West Virginia defeated North Carolina 30-10 on Wednesday to win the 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl and finish their season at 9-4. A lot can be learned in what was one of the biggest games in Neal Brown’s coaching tenure at WVU.
Defense and Special Teams are Key
After a touchdown super early, the Mountaineers’ offense struggled to find similar success, but the defense kept them in it.
WVU got to UNC’s quarterback Conner Harrell seven times resulting in a loss of 35 yards.
They also made an impressive 11 tackles for loss by keeping consistent pressure and getting through the line of scrimmage.
The Tar Heels were only able to score one touchdown on a J.J. Jones reception, right before half on what many think could’ve been offensive pass interference.
Filling in for the injured Preston Fox, West Virginia’s consensus All-American cornerback Beanie Bishop took over returning duties and made a splash in the second quarter, he returned a punt for a 78-yard touchdown to put WVU up 14-3.
West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes was 3-4 on field goals, missing a 52-yarder.
Need to Capitalize off Turnovers
The Mountaineers caused three turnovers: An Aubrey Burks interception in the end zone, a highlight interception by Tyrin Bradley and a recovery from Marcis Floyd after a West Virginia punt botched by UNC.
The Mountaineers were unable to convert those turnovers into any points, while UNC knocked a field goal through in a drive following a fumble by DJ Oliver.
If West Virginia capitalized on turnovers as they had previously in the season, this game could’ve yielded in a larger deficit.
Young and Promising Receiving Core
West Virginia’s top two receivers against North Carolina were redshirt freshman Hudson Clement and true freshman Traylon Ray.
Ray helped WVU get off to a perfect start by scoring a 75-yard touchdown on the Mountaineers’ first offensive play, he finished with 91 yards on three receptions.
Clement led West Virginia with five receptions in the game. He had 89 receiving yards, averaging 17.8 yards a catch.
Clement, the hometown kid from Martinsburg, West Virginia was awarded a scholarship earlier this season after an incredible performance against FCS Duquesne where he had five catches for 184 yards and three touchdowns.
Although he didn’t record any catches in the Mayo Bowl, freshman Rodney Gallagher is another young wide receiver who can look to make an impact for West Virginia next year.
Gallagher recorded 161 all-purpose yards this season on 15 carries and 10 receptions.
On top of the three receivers mentioned, on National Signing Day WVU flipped four-star Ric’Darious “DayDay” Farmer, who was verbally committed to Pitt then UCF before signing with the Mountaineers.
Can’t Rely too Heavily on Running Game
Although the rushing statistics from the game may be affected by the absence of powerback CJ Donaldson, West Virginia had just 62 rushing yards entering the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Garrett Greene finished as the top rusher for the Mountaineers with 75 yards on nine attempts and a long run of 48 yards.
Freshman All-American Jahiem White was the lead back for WVU, he took 12 carries for 50 yards and one touchdown.
White came into the Mayo Bowl averaging 8.2 yards a carry and averaged 4.2 yards a carry in the game.
West Virginia had been methodical with their rushing attack all season, but struggled to find the right balance against North Carolina.
Trust The Climb
Coming into this season head coach Neal Brown had a record of 22-25 coaching the Mountaineers and may have lost trust from fans.
Fast forward to this season, West Virginia finished 9-4, defeating UNC in a Bowl Game far exceeding expectations from many.
Although, it’s only one season there seems to be a lot of hope and positive momentum with the program moving forward.
WVU exercised it’s depth in Charlotte, with some starters not playing for various reasons.
A strong freshman class this season provides for another source of optimism as some have gotten the necessary experience and will look to grow over the offseason.
On top of that, Brown and the Mountaineers’ staff will be bringing in some solid players in positions of need from the transfer portal, such as Ayden Garnes, Josh Minkins, Reid Carrico just to name a few.
With the recent bowl victory and many West Virginia players who made an impact this season having already committed to the Country Roads Trust (An NIL program co-founded by Ken Kendrick and Oliver Luck supporting WVU athletes) for next season, Mountaineer fans could have a lot to look forward to in 2024.
Photo courtesy of  All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
