West Virginia
BREAKING: Colorado State Corner Transfers to WVU
Late Friday evening, West Virginia obtained some secondary assist via the switch portal by choosing up former Colorado State nook Rashad Ajayi.
In 4 years with the Rams, Ajayi recorded 77 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, two compelled fumbles, and 17 move breakups. With the departures of Daryl Porter Jr. and Nicktroy Fortune, the Mountaineers desperately wanted so as to add extra our bodies within the cornerback room.
Ajayi, nonetheless, isn’t just a physique. He has 35 profession begins underneath his belt which can make him probably the most skilled nook on the West Virginia roster.
He may have one 12 months of eligibility remaining.
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West Virginia
Why Zac Alley’s decision to leave OU football for WVU actually makes some sense | Mussatto
Brent Venables: OU ‘had the chance to win’ on 2-point attempt vs Navy
Brent Venables explains his decision to go for 2-point conversion late in OU’s 21-20 loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Defensive coordinator Zac Alley leaving Oklahoma to take the same job at West Virginia seems on its surface like a step down. The mountains of Morgantown are pretty and all, but you don’t ditch a program like Oklahoma for the West Virginias of the world.
But once you get past the initial shock value, Alley’s decision isn’t as dubious as it seems.
At West Virginia, Alley will reunite with head coach Rich Rodriguez, whom Alley worked with at both Louisiana-Monroe and Jacksonville State. When Jacksonville State hired Rodriguez as head coach, Rodriguez hired Alley as his defensive coordinator.
But Alley also worked with Brent Venables. For seven years at Clemson and one at Oklahoma. Alley’s relationship with Venables goes a lot deeper than his ties with Rodriguez.
One big difference though. Under an offensive-minded coach like Rodriguez at West Virginia, Alley will presumably have full control of the defense. That’s something Alley never would’ve had at Oklahoma. Not with the defensive-obsessed Venables in charge.
At OU, Alley was always going to exist in Venables’ shadow. Heck, he even talked like Venables. OU’s defense drastically improved this season, in what was Alley’s first as defensive coordinator, jumping from 79th in total defense in 2023 to 19th this season.
All of us, right or not, instinctively credit Venables for OU’s defensive transformation.
At West Virginia, Alley will get all the credit or all the blame.
And then there’s the job stability.
Rodriguez, embarking on his second stint at West Virginia, is entering Year 1 of a five-year contract. He’s going to get at least, what, three years at his new-old job?
Venables, meanwhile, is entering 2025 on the hot seat. He’s had a losing season in two of his three years at OU. He’s 22-17 overall and 12-14 in conference play.
Venables could certainly turn things around, but I’d bet on Rodriguez outlasting Venables in their respective roles.
OU is another 6-7 record away from likely cleaning house.
Rather than risking going down with the ship, the 30-year-old Alley is starting anew in calmer waters.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
KenPom predicts how West Virginia will fare in Big 12 play
West Virginia has closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule and is now onto Big 12 play.
KenPomery, an advanced statistical website for college basketball, uses efficiency to measure how good a team is. KenPom also predicts how the Mountaineers will do in Big 12 play and the percentage chance they give WVU to win each game.
Overall, KenPom projects West Virginia to go 9-11 in conference play, having them finish the regular season with an 18-13 record. They also give WVU at least a 40 percent chance to win 12 of their 20 games against Big 12 opponents.
December/January
The first month of conference play shapes up to be the hardest for the Mountaineers. Out of the 11 losses KenPom projects, five of them come in the first month of conference play. Two games against Houston, a trip to Kansas, and a home date against Iowa State make the first month of the year very challenging.
There are plenty of close games as KenPom gives WVU a 51 percent chance to beat Arizona at home, a 48 percent chance to beat Colorado on the road, and then a 54 percent chance to beat Kansas State on the road.
In WVU’s four projected wins, their average margin of victory is 4.3 points. In their five projected losses, the average margin of defeat is 6.6 points.
February
In February, West Virginia has eight games, and KenPom projects the Mountaineers going 4-4 during the month.
Their wins include home dates against Utah, BYU, Cincinnati, and TCU. All their projected losses that month come on the road.
The average margin of victory in the month is 4.8 points, while the average margin of defeat is 6.5 points. During February, West Virginia has a three-game stretch, which includes a road game against Baylor (ranked 18th by KenPom), a home date against Cincinnati (ranked 21st), and then a trip back to Texas to face Texas Tech (ranked 13th). This also all comes in a week, spanning from Feb. 15-22.
March
The month of March is a quick three-game stretch before the Big 12 Tournament begins. However, two of the games take place in the state of Utah, as WVU faces BYU and Utah, both on the road.
The Mountaineers are projected to lose both games, with an average margin of defeat of 3.5 points. Their win over UCF, they’re projected to win by eight points.
Overall
Out of WVU’s 10 home games, they are projected to go 8-2, with the losses coming to Iowa State (ranked fifth) and Houston (ranked fourth).
Out of WVU’s 10 away games, they are projected to go 1-9, with the lone win coming on the road against Kansas State (ranked 90th).
All Big 12 teams are ranked 104th or better, and out of the 16 teams, 14 are ranked inside the top 76. Nine teams are ranked inside the top 48, and WVU’s current ranking of 48th by KenPom is ranked ninth in the league.
The Big 12’s overall rating is +17.19, according to KenPom. That ranks third out of all conferences as the SEC (+20.10) is first, and the Big Ten (+17.39) is second.
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Western Illinois wide receiver Matthew Henry has been in contact with West Virginia and is working on setting up an official visit to Morgantown.
Henry, 6-foot-1, 175-pounds, is coming off a season with the Leathernecks where he hauled in 64 passes for 1,211 yards and 6 touchdowns.
He previously spent two years at DII Livingston where he was productive with 66 catches for 840 yards over two seasons.
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