West Virginia vs. UAlbany: Prediction and Preview
Week 2 of the college football season is here. West Virginia plays UAlbany, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, Sept. 7; 5:00 p.m. (CT); Milan Puskar Stadium; Morgantown, WV
TV: ESPN+
Records: West Virginia (0-1); UAlbany (1-0)
Last Week: West Virginia 12, Penn State 34; UAlbany 27, LIU 21
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Fun Fact: UAlbany head coach Greg Gattuso will look to pull off a monster upset in Morgantown this weekend, but it wouldn’t be the first time he was a part of spoiling the Mountaineers’ season. Gattuso was the defensive line coach at Pitt in 2007, when the Panthers stunned West Virginia as four-touchdown underdogs to keep them out of the national championship game.
West Virginia vs UAlbany Betting Lines and Odds
Opening Line: N/A
Over/Under: N/A
ESPN Matchup Predictor: West Virginia (96.2%)
UAlbany Great Danes
WR Seven McGee
There are several new faces across the roster for the Great Danes in 2024, including former Oregon and Jackson State wideout Seven McGee. In his first with UAlbany, McGee hauled in five receptions for 119 yards (23.8 ypc) and one touchdown. With the Great Danes breaking in a new starting quarterback, McGee will likely be a popular target again this week.
LB Dontae Lunan
Last season, UAlbany led the FCS in both rushing defense and total sacks, thanks to one of the best front sevens at that level of football. Unfortunately, every starter from the Great Danes’ 2023 defense is no longer with the program, so they’ll need new faces to emerge quickly, such as linebacker Dontae Lunan. Last week against LIU, Lunan recorded 13 tackles and will be busy yet again against the Mountaineers.
West Virginia Mountaineers
QB Garrett Greene
Simply put, last week was not how Garrett Greene and the West Virginia offense wanted to start things off. Greene ended the day 15-of-28 for 161 yards and no touchdowns, adding ten carries for a total of just five yards. It simply wasn’t the output that they expected against Penn State, and with a virtually brand new defense for UAlbany, this appears to be a chance for Greene and Co. to get back on track.
LB Josiah Trotter
There weren’t many bright spots for West Virginia last week, but freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter was certainly one of them. Trotter kicked off his career in Morgantown with a team-high ten tackles and one pass breakup on the day. With Lee Kpogba gone, West Virginia is looking for the next physical linebacker to set the tone, and Trotter could be that guy.
KEY STORYLINES
UAlbany Great Danes
Can the Great Danes play enough defense to hang around? Last year, UAlbany’s defense would’ve been a good matchup for the West Virginia rushing attack. In 2024, it appears the Great Danes might be in for a “baptism by fire” situation for their inexperienced starters on that side of the ball. WVU was embarrassed by Penn State’s defense last week, and they’ll be looking to prove a point in Week 2.
West Virginia Mountaineers
Can the Mountaineers shake off their disappointing start? Sometimes the hardest thing in football is to avoid letting one loss become two losses. Will that be the case for West Virginia in Week 2. It’s very unlikely, but another disappointing performance could have them playing subpar football heading into Week 3. They can’t afford that, with their next five games being Pitt, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Kansas State.
PREDICTION: West Virginia 48, UAlbany 17
Last week was a throwaway game. Things didn’t go as planned, and with a lightning delay killing pretty much any homefield advantage the Mountaineers might’ve had, Penn State took it to WVU at home. The good news is that the loss doesn’t affect any of their goals and everything is still right in front of West Virginia.
This week, UAlbany serves as the Mountaineers’ chance to make right their wrongs from a week ago, and they should do just that.
