2024 NCAAF Cheat Sheet: West Virginia Mountaineers Stats
The 2024 West Virginia Mountaineers Stats Could See West Virginia Piling Up More Rushing Yards
QB Greene is Back to Lead the West Virginia Mountaineers in 2024
It was an interesting season for West Virginia Mountaineers. With a 22-25 record in his first four seasons, there were those calling for head coach Neal Brown to be fired. That all changed when West Virginia had winning streaks of four, two, and three games. The Mountaineers won nine games, the most since 2016. However, three of the four losses came by 23, 14, and 39 points. There was also a loss to Houston, the only team with longer odds of winning the Big 12 title than West Virginia a season ago.
It remains to be seen if the 2024 West Virginia Mountaineers stats can approach what the Mountaineers did in 2023.
West Virginia had -145 odds to go over 4.5 wins during the NCAAF regular season. The Mountaineers won their fifth game before the end of October.
What can the Mountaineers do for an encore?
One area of improvement could come against ranked teams with West Virginia losing all three games to ranked foes in 2023. West Virginia was 5-1 at home both outright and against the spread and 4-1 as a home favorite.
- When looking at the college football rankings today, five teams on the West Virginia schedule are in the top 25 in the first coaches poll of the season.
West Virginia was tied for the Big 12 lead with eight games landing over the total as five of the six road games went over.
At A Glance
| Odds to Win | Opening Odds | Current Odds |
| Championship | +40000 | +50000 |
| Conference | +1800 | +1400 |
| Regular Season Win Total | 6.5 (o -128, u- +104) | 6.5 (o -135, u- +105) |
| To Make Playoffs | Yes N/A, No N/A | Yes N/A, No N/A |
Mountaineer’s Not Banking On Transfers
West Virginia’s class of incoming transfers ranked near the bottom of the Big 12.
The Mountaineers added Troy defensive lineman T.J. Jackson, Duquesne cornerback Ayden Garnes, Colorado State cornerback TJ Crandall, and Gardner Webb edge rusher Ty French should help a defense that lost two of its top three tacklers.
Safety Anthony Wilson and linebacker Ben Cutter are the top returning players.
The offense will be led by Garrett Greene. After waiting his turn, Greene threw for 2406 yards with 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also ran for 772 yards.
Many of the top pass catchers are back with Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray adding to a strong unit. West Virginia led the Big 12 in rushing in 2023. With Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson both back, it could happen again when projecting the 2024 West Virginia Mountaineers stats.
Championship Odds: Naysayers Are Still Around
West Virginia has lost 17 straight games against ranked opponents. The last win against a ranked foe came in 2018 when the Mountaineers edged No. 9 Texas 42-41. Twelve of those losses have come by at least 10 points so until West Virginia can prove that it can beat the best teams on its schedule, their championship odds will lag behind.
- West Virginia opens the season as a 10.5-point home underdog according to the college football betting lines against a Penn State team that figures to be ranked in the top 10. A trip to face Pittsburgh is another challenging non-conference game.
The Big 12 champion should make it into the College Football Playoff field with 12 teams getting into the CFP but how many other Big 12 teams will receive an invitation? West Virginia has some work to do to be in that conversation when it comes to the college football championship odds.
Conference Odds: Can the Mountaineers Join the Heavyweights
West Virginia was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12. The Mountaineers don’t face preseason Big 12 favorite Utah but will meet the other five teams ahead of them in the Big 12 preseason poll.
The first four conference games come against Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Kansas State so it won’t take long to see where the Mountaineers stand in the new-look Big 12 that saw Oklahoma and defending champion Texas leave for the SEC while Utah is one of four Pac-12 teams to land in the Big 12.
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Regular Season Wins: Tough Non-League Schedule Makes Things Interesting
Apparently, not everybody is sold on West Virginia’s strong 2023 showing. The expected win total did move from 4.5 to 6.5 but for a team returning some key NCAAF players off a nine-win team, West Virginia seems to be a little undervalued at -135 to go over 6.5 wins.
The matchup with Albany looks like the only sure thing among the non-conference schedule and that could play a role in West Virginia’s RSW number.
The Mountaineers end the regular season against Cincinnati, Baylor, UCF, and Texas Tech. West Virginia could be favored in most, if not all, of those games so that could help West Virginia defy the odds for the second season in a row.
To Make Playoffs: Mountaineers Have Some Climbing to Do
Even with the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams, the Big 12 appears to be well behind the other power conferences. While multiple SEC and Big Ten teams figure to get into the CFP field and perhaps that will happen in the ACC as well, it might be hard for a team from the Big 12 to get an invite without reaching the conference title game.
West Virginia made some impressive strides last season but are the Mountaineers really ready to finish in the top two this season?
Side Bets
Greene is well back in the Heisman Trophy odds and that is likely a result of being a quarterback in a run-first offense. He could be among the top running quarterbacks in the country and a strong showing at Penn State in the season opener could help his Heisman odds as the 2024 West Virginia Mountaineers stats could see Greene saving his best for last.
If one of the running backs emerges as the clear No. 1, they could also become a darkhorse candidate in the Heisman race.
Penn State beat West Virginia 38-15 in 2023. It will be interesting to see where the money falls in the rematch since the game will be played in Morgantown.
West Virginia hasn’t been a double-digit underdog at home since 2019 in a loss to Texas. The last time West Virginia won and covered as a double-digit home underdog was in 2013.
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