West Virginia took care of business on Saturday in a 44-17 victory over Liberty at Milan Puskar Stadium. And while the Mountaineers didn’t play nearly as well as they did in their season-opening win over Georgia Southern, there were plenty of bright spots.
Here are five things we learned as the Mountaineers improved to 2-0 on the season:
1. Skyler Howard keeps getting better
West Virginia’s Skyler Howard is starting to come into his own at quarterback. Howard completed 21 of 26 passes for 263 yards and three scores. He also added 68 yards on the ground, giving defenses something else to worry about. Liberty tried to take away the long ball, and Howard doused the Flames with a flurry of short and intermediate passes in the most efficient performance of his career. Between the second and third quarters, Howard was 17-of-19 passing for 229 yards and three TDs before letting backup William Crest handle the final quarter. While the competition gets tougher from here on out, you have to feel good about Howard behind center at WVU. Best of all, Howard hasn’t thrown an interception all season.
2. West Virginia is taking care of the ball
If West Virginia is going to be a factor in the Big 12, it has to win the turnover battle or at least not give up easy points. So far, so good. Last season the Mountaineers committed 29 turnovers (19 fumbles, 10 interceptions) in 13 games (2.2 per-game average). For the second straight game in 2015, West Virginia did not commit a turnover. “I think everybody is fired up about that,” WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said.
Give the entire team a game ball … and don’t drop it!
3. Red-zone offense still an issue early
West Virginia is still having trouble scoring touchdowns when it gets close to its opponent’s goal line, and that’s a concern as the schedule is about to ramp up. Howard was off target on a couple of third-down passes in the red zone in the first quarter, and the Mountaineers had to settle for two short Josh Lambert field goals for a 6-0 lead. The Mountaineers had the same problem early in their opener against Georgia Southern. It could just be that the 2015 Mountaineers will be a slow starting team. Their red-zone offense did improve as the game wore on. But it’s still a concern.
4. A 3-0 start is very possible
The 2015 WVU football season should be broken down into three parts: Its first three games against nonconference foes; a killer four-game Big 12 stretch at Oklahoma, vs. Oklahoma State, at Baylor and at TCU; and its final five conference games. After a bye week, West Virginia concludes the first part when it hosts Maryland on Sept. 26. You have to like WVU’s chances against the Terps, who gave up 28 fourth-quarter points in a 48-27 loss to Bowling Green on Saturday. WVU should be rested and ready for this border war. Maryland has to play USF this week. Look for the Mountaineers to take care of business against the Terps … then the real fun begins.
5. All good things come to an end
West Virginia hadn’t allowed a point through six quarters this season, but that ended in the third quarter against Liberty on Todd Macon’s 7-yard TD run. The streak should have ended in the first half, but All-American kicker John Lunsford missed three field goals. The Mountaineers’ defense wasn’t as dominate against Liberty as it was against Georgia Southern. It didn’t force a turnover (it forced five against Georgia Southern). It also didn’t have a sack. One bright spot for the Mountaineers was the play of linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton, who started in place of the injured Jared Barber. Benton tied for the team lead with seven tackles in the game.
“Defensively, teams are going to score,” Holgorsen said, “and we’re going to have to learn how to handle that.”
So far, WVU is handling things just fine.
Yahoo for WVU 
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