OU Football: Scouting the West Virginia Mountaineer Offense
By Joe Buettner
Oct 6, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wider receiver Stedman Bailey (3) celebrates scoring a touchdown with wide receiver Tavon Austin (1) during the first quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE
“Murderers Row”, as the kids are calling it, begins this weekend for the Oklahoma Sooners. A three week stretch that could either put OU in to a BCS bowl or send them to their third mediocre bowl game in four years will be a tough one.
They start with the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, WV. This game was one of the most highly anticipated heading in to the year. However, the hype surrounding this match-up has diminished a bit.
Oklahoma’s chances at a conference title, let alone a national title, have gone out the window. And West Virginia’s chances at making a good impression in their new conference has definitely been blown.
One thing we do know about West Virginia, though, is they can score. Despite four straight losses, the Mountaineers boast the eleventh highest-scoring offense in the nation. So how does their offense stack up against Oklahoma’s
stifling
defense? Let’s take a look at their averages through nine games.
WVU’s Offense |
Split
OU’s Defense
32.7
Pass Cmp
15.6
46.4
Pass Att
31.2
70.3
Comp Pct
49.8
347.6
Pass Yds
170.2
3.7
Pass TD’s
0.3
33.0
Rush Att
37.2
132.7
Rush Yds
155.0
4.0
Yards Per Carry
4.2
1.3
Rush TD
1.6
79.4
Plays
68.4
480.2
Total Yds
325.2
6.0
Yards Per Play
4.8
4.7
Penalties
4.2
42.0
Penalty Yds
30.9
0.6
Fumbles
0.2
0.4
Int.
1.0
1.0
Turnover Total
1.2
Takeaway the fact WVU has seen in a drought in the win column, West Virginia has still done well on the offensive side of the ball.
Geno Smith, once a Heisman candidate, has managed to put up solid numbers. However, the Oklahoma defense has done great job of limiting the passing game.
A lot of the credit has to go to Mike Stoops. The secondary is much improved, and they really put a stop to Nick Florence and the Baylor Bear offense, which leads the country in passing yards.
Although, that opened up the Bears run game, which has to be a concern Saturday. Geno is a good passer and has a big receiver in Tavon Austin, but OU can not allow Geno to scramble out of the pocket.
The offense works through Geno, and OU has to get to him in order to win Saturday. A lot of teams have done well in getting leads right out of the gate, but WVU’s resiliency to comeback in games is a concern.
Hopefully, OU can get out early in Morgantown and not let up as they try to hand the Mountaineers another loss.