a big game and having the luxury to do so against an FCS opponent. But Pribula has the ability wreak havoc with his legs, and is at his best in the passing game when he can get outside the pocket.

And given that West Virginia struggled with quarterback contain against a mobile quarterback in Week 1 and gave up over 300 passing yards, a mobile, Power 4-level quarterback who can throw on the run could be the team's worst nightmare in a situation where a win will set the tone for the rest of the season.

West Virginia's recipe for success against Pribula

The major key to success for the Mountaineers will be to channel what they did well in that Coastal Carolina game in Week 1: and that was the pass rush. While they didn't handle contain well, they did generate some significant pass rush, and those were the moments of the game where Coastal's quarterback Deuce Bailey struggled the most.

Pribula has shown to be much less efficient as a drop back passer than when he's able to use his legs to create time, space, and chaos. So if West Virginia can figure out their contain issues from Week 1 and generate some pressure on Pribula, they couldeffectively neutralize him. But Virginia has one of the most experience offensive line units in college football, so it won't be easy.

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