Two games into the Dana Holgorsen era as the head coach of the West Virginia University Mountaineers have left many fans wondering if what WVU's 33rd head coach did as an offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Houston will be repeated in Morgantown.
A running game that has produced 144 total yards in two games, an offensive line that has been spotty at best and receivers that don't know how to get open on a consistent basis haven't help ease those concerns as No. 18 WVU heads to College Park, Md., to take on its most dangerous opponent to date.
Adding confusion into the mix is an offensive attack that rolled up 291 yards of total offense in three quarters against Marshall and 533 in a 55-13 victory over Norfolk State.
What to believe?
Well, let's begin with a quarterback that was a proven commodity as a sophomore - Geno Smith - and has seemed to flourish under a Holgorsen offensively philosophy that appears to be pass first and run only when necessary.
If 2010 taught fans anything, it was that Smith is the real deal at quarterback. A strong arm combined with a knowledge of the game - not to overlook a pair of legs that can, and will, run when the situation calls for it - has given the Mountaineers one of the top offensive weapons in the Big East.
Combine that with a receiving corps that is inconsistent, but possesses the talent to score on any play from any spot on the football field and one has to believe that Randy Edsell's defensive coordinator and his staff at Maryland have got to be burning the midnight oil looking for ways to get to Smith before he gets to his receivers.
And, how does a defense stop a pass-happy offense? Three ways.
Option one is to rush the quarterback in hopes of getting to him before he finds his receivers. But this is a quarterback that burned you for 268 yards and four touchdowns and did not throw an interception in a 31-17 win in Morgantown a year ago.
Option two revolves around coverages. The Terps could elect to drop eight and rush three. Mountaineer fans, and Maryland's coaching staff, have already seen WVU's offensive front give up a sack to a three-man rush .
Then there is the option which has proven most successful over the years. It's called a ball-controlled offensive attack.
Keep the ball out of Smith's hands and you limit his ability to hurt you.
Given WVU's defensive numbers after its first two contests, that would be the approach most would advise Edsell to take.
Marshall didn't score an offensive touchdown, but it did finish with 187 yards of total offense in three quarters. Likewise NSU's offense failed to get the ball into the end zone, but it too showed the ability to move the ball against the Mountaineers' rebuilt prevent unit.
And, like my coaches always told me, "if something works, keep doing it".
