All of the talk, all of the speculation and all of the predictions are now in the past. It's game day once again. It's been a long nine months since we last saw a Mountaineer football team take the field. The last time they did so it wasn't pretty. A 52-44 loss to Iowa State in front of 33,735 people at Milan Puskar Stadium was certainly not the way you want to wrap up the year.

 

There is renewed hope across Mountaineer Nation however. This year's group has more experience and more depth than last year. Dana Holgorsen has talked often this spring and summer about having 85 scholarships for the first time since he's been here. The depth issues that plagued WVU last year after injuries decimated the defense should now be gone. With a full complement of players, this year's version of the Mountaineers should be better equipped to deal with the unexpected.

 

The challenge that awaits this Mountaineer team in Atlanta today is a big one though. In fact, it's so big of a challenge, I'm left to ask a question that I found unthinkable even last year. Should WVU be playing for a moral victory today against Alabama?

 

I know, we're taught not to be happy with moral victories. This program wasn't built on moral victories. That's not what Mountaineer football is all about. Believe me, I understand. In fact, I uttered those same sentences last year during one of our MetroNews Sports Brunch radio shows when this issue was brought up.

 

I've done an about-face though. This WVU program is not in the same place it was a few years ago. It's just not. A 4-8 season with losses to Kansas and Iowa State to close the year showed us that. It's clear this program needs some work. And when you need some work the last team you want to see staring you in the face is Alabama.

 

No program has been more consistent recently than the Crimson Tide. Three national titles since 2009. The most wins in college football since 2008. A program so used to winning that head coach Nick Saban talked of "resurrecting the program" after ending last season with two straight losses. One of those losses coming on a fluke play against Auburn, a team that came within a few seconds of winning a national title. The other to Oklahoma. Not exactly lightweights in the world of college football. Yet, Saban feels he needs to "resurrect the program." That shows you the level of success expected at Alabama right now.

 

Alabama's talent is well documented. Theirs is a roster littered with 5-star guys and future NFL draft picks. I'm not being snarky when I say I think WVU needs to look for a moral victory in this one.

 

I understand when the game was agreed to the West Virginia program looked very different than it does right now. This game didn't feel like such a long shot. Sure it would have been a tough one to win, but WVU has won games in the past where it has been a huge underdog.

 

This feels different though. Yes, Alabama has some question marks. They don't know who will start at quarterback. Their starting left tackle is a true freshman. Preseason All-SEC linebacker Trey DePriest is suspended for the game against the Mountaineers for an undisclosed NCAA violation.

 

West Virginia still enters the game as a nearly four touchdown underdog, the second largest point spread involving WVU since 2003. This isn't a Mountaineer team similar to the one that beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in Atlanta. That team was at the end of a magical season led by guys that would go on to become all-time program greats. This is a season opener with a team that still has question marks at almost every spot.

 

What kind of quarterback play will we see? Are the receivers better and ready to be more productive this season? How good is the offensive line? Yes, there appears to be depth at running back, but remember Charles Sims was an All-Big 12 performer. Can one of these running backs produce in a similar fashion? Can two of them combine to equal Sims' output from a year ago? How about the defense? They have been unbelievably bad for two seasons. I don't doubt they are better, but how much better is the key question? Is this an upper half of the Big 12 defense? Or one that simply moves from 101st in the nation to 90th?

 

See what I mean about the question marks? There are certainly more unknowns about this Mountaineer team than there are knowns. That many unknowns are not generally part of the recipe for an upset of this magnitude.

 

Back to moral victories. I know I'll get hammered for this, but I really think that's what the Mountaineers are playing for today. Show improvement from last year, hang around and make it a game into the second half and don't sustain any key injuries. If you accomplish all of those things, I think you walk out of Atlanta ready to tackle of the rest of the season.

 

Think of it the other way. What does it do to team morale if the Tide roll 49-3? What happens if you get drilled by five or six touchdowns and lose a key player or two? Where will the psyche of this team be if this thing gets out of hand early? Do you think those scenarios help a team (and program) searching for confidence?

 

Maybe this game makes a little more sense in a few years. Maybe some of the young guys you'll see today grow up to be program legends in a few years and lead WVU back to a BCS (I know it doesn't exist anymore) type bowl game. This is not that year though. So, go out today in the Georgia Dome and establish some things you can build on for next week. There's a lot of season left to play. This is cliche, but you don't want a loss to Alabama to turn into more than one loss. Get a moral victory, get out of Atlanta and look to get wins over Towson and Maryland in the coming weeks.

 

Would you be happy with a moral victory today? Let me know what you think. Leave a comment below or tweet me @bradhowe07.

 

Editor's Note: All photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.