Quick Takes: West Virginia

The Good:

West Virginia is one of the most balanced offenses in the Big 12, let alone the country. The Mountaineers have passing, rushing and receiving threats all around the ball, and Skyler Howard has put together an impressive senior campaign. Howard has 2,293 passing yards with 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on the season. Additionally, he has accumulated a 65.1% completion rate. At running back, Justin Crawford has not received a heavy workload, but has shown flashes of greatness. The junior has 587 yards on the ground, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. This is going to be a huge matchup problem for the Texas defense. Against Texas Tech, Texas was able to solely focus on the pass due to the Red Raider’s lack of a rushing threat outside of Patrick Mahomes. That is not the case this week. What once worked with Malik Jefferson as a spy will most likely no longer succeed. Charlie Strong is going to have his hands full on Saturday with the Mountaineers, but he has proven he is more than capable of developing an adequate game plan to stop Dana Holgoresen’s prolific offense. For the Mountaineers, their offense is a clear strength.

The Bad:

Unfortunately for West Virginia, they have to face arguably the best running back in the country. D’onta Foreman has had a monster year thus far, totaling 1,446 yards for 7, yes seven yards per carry. Although the Mountaineers rank 32^nd nationally in rushing defense (holding rushers to 4 YPC), they have not faced a threat like D’onta Foreman. Even if the Mountaineer game plan revolves around loading the box up front to stop Foreman, freshman QB Shane Buechele will hurt them through the air. This is not an ideal matchup defensively for West Virginia, who is facing the nation’s 2^nd best back and ranks 108^th in the nation in sacks with 13 on the year (as opposed to Texas’ 34). The Texas offense is explosive at times, but also predictable. West Virginia needs to study the Longhorns’ tape thoroughly and find consistencies that they can exploit. If they don’t, it could be a tough day for this unit against the 13^th best offense in the country.

The Uncertain:

The last time West Virginia played on the road, they received their first loss of the season to Oklahoma State in brutal fashion. The Longhorns are undefeated at home this season, and do not look to give that away any time soon. Fortunately for West Virginia, Texas has not been consistent this season. The Mountaineers’ Big 12 title hopes could be ruined with a loss at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday.