West Virginia’s physicality and aggression is nationally recognized, but the Mountaineers also have a special offense and a unique defense that is seldom seen in the Big 12. Here’s what to expect from West Virginia this weekend:
What to expect from West Virginia’s offense:
The Mountaineers' offense will look eerily similar to the one that Lincoln Riley has shown off so far in 2015, and with good reason. Their head coach, Dana Holgorsen, was a wide receiver in one of the original editions of the air-raid offense back in the early 1990’s at Iowa Wesleyan.
West Virginia came into 2015 with some pieces to replace. Quarterback Clint Trickett retired from football after a series of concussions. Wide receivers Kevin White and Mario Alford matriculated to the NFL, but so far this season, Holgorsen’s system is working without the star power that the team had a season ago.
Few raised an eyebrow when West Virginia bested the likes of Georgia Southern or Liberty in the first two weeks, but then the Mountaineers stuck 38-points on Maryland in the first half — the most by a WVU team since 2001 when Rich Rodriguez was calling the shots.
The WVU offense will use spacing and speed to gash Oklahoma’s secondary. The Mountaineers will also use a variety of personnel packages — 11 different players have caught a pass through three games — and alignments to confuse the OU secondary.
Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops was complimentary of Tulsa’s offense after the Golden Hurricane thrashed OU for four quarters, but West Virginia’s attack will be an even greater challenge.
What to expect from West Virginia’s defense:
West Virginia brings a defense that has been lauded as the Big 12’s best in 2015, especially with the injuries suffered by TCU. The Mountaineers brought back three starting safeties from last year’s squad, including four-year starter Karl Joseph. He leads the same defense that stifled Baylor’s spread attack last season and gave the Bears their only loss of the season.
West Virginia won that game against Baylor by being aggressive and physical. Oklahoma expects to see the same out of the Mountaineer defense this weekend, but what exactly does that entail?
It means a fierce pass rush that is flexible in West Virginia’s base 3-3-5 defense. Second-year defensive coordinator Tony Gibson will mix up his looks and blitz packages throughout the night in an attempt to put pressure on OU’s inexperienced offensive line and Baker Mayfield.
As for West Virginia’s cornerbacks, expect them to do what few try to in this conference: play tight coverage on OU’s wide receivers. WVU was able to beat Baylor last season because they were physical with the Bears’ receivers and disrupted their timing with then-quarterback Bryce Petty. It will be up to Lincoln Riley to try to combat that coverage in a way that Art Briles could not.
