The West Virginia Mountaineers became bowl eligible Saturday night with a 37-7 win over the BYU Cougars.
Here are a few quick thoughts from what transpired tonight in Morgantown.
Jahiem White is going to be special
I mentioned White's impact after last week's win over UCF but it can't be talked about enough. The way this kid runs reminds me a whole heck of a lot of Noel Devine. I could make the argument that he's the fastest, most elusive back West Virginia has had since Devine. I'm really not trying to compare him to Noel, but man, it's tough. The Mountaineers have a nice little one, two punch of thunder (CJ Donaldson) and lightning (White) that they can build around.
WVU's young core provides hope for a bright future
White isn't the only youngster making plays. Wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III is starting to become more involved in the offense and is as slippery as they come. Fellow true freshman receiver Traylon Ray is as smooth of a route runner that WVU has had in the last ten years (at this stage of his career). The skill positions are full of young talent and there's more on the way in the '24 class. Defensively, you have a ton of underclassmen in the front seven who have shown flashes or in Trey Lathan's case, shown all-league potential. Ben Cutter is only going to get better with each game under his belt and Josiah Trotter may have the most potential of them all. If WVU finishes off this season strong, things will finally be looking up for this program.
Big 12 title race?!?
West Virginia needs to win out and needs a lot of help, but look, they're as every bit in the conference title race as the handful of teams above them. If you were to tell me WVU would have a chance to make it to Dallas with three games left on the Big 12 docket, I would have asked how many adult beverages you had. I've criticized this staff numerous times over the last four years but you have to give credit where it is due. The job they have done with this group deserved to be talked about more nationally. A win over Oklahoma next week would certainly grab some attention.
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