Texas Tech can’t play much defense, but the Red Raiders entered Saturday’s game against West Virginia averaging a national-best 55 points per game. Then WVU walked into Lubbock and held Tech to 17, its lowest total in two years.
It’s mid-October, and the West Virginia Mountaineers still control their own destiny
WVU hasn’t faced its toughest tests yet, but did add an impressive performance at Texas Tech on Saturday.
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
The Mountaineers poured on 48 of their own for good measure, and they got the sort of win that makes one wonder about their viability as a serious Big 12 contender.
WVU was picked by the media to finish seventh in the Big 12 this year. But the Mountaineers are 5-0 and up to No. 13 in the Coaches Poll, and while their first four wins shouldn’t have built any hype — a couple close wins over BYU and Kansas State, plus a 15-point win over Missouri — Saturday’s could. Scoring on Texas Tech’s defense isn’t a big deal, but if the Mountaineers can play defense like that against a Patrick Mahomes-led attack, who can’t they stop?
We’ll find out in the next few weeks. The road ahead includes a conference full of good offenses, including Baylor, TCU, and Oklahoma. But after Saturday, there’s reason to think WVU can stick around the race.
I’ll proceed cautiously in going farther than that. Still, the ‘Eers have a few things that we should pay attention to.
1. The defense might be rounding back into form.
Texas Tech isn’t a running team by any stretch, but Tony Gibson’s defense still gets points for holding the ground game to a season-low 1.3-yard average. The Mountaineers erased the threat from Tech’s offense, and did it without leaving themselves vulnerable to Mahomes’ rockets going anywhere.
Mahomes threw for 305 yards, but WVU made him throw 44 times to get there. The Red Raiders hit on a handful of intermediate passing plays, plus four beyond 29 yards and a 44-yard touchdown in the first half. But WVU made down-to-down efficiency a real problem. Mahomes completed 64 percent of his passes, which sounds fine, but was a seasonal worst by six percent.
West Virginia’s pass defense has been good, but not great. The Mountaineers entered Saturday ranked 27th in Defensive Passing S&P+, holding down that efficiency but struggling with explosive plays. Both held true here, but that WVU was able to limit Mahomes so much while also clamping down on the run is a good sign.
WVU’s defense started last year hot before injuries and a toughening schedule took their tolls. Let’s see if this year unfolds differently.
2. They might be able to run the ball.
WVU can pass. That’s not all that new for a Dana Holgorsen team. Quarterback Skyler Howard ranks in the top 20 nationally in yards per pass, completion percentage, and yards per game.
The team also racked up 332 ground yards on 46 attempts against Tech, good for a 7.2-yard average. It’d be silly to extrapolate anything based on offense against Texas Tech, because the Red Raiders are defensively inept. But let’s look a little deeper.
Coming into Saturday, WVU averaged 4.6 yards per run (53rd nationally) and was just 59th in Rushing S&P+. None of that’s great. They’d played one great run defense (Kansas State), one decent one (BYU), and one lousy one (Missouri), and hadn’t made much of a dent against any of them.
Breaking out against Tech proves nothing. But it was encouraging, because WVU had previously relied almost completely on three runners: tailbacks Justin Crawford and Rushel Shell III, and Howard. Saturday saw the emergence of freshman Kennedy McKoy (four runs for 99 yards, including one for 38), and WVU ran 12 times for 10 yards or more. (Crawford and McKoy both left with injuries, but it sounds like they’ll be fine.)
The Big 12 has a few defenses that have really struggled with explosive runners, and the ‘Eers have already gotten past the conference’s best rushing defense, Kansas State.
3. The offense doesn’t need to come that far to be helpful.
This year has marked something of a change in identity for the Mountaineers. They’ve held opponents to fewer points than ever before under Holgorsen. But they’ve also scored fewer than in any year but a miserable 2013, when they went 4-8. No matter what you think of West Virginia’s defense, it’s a good deal better than it’s usually been.
Much of the Big 12 plays great offense but can’t play defense. West Virginia’s defense looks like it’s getting to a place where it can keep WVU in most games against TCU, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Baylor.
The really good news? None of those teams except Baylor plays sterling defense. West Virginia’s offense can score on most of them.
WVU still hasn’t played much of a schedule, but the Mountaineers are interesting.
The Big 12 is short on really good teams. West Virginia’s defense looks respectable and could carry it to a good year. If the offense starts to churn beyond just beating up on Texas Tech, the Mountaineers could do a lot better than that.
As Smoking Musket writes:
TCU, Oklahoma, and finally Baylor all have to come to Mountaineer Field. There is a possibility that both Baylor and West Virginia could come into that final week matchup undefeated. If that were to occur, not only would the conference championship be on the line, but also a berth in the College Football Playoff. It goes without saying that this is a dream scenario for the Mountaineers, the Bears, and the Big 12 conference.
Again, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
See More:
