Harrison Wier
Staff Writer
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2016
- Messages
- 1,581
Offense:
- Only created 7 points off of 4 turnovers. That cannot happen. 2 of the turnovers came at times where Texas still had 80+ yards to go, and 2 others happened where Texas only had to drive a little over 50 yards. The offense cost Texas this game.
- Sterlin Gilbert continues to baffle me at times. No deep shots to Devin Duvernay. One deep shot all game, when desperation arrived. A crucial 3rd and 13, and a run to D'onta Foreman. Some think that might have been a decent call, but I disagree. As a result, Texas fails to gain enough on 4th & 6 because Collin Johnson makes a freshman mistake. Those things happen.
- D'onta Foreman earned every bit of his 168 yards today. He did not have many holes to work with. Patrick Vahe is not playing well. Jake McMillon is deeply missed at LG. On nearly every 3rd and long, WVU brought an all-out blitz. Nearly every time, Shane Buechele had nowhere to go and was sacked.
-John Burt should not play another snap this year. Period. His head is not there right now.
- Failure to convert in the red zone falls on Sterlin Gilbert, 100%. The offense had tons of opportunities in this game, but could not take advantage.
- The decision to kick the FG at the end of the half was the right call. You always want the points. If Texas was getting the ball back after half, they would have gone for it.
Defense
- Charlie Strong called one hell of a game, especially after Malik Jefferson went down with a head injury.
- Dylan Haines somehow always finds himself in the right place at the right time. His second interception was a great grab.
- This defense is physical and young. They are going to be legit. Malcolm Roach is probably the best player on that side besides Malik.
- Davante Davis stepped in for a struggling Kris Boyd and did a fantastic job. I don't believe Holton Hill is injured. Seems to be more crazy things going on with this kid.
- Holding WVU to no rushers over 100 and no receiver over 100 yards is a victory. A moral victory, but still a victory. 383 yards of total offense and 9 points below the Mountaineers' season average of PPG illustrates that this defense put the team in a position to win.
Special Teams:
- If Texas had a legitimate kicker, they would have won this game. Having a 38-yard FG blocked is ridiculous. Domingue does not elevate his kicks well at all. One of the biggest busts this year.
- If Strong survives, he must hire a ST coordinator (Levine from UH, anyone?). It is clear that he does not focus enough time on this unit.
- Michael Dickson is the best player on special teams. He didn't have an amazing day, but he often switched the field enough to help the defense.
- Jacorey Warrick is extremely fortunate that WVU received a kick-catch interference penalty when he muffed a punt and turned the ball over. That could have been a dagger. He is only back there because he can catch the ball, and that has become quite clear.
Overall:
Charlie Strong's team will be 6-5 most likely going into the last game of the season against TCU. Strong could very well be coaching for his job that day. However, if Strong loses a competitive game to the Horned Frogs and wins his bowl game, I still think he stays. This team has shown clear progress this season, although it has not translated into wins. Some of you are going to disagree with me, and I understand that. It's frustrating to watch this team. Turning the culture of a program around takes more than a couple years. Is there any coaching candidate out there better than Strong right now? I'm not so sure. Tom Herman has lost the mojo he had early in 2016. He knows he's probably gone, and so does his team. Does Texas want Herman coming in and wiping out an offensive system that has proven to be successful? What other candidates are there, realistically, other than Herman? Brian Harsin? Chris Peterson (who is working on a contract extension with UW per multiple outlets)? I don't know if there is a candidate right now who could do better than Strong. You can disagree with me. That's fine. However, I think this game helped Strong with Fenves and Perrin. Time will tell, but he could very well save his job at the end of the year. If he beats Kansas and TCU, he's coming back 100% in my mind. I'm not so sure that is a bad thing at this point.
- Only created 7 points off of 4 turnovers. That cannot happen. 2 of the turnovers came at times where Texas still had 80+ yards to go, and 2 others happened where Texas only had to drive a little over 50 yards. The offense cost Texas this game.
- Sterlin Gilbert continues to baffle me at times. No deep shots to Devin Duvernay. One deep shot all game, when desperation arrived. A crucial 3rd and 13, and a run to D'onta Foreman. Some think that might have been a decent call, but I disagree. As a result, Texas fails to gain enough on 4th & 6 because Collin Johnson makes a freshman mistake. Those things happen.
- D'onta Foreman earned every bit of his 168 yards today. He did not have many holes to work with. Patrick Vahe is not playing well. Jake McMillon is deeply missed at LG. On nearly every 3rd and long, WVU brought an all-out blitz. Nearly every time, Shane Buechele had nowhere to go and was sacked.
-John Burt should not play another snap this year. Period. His head is not there right now.
- Failure to convert in the red zone falls on Sterlin Gilbert, 100%. The offense had tons of opportunities in this game, but could not take advantage.
- The decision to kick the FG at the end of the half was the right call. You always want the points. If Texas was getting the ball back after half, they would have gone for it.
Defense
- Charlie Strong called one hell of a game, especially after Malik Jefferson went down with a head injury.
- Dylan Haines somehow always finds himself in the right place at the right time. His second interception was a great grab.
- This defense is physical and young. They are going to be legit. Malcolm Roach is probably the best player on that side besides Malik.
- Davante Davis stepped in for a struggling Kris Boyd and did a fantastic job. I don't believe Holton Hill is injured. Seems to be more crazy things going on with this kid.
- Holding WVU to no rushers over 100 and no receiver over 100 yards is a victory. A moral victory, but still a victory. 383 yards of total offense and 9 points below the Mountaineers' season average of PPG illustrates that this defense put the team in a position to win.
Special Teams:
- If Texas had a legitimate kicker, they would have won this game. Having a 38-yard FG blocked is ridiculous. Domingue does not elevate his kicks well at all. One of the biggest busts this year.
- If Strong survives, he must hire a ST coordinator (Levine from UH, anyone?). It is clear that he does not focus enough time on this unit.
- Michael Dickson is the best player on special teams. He didn't have an amazing day, but he often switched the field enough to help the defense.
- Jacorey Warrick is extremely fortunate that WVU received a kick-catch interference penalty when he muffed a punt and turned the ball over. That could have been a dagger. He is only back there because he can catch the ball, and that has become quite clear.
Overall:
Charlie Strong's team will be 6-5 most likely going into the last game of the season against TCU. Strong could very well be coaching for his job that day. However, if Strong loses a competitive game to the Horned Frogs and wins his bowl game, I still think he stays. This team has shown clear progress this season, although it has not translated into wins. Some of you are going to disagree with me, and I understand that. It's frustrating to watch this team. Turning the culture of a program around takes more than a couple years. Is there any coaching candidate out there better than Strong right now? I'm not so sure. Tom Herman has lost the mojo he had early in 2016. He knows he's probably gone, and so does his team. Does Texas want Herman coming in and wiping out an offensive system that has proven to be successful? What other candidates are there, realistically, other than Herman? Brian Harsin? Chris Peterson (who is working on a contract extension with UW per multiple outlets)? I don't know if there is a candidate right now who could do better than Strong. You can disagree with me. That's fine. However, I think this game helped Strong with Fenves and Perrin. Time will tell, but he could very well save his job at the end of the year. If he beats Kansas and TCU, he's coming back 100% in my mind. I'm not so sure that is a bad thing at this point.
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