MORGANTOWN — West Virginia is in need of a pick-me-up.
Last week’s disappointing 34-12 loss to Penn State has put a damper on the beginning of the season and has some fans wavering on their belief in the Mountaineers this year.
“My message to our fans is I wouldn’t lose faith after one game,” head coach Neal Brown said Monday. “We didn’t perform well, but we’ll bounce back and we’ll get back on track. We’ve got a good football team, we’ve just got to get out there and show it and it starts this week.”
WVU (0-1) welcomes its annual FCS opponent to town this week, which is usually the perfect time for a team put a big win up on the board and start feeling good about itself again.
The team coming to Milan Puskar Stadium today (ESPN+, 6 p.m.) isn’t your usual hapless FCS opponent, however.
The Albany Great Danes are ranked No. 16 in FCS and are coming off the best season in program history after advancing to the semifinals of the 2023 FCS Playoffs. UA finished 11-4, winning their conference championship and winning two playoff games.
“They’re a good football team,” Brown said. “This is the best FCS program we’ve had come in here since the first game in 2019 when we played James Madison. They have our attention.”
Head coach Greg Gattuso was named the national coach of the year after last season. Gattuso, who has been at Albany for 11 seasons, is very familiar with the Mountaineers, having played on Mountaineer Field with Penn State in the early 1980s and being an assistant coach at Pitt from 2005-10.
“The thing that sticks out to me the most is they’re extremely well coached,” Brown said of his counterpart. “It’s a team that’s used to winning, it’s a team that plays in a really good conference and these guys do a really good job schematically in all three phases.”
Like WVU, Albany did not play particularly well in its season opener last week. Unlike the Mountaineers, the Great Danes still won, defeating Long Island 27-21.
Albany lost a lot of players following the success of last season, either to graduation or the transfer portal.
Running back Griffin Woodell is the team’s top returner after being named the CAA Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2023. He ran for 85 yards and a touchdown in the Great Danes’ opener.
“He’s a good player,” WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “He has good vision and is patient in their scheme, you can tell he understands their scheme.”
Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger, who threw for 3,603 yards and 36 touchdowns, transferred up to Miami. Wisconsin transfer Myles Burkett has replaced him as the starter, throwing for 165 yards and a score in the win last week.
Jackson State transfer Seven McGee stood out at receiver, catching five passes for 119 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown.
“They were really good throwing the football, but it started with the run,” Brown said. “They’re going to give us a bunch of different formation looks and they want to establish the run.”
UA didn’t return a single starter on defense from last season, so it’s gone heavy with transfers.
Defensive lineman Jack Iuliano (Penn) recovered a fumble for a touchdown and had a sack last week. Linebacker Dontae Lunan (Bryant) led the team with 13 tackles.
WVU’s offense needs to get on track this week after putting up just 12 points on 246 yards against the Nittany Lions.
Quarterback Garrett Greene lacked his normal explosiveness, completing 15 of 28 passes for 161 yards and running 10 times for a net of five yards.
West Virginia is a perfect 21-0 against schools at the FCS level. Last year’s win over FCS opponent Duquense kicked off a four-game winning streak. The Mountaineers are surely hoping for a similar outcome and aftermath this year.
“We’re an 0-1 football team until we do something about it and we’ve got a great opportunity on Saturday night,” Brown said.
