If I would have told you at the end of the 2013 season, that a mere two seasons from then the talk of the offseason would be the defense, you would have never believed me.

 

That 2013 version of the Mountaineer defense was one of the worst we've seen here in Morgantown.

 

Fast forward to present day. The 2015 version returns 10 starters, if you include Jared Barber who missed all of the 2014 season, but was a starter the year before.

 

Experience and depth have been two things Dana Holgorsen has talked about constantly since he took over. He has both on the defensive side of the ball this year.

 

He also has the same defensive coordinator for the second straight season for the first time since he arrived in Morgantown.

 

There's no question this unit should be one of the best in the Big 12, if not the entire country. You know the names. You know the playmakers on that side of the ball.

 

Here are my three biggest questions for the Mountaineer defense heading into the 2015 season.

 

1.       Can this group force turnovers?

 

We've talked before about last year's abysmal turnover margin. WVU had a minus 15 on the season. Only five teams were worse. On the season, WVU only forced 14 total turnovers. Only two of those were fumbles, the lowest number of fumbles recovered in the FBS.

 

It really was remarkable that West Virginia managed to win seven games with that turnover margin. The five teams with a worse turnover margin than WVU won a combined 14 games last year.

 

2. Can WVU get pressure on the quarterback?

 

In 2014, WVU ranked 97th in the country in sacks. Before you send me a bunch of tweets, I understand the 3-3-5 stack isn't necessarily a defense designed to produce a bunch of sacks. And you can also get pressure on the quarterback and be effective without recording an actual sack. See the Baylor game from last year. The Mountaineers recorded four sacks on the day, but had great pressure on Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty many more times than the stats show. That pressure (and the tremendous one-on-one coverage) led to the upset of the Bears.

 

Will WVU be able to do that on a more consistent basis this year? Where will the pressure come from? Who, specifically, will be the guy or guys to get after the quarterback this season?

 

3. I agree this year's defense will be "better" than last year's. The question is how much better?

 

West Virginia finished the 2014 season 74th in the country in scoring defense. Improvement over the 2013 season, but certainly a long way from elite.

 

However, using last year's statistics and assuming similar numbers for this season, if West Virginia shaves a touchdown (and extra point) from its scoring average it would be a top 20 defense nationally.

 

That seems reasonable, right? The bad news is last year only two Big 12 teams finished in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense. TCU was eighth and Kansas State was number 29. This is an offensive league. Can WVU buck the trend?

 

The defense has received quite a bit of praise during the offseason. The expectations are high, and rightfully so.

 

Can the West Virginia defense live up to the hype? Will this be the year the defense carries a Dana Holgorsen team?

 

We'll know soon enough.

 

What do you think? Will West Virginia's defense finish in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense?

 

Leave a comment below or send me a tweet @bradhowe.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Noble Nwachukwu trying to put on pressure, while Nick Kwiatkowski does the same in the bottom photo. Playmaker Karl Joseph is shown in the middle making a tackle. Top and bottom photos by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com, while middle photo courtesy of WVU Sports Communications.