It’s finally here! The waiting is over, and WVU will take to the field against Coastal Carolina in the season opener this Saturday.
The question for this edition of the roundtable discussion: “What would you like to see during the Coastal Carolina game?”
Shane
Where is improvement needed the most? In my opinion, kickoff coverage! IF we can consistently hold CC behind the 30 yard line, I will be pleased. I know that holding opponents to the 30 on kickoff is not an “A+” grade, but it would be a great improvement from what we have seen in the past. WVU has a very good chance this year if they can find a way to improve on special teams. By giving our defense the chance to “tee off” on opposing offenses, we will be really tough to score against.
My second wish, is to see an explosive offense! If WVU can’t score 40 points against CC, then we have no shot at doing it against LSU or anyone in the Big East. If we can go up by 3 TDs in the third quarter, a lot of younger guys can get some experience. Experience will be important early, you never know what might happen with the injury bug. Getting a big lead early, will allow the young guys to make a few mistakes without hurting us.
John
I would really like to see one thing during the Coastal Carolina game – Dominance.
Granted, that answer might be a bit of a cop out, but it’s true. This is friggin’ Coastal Carolina, we should absolutely dominate them in every aspect of the game. Don’t give me this crap about Appalachian State and the hidden power of Div-II/FCS schools. If we want to ever have a shot at winning our conference and playing in a BCS game, we have to be capable of demolishing these cupcake schools… and that’s exactly what Coastal Carolina is, a cupcake school.
Fans want to walk out of the stadium smiling and laughing about the fifty points we racked up, or the six sacks we got, or Geno’s 200+ yards passing, or Noel’s 120+ yards rushing. They do not want to walk out telling themselves “a win is a win” or “they just needed a game to knock the rust off” or whatever other excuse they can come up with to reassure themselves after a less-than-stellar showing.
No excuses – we are a much, much better team than Coastal Carolina, and I expect us to look like it.
Now, as for other, more specific expectations – I want to see a head coach that is in control, standing in the huddles during timeouts, prowling the sidelines and giving the refs and players hell. I want to see an offense that isn’t schizophrenic and totally reliant upon a single player to move the ball. I want to see a defense that generates an insane pass rush while living up to the preseason hype. I want to see a kickoff team that knows how to run the field and make a tackle.
But, most of all, I want to see dominance.
Ern
My focus for the Coastal Carolina game will lie in 3 areas:
1) Offensive line play. This has been a bit of a weakness in recent years and I want to see if we open holes and pass block like we should against an FCS foe. I will place a special emphasis on the right tackle spot since this is a position that has been somewhat unsettled throughout spring and again in the fall.
2) Kickoff coverage defense. I mean, really, this has nowhere to go but up, right? If we routinely allow Coastal to start at the 25 yard line or worse or if we allow a big play in the kicking game I think I am going to vomit. If this happens we could be in for a long season in the kicking game. One thing that will help us are the rule changes that disallow a wedge on kickoff returns (on the flip side it should help us on kickoff returns when we are the receiving team).
3) Geno Smith. If West Virginia has a highly successful season it will be because Smith lived up to the hype and played like a seasoned veteran. If he can’t pick apart the secondary of Coastal we will have to hope that he improves quickly because we’ll have some stiffer challenges against Maryland & LSU in weeks 3 & 4.
Outside of that I just want to see Devine have a big game, a stifling defense & no injuries. I’m also interested in seeing some of the newcomers – Bruce Irvin, Ivan McCartney, etc.
Kevin
One word: Domination!!!
John is the founder of WVUPressBox.com and is primarily responsible for the technical (behind the scenes) aspects of running the website. He also contributes to the original content and news links on those rare occasions when he actually beats the other guys to it. 
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a 200 plus yard game from Devine to get his name back in the Heisman discussion. 400 yards rushing (CC has a smurf D line)
Geno passing well which means hitting second and third options. (Did anyone “notice” Tino S play like a sophomore in Pitt’s loss? – couldn’t keep his eyes of his primary and it finally bit them – and only hoping he plays like that all year) I hope the CC dbs give enough challenge that Gino has to look for second and third reads. this is critical for his development
The D teeing off rather than playing vanilla – it’s time to blitz – not save it for a tougher opponent. It will sicken me to see CC dink and dunk and then we tighten up in red zone and they kick field goals. CC has a large O line – this hsould be a good test – how many will it take to bring pressure? I too want to see dominance especially on this side of the ball. NO POINTS until the fourth quarter when we sub and even then would love to see a shutout to start the year. It will set the tone for this D.
and yes, kickoff coverage. without wedge blocking and more depth, they should not bring the ball beyond the 25. this should be the goal – no excuses.
while Pitt prepares itself for the Big East by playing Utah, Miami and ND we play what many are considering a middle of the pack LSU. Don’t think this Utah loss will make Pitt a better team than our blowout over CC and Marshall and UNLV and even young Maryland.
from coaches, I want to see an aggressive game plan that keeps CC on their heels defensively. I want to see crisp substitutions and timeouts used for what they are intended for – to stop the clock for a potential score not because the O or D is confused.
I want a lot, I know. I just want to see the fire. The natives are restless. Two years of close but no cigar for a fan base that was spoiled by BE championships and BCS bowl wins.
CC is not Appalachian State nor even Liberty. Take no prisoners.