My Fiver on WVU's victory over the Bearcats on Saturday afternoon in Motown...
1. Portal Concern Level: 9.75 - Jahiem White. This kid is special. He combines explosive speed with great vision and power. And, he put a move on #10 from UC Saturday that would make Noel Devine blush. 21 carries, 204 yards, 1 TD + 1 catch, 75 yards, 1 TD. Good day at the office. Now, we need to do whatever it takes to lock him up to ensure he is wearing the flying WV in 2024 and beyond. Portal concern level is 9.75 because he is now a known commodity. He's not a secret anymore. The vultures will be circling. And although we are A-OK at RB with CJ Donaldson and Justin Johnson, not to mention Jalen Anderson...losing a kid like White would be a huge gut punch. He's the next great WVU running back.
2. Portal Concern Level: 3.0 - Garrett Greene. First of all, UC was hyper focused on our RBs on the zone read, and Greene made them pay. I still can't get over the fact that the Bearcats couldn't adjust to simply overplay Greene on the zone read, but I guess it's pick your poison when White is out there. Greene had two fantastic throws - the tear drop 75-yard TD to Jahiem White & he hit Kole Taylor on the move down the sideline for about a 20-yard gain on a frozen rope. It's nice now when we have the pain in the ass mobile QB that the other team must worry about. Greene is dangerous, and he's getting better. I don't fear that he'll ever leave WVU because he seems to absolutely love it here, and he has some deep roots set in with friends in the area. He'll be starting the Penn State game next Fall. He played his tail off Saturday.
3. Our OL and our offense:
A) #24 in first downs per game
B) #25 in fewest penalties per game
C) T32 in least INT
D) #4 in rushing offense at 232.7 yards per game
E) #36 in yards per rush team at 5.14 ypc
F) #34 in total offense at 434.7 yards per game
G) #3 in overall time of possession
H) #7 in fewest sacks allowed
I) T37 in fewest tackles for loss allowed
This coaching staff, offensive line, and Garrett Greene deserve a ton of credit. This team is fun to watch, and this revolution of WVU's rushing attack has been nothing short of extraordinary. Greene has done just enough throwing the ball down the field to make opponents pay, and teams really can't stack the line because we can go over the top. The GG sprained ankle vs. Pitt set us back a couple weeks, or these figures could be even better. We're going to miss Zach Frazier. But, we are still going to have a stout line in 2024 with Rimac, Malone, Yates and Milum. I'm very excited to see if Johnny Williams can lock down the other tackle spot.
4. Going for the jugular. UC scored with 1:30 to go in the half to cut the lead to 21-7. I liked the fact that Neal Brown burned our final timeout before the UC First & Goal. It was pretty much a given they were going to score from the "1", and NB was conserving time for Garrett Greene & Co. to answer. We got the ball back & left a trail of fire behind us, traversing 75 yards in 4 plays, with Greene cashing it in with a beautiful 26-yard scoring run. Took us under a minute. 28-7 going in to the half & that's ballgame. Then, we scored on our first two possessions of the 2nd half to drive the point home. This is a different team, a different coaching style, and a different type of demeanor from Neal Brown - as it has been a huge bugaboo for our team over the past four seasons - putting teams away. And, you can look no further back to the 2nd quarter vs. Houston to see the last time it bit us in the arse. We were able to put UCF to bed, drop the hammer on BYU, and steal UC's will far before the bell. It's time to do the same in Waco.
5. 7-4, 5-3. Really good chance WVU finishes the regular season 8-4, 6-3 in the Big 12. And, the truth of the matter is that no one saw it coming. WVU was panned preseason, by the national media at large, and by even a greater portion of our own fanbase. Expectations were low. When the over/under on wins was set at 4.5, I can recall a thread on this board where many took the under. Well, here we are and Neal Brown deserves a ton of credit. That being said, there's still the Houston loss. There's still the no-show in Norman. Is his job safe? Odds are that yes they are, but a loss to Baylor Saturday would put him right back on the seat heater. Baylor is obviously having a bad year, but they are not a pushover per se. They beat UC, played Utah to the final gun, stormed back to defeat UCF on their home field, and the played TCU tough last week before giving way in the fourth quarter. We can't sleepwalk to a win Saturday. I want to see WVU go down there and steal Baylor's will before the half like we did this past week. Get on them early, pour it on, don't let up. Get to 8-4, snag your bowl bid, rally the team around the idea of winning a bowl game to get to 9 wins (to stave off Will Grier Opt-Outs), and we will build some serious momentum toward 2024. With two more wins, this season will have a 1987 type of feel to it and I relish the idea of facing Penn State in Morgantown on August 31 with Garrett Greene, Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson, Kole Taylor, Traylon Ray, Rodney Gallagher, Hudson Clement, EJ Horton, a healthy Trey Lathan, Ben Cutter, Hershey McLaurin, et al.
We have a chance to finish this on a great note.
1. Portal Concern Level: 9.75 - Jahiem White. This kid is special. He combines explosive speed with great vision and power. And, he put a move on #10 from UC Saturday that would make Noel Devine blush. 21 carries, 204 yards, 1 TD + 1 catch, 75 yards, 1 TD. Good day at the office. Now, we need to do whatever it takes to lock him up to ensure he is wearing the flying WV in 2024 and beyond. Portal concern level is 9.75 because he is now a known commodity. He's not a secret anymore. The vultures will be circling. And although we are A-OK at RB with CJ Donaldson and Justin Johnson, not to mention Jalen Anderson...losing a kid like White would be a huge gut punch. He's the next great WVU running back.
2. Portal Concern Level: 3.0 - Garrett Greene. First of all, UC was hyper focused on our RBs on the zone read, and Greene made them pay. I still can't get over the fact that the Bearcats couldn't adjust to simply overplay Greene on the zone read, but I guess it's pick your poison when White is out there. Greene had two fantastic throws - the tear drop 75-yard TD to Jahiem White & he hit Kole Taylor on the move down the sideline for about a 20-yard gain on a frozen rope. It's nice now when we have the pain in the ass mobile QB that the other team must worry about. Greene is dangerous, and he's getting better. I don't fear that he'll ever leave WVU because he seems to absolutely love it here, and he has some deep roots set in with friends in the area. He'll be starting the Penn State game next Fall. He played his tail off Saturday.
3. Our OL and our offense:
A) #24 in first downs per game
B) #25 in fewest penalties per game
C) T32 in least INT
D) #4 in rushing offense at 232.7 yards per game
E) #36 in yards per rush team at 5.14 ypc
F) #34 in total offense at 434.7 yards per game
G) #3 in overall time of possession
H) #7 in fewest sacks allowed
I) T37 in fewest tackles for loss allowed
This coaching staff, offensive line, and Garrett Greene deserve a ton of credit. This team is fun to watch, and this revolution of WVU's rushing attack has been nothing short of extraordinary. Greene has done just enough throwing the ball down the field to make opponents pay, and teams really can't stack the line because we can go over the top. The GG sprained ankle vs. Pitt set us back a couple weeks, or these figures could be even better. We're going to miss Zach Frazier. But, we are still going to have a stout line in 2024 with Rimac, Malone, Yates and Milum. I'm very excited to see if Johnny Williams can lock down the other tackle spot.
4. Going for the jugular. UC scored with 1:30 to go in the half to cut the lead to 21-7. I liked the fact that Neal Brown burned our final timeout before the UC First & Goal. It was pretty much a given they were going to score from the "1", and NB was conserving time for Garrett Greene & Co. to answer. We got the ball back & left a trail of fire behind us, traversing 75 yards in 4 plays, with Greene cashing it in with a beautiful 26-yard scoring run. Took us under a minute. 28-7 going in to the half & that's ballgame. Then, we scored on our first two possessions of the 2nd half to drive the point home. This is a different team, a different coaching style, and a different type of demeanor from Neal Brown - as it has been a huge bugaboo for our team over the past four seasons - putting teams away. And, you can look no further back to the 2nd quarter vs. Houston to see the last time it bit us in the arse. We were able to put UCF to bed, drop the hammer on BYU, and steal UC's will far before the bell. It's time to do the same in Waco.
5. 7-4, 5-3. Really good chance WVU finishes the regular season 8-4, 6-3 in the Big 12. And, the truth of the matter is that no one saw it coming. WVU was panned preseason, by the national media at large, and by even a greater portion of our own fanbase. Expectations were low. When the over/under on wins was set at 4.5, I can recall a thread on this board where many took the under. Well, here we are and Neal Brown deserves a ton of credit. That being said, there's still the Houston loss. There's still the no-show in Norman. Is his job safe? Odds are that yes they are, but a loss to Baylor Saturday would put him right back on the seat heater. Baylor is obviously having a bad year, but they are not a pushover per se. They beat UC, played Utah to the final gun, stormed back to defeat UCF on their home field, and the played TCU tough last week before giving way in the fourth quarter. We can't sleepwalk to a win Saturday. I want to see WVU go down there and steal Baylor's will before the half like we did this past week. Get on them early, pour it on, don't let up. Get to 8-4, snag your bowl bid, rally the team around the idea of winning a bowl game to get to 9 wins (to stave off Will Grier Opt-Outs), and we will build some serious momentum toward 2024. With two more wins, this season will have a 1987 type of feel to it and I relish the idea of facing Penn State in Morgantown on August 31 with Garrett Greene, Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson, Kole Taylor, Traylon Ray, Rodney Gallagher, Hudson Clement, EJ Horton, a healthy Trey Lathan, Ben Cutter, Hershey McLaurin, et al.
We have a chance to finish this on a great note.
