--Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said that the development of redshirt senior Trevon Wesco is just making West Virginia’s offense that much more dynamic considering that he was already causing so many problems with his blocking and now defenses are going to have to be accountable for him in the passing game as well given how efficient he has been when they throw it to him. They were able to set up his touchdown pass off the fake to Tevin Bush and it allowed him to rumble open down the sideline.
--Spavital said that you can really see that West Virginia now expects good things to happen when they’re on the field. They are playing hard and it’s hard to keep everybody happy but this team seems to genuinely enjoy each other and are selfless all around.
--West Virginia couldn’t get into a rhythm at the start so Spavital changed the tempo in order to keep them from flipping personnel and getting into some exotic blitz packages to cause problems for the offensive line. The run game started to click and it came natural to call a game where they were able to get them on their toes. West Virginia came into the game with a bunch of tempo plays set and they wanted to work that in order to take advantage of them as well as get the Mountaineers going. They varied formations and showed some things they didn’t show in the past but once they had so much success doing it once, the offensive line was begging for an opportunity to keep going to the tempo and it was clear they had trouble so they stuck with it. The benefit of it was not allowing them to get in and out of what they typically do and forcing them to keep them thinking fast.
--The hardest thing about going against the three-safety system of TCU is knowing exactly where the pressure is coming from and how to handle it. They can play a cover 3 where the middle guy is a deep guy, they can play it into a two whole where he’s in the intermediate routes or put him in the run fits. It’s the new fad and you just have to try to find ways to go against it.
--One way to combat that is using Wesco because if you’re using a guy at that level you have to come a long way in the run fits to stop the run and when they stop filling hard on the run you can come back with some of those pop passes that have a lot of success. It helps out a lot. He puts stress on both linebackers and safeties with his size and physical element.
--Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said that the -7 rushing yards that West Virginia held TCU to was the best performance under him, which it was. He said he told the team not to worry about if TCU scores to keep battling because that has seemingly been an issue at times and they responded well.
--Gibson felt his group would play well today after giving up 41 points to Texas and honestly would have been concerned had they not after a very good week of practice and realizing that they had an opportunity to turn things around.
--Still Gibson felt the play on special teams was the one that blew the game open when the Mountaineers recovered the fumble to go ahead 17-3 which allowed them to bring more pressure. Gibson didn’t want to pressure much due to Jalen Reagor and his ability to take advantage of things one-on-one down the field but he could take more risks with the lead stretched out. That’s exactly what happened on the touchdown as Gibson was frustrated what had unfolded with getting off the field and he called a cover 1 with no help and Reagor was able to beat it.
--On the safety, West Virginia was able to get to TCU quarterback Michael Collins with pressure and he panicked. They had the blitz wide open and he saw too much to get it away. He hadn’t showed any panic on tape but this was the first time that he really was heated up. That’s even with them missing a few blitzes too as they were able to motion and get the Mountaineers eyes messed up.
--Like Baylor did, TCU went formation set to the sideline putting trips into the boundary to get David Long out of the box and JoVanni Stewart into the box. So they have prepared and have a plan for that, which they were able to adjust after the first drive of the game by pressuring from the field. TCU elected to go back and forth with it throughout the game but didn’t have as much success.
--West Virginia’s defensive line played very well against TCU and it came at the right time after Gibson challenged them when they were as he referred to it “manhandled” against Texas.
--TCU did attempt a trick play in this one with a pass and then another one set up down the field but the initial attempt was dropped but it’s a turn of events compared to the past several.
--Gibson said that he wanted to get a feel for the game with how he used the linebackers and didn’t want to put Brendan Ferns in the game too early just in case he wasn’t ready to go. So he was worked in on special teams and then into the game. Gibson said that Zach Sandwisch has probably been yelled at more than anybody in the history of West Virginia football but he was very proud of his efforts out there and how he responded by getting some tackles. He said that maybe Sandwisch is a gamer.
--With Robinson, TCU did a lot of different quarterback designed runs but that isn’t as much the case with Collins. He will pull a zone read at times or scramble but the goal was to keep him in the pocket. He had several runs where they didn’t account for him which allowed him to get some yards but once they started pressuring they switched things up to account for that.
--Redshirt junior David Long felt that West Virginia was able to pressure quarterback Michael Collins with a variety of blitzes which obviously affected him. It was his first true road game and they jumped on him by sending pressure especially after the offense jumped out and extended the lead. As the pressure came they noticed that he was looking at the rush instead of downfield to wide receivers which allowed them to get after him even more as he was throwing the ball low in the middle.
--Long isn’t always coming on blitzes right at the snap and is able to play it as it goes at times and freelance things because he can get there. He also comes on his own blitzes at times outside the framework of the defense but in this one he stuck mostly to what his assignments were supposed to be and managed four tackles for loss and three sacks.
--Long felt that he did better in coverage which is something he wanted to improve because teams have been able to complete passes on him in zone looks.
--The defensive line collapsed the pocket multiple times and was able to occupy blockers up front which freed Long and his counterparts at linebacker to make plays against the Horned Frogs. He credited them for what he was able to do because they were able to take double teams up front and allow the linebackers to get free and make tackles in the backfield.
--Freshman defensive lineman Dante Stills took advantage of his opportunities in this game but it’s nothing new for him as he has played well for the bulk of the year.
--Senior quarterback Will Grier said that Jake Spavital controls the tempo on the sideline while he orchestrates it on the field which is part of how they were able to get into things against TCU.
--West Virginia does a lot of different things and it’s hard to guard it all so they were able to get Wesco free on his touchdown by playing off a swing pass which they had faked earlier to Tevin Bush and they going back to him for the chunk play down the field for the score.
--Spavital said that you can really see that West Virginia now expects good things to happen when they’re on the field. They are playing hard and it’s hard to keep everybody happy but this team seems to genuinely enjoy each other and are selfless all around.
--West Virginia couldn’t get into a rhythm at the start so Spavital changed the tempo in order to keep them from flipping personnel and getting into some exotic blitz packages to cause problems for the offensive line. The run game started to click and it came natural to call a game where they were able to get them on their toes. West Virginia came into the game with a bunch of tempo plays set and they wanted to work that in order to take advantage of them as well as get the Mountaineers going. They varied formations and showed some things they didn’t show in the past but once they had so much success doing it once, the offensive line was begging for an opportunity to keep going to the tempo and it was clear they had trouble so they stuck with it. The benefit of it was not allowing them to get in and out of what they typically do and forcing them to keep them thinking fast.
--The hardest thing about going against the three-safety system of TCU is knowing exactly where the pressure is coming from and how to handle it. They can play a cover 3 where the middle guy is a deep guy, they can play it into a two whole where he’s in the intermediate routes or put him in the run fits. It’s the new fad and you just have to try to find ways to go against it.
--One way to combat that is using Wesco because if you’re using a guy at that level you have to come a long way in the run fits to stop the run and when they stop filling hard on the run you can come back with some of those pop passes that have a lot of success. It helps out a lot. He puts stress on both linebackers and safeties with his size and physical element.
--Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said that the -7 rushing yards that West Virginia held TCU to was the best performance under him, which it was. He said he told the team not to worry about if TCU scores to keep battling because that has seemingly been an issue at times and they responded well.
--Gibson felt his group would play well today after giving up 41 points to Texas and honestly would have been concerned had they not after a very good week of practice and realizing that they had an opportunity to turn things around.
--Still Gibson felt the play on special teams was the one that blew the game open when the Mountaineers recovered the fumble to go ahead 17-3 which allowed them to bring more pressure. Gibson didn’t want to pressure much due to Jalen Reagor and his ability to take advantage of things one-on-one down the field but he could take more risks with the lead stretched out. That’s exactly what happened on the touchdown as Gibson was frustrated what had unfolded with getting off the field and he called a cover 1 with no help and Reagor was able to beat it.
--On the safety, West Virginia was able to get to TCU quarterback Michael Collins with pressure and he panicked. They had the blitz wide open and he saw too much to get it away. He hadn’t showed any panic on tape but this was the first time that he really was heated up. That’s even with them missing a few blitzes too as they were able to motion and get the Mountaineers eyes messed up.
--Like Baylor did, TCU went formation set to the sideline putting trips into the boundary to get David Long out of the box and JoVanni Stewart into the box. So they have prepared and have a plan for that, which they were able to adjust after the first drive of the game by pressuring from the field. TCU elected to go back and forth with it throughout the game but didn’t have as much success.
--West Virginia’s defensive line played very well against TCU and it came at the right time after Gibson challenged them when they were as he referred to it “manhandled” against Texas.
--TCU did attempt a trick play in this one with a pass and then another one set up down the field but the initial attempt was dropped but it’s a turn of events compared to the past several.
--Gibson said that he wanted to get a feel for the game with how he used the linebackers and didn’t want to put Brendan Ferns in the game too early just in case he wasn’t ready to go. So he was worked in on special teams and then into the game. Gibson said that Zach Sandwisch has probably been yelled at more than anybody in the history of West Virginia football but he was very proud of his efforts out there and how he responded by getting some tackles. He said that maybe Sandwisch is a gamer.
--With Robinson, TCU did a lot of different quarterback designed runs but that isn’t as much the case with Collins. He will pull a zone read at times or scramble but the goal was to keep him in the pocket. He had several runs where they didn’t account for him which allowed him to get some yards but once they started pressuring they switched things up to account for that.
--Redshirt junior David Long felt that West Virginia was able to pressure quarterback Michael Collins with a variety of blitzes which obviously affected him. It was his first true road game and they jumped on him by sending pressure especially after the offense jumped out and extended the lead. As the pressure came they noticed that he was looking at the rush instead of downfield to wide receivers which allowed them to get after him even more as he was throwing the ball low in the middle.
--Long isn’t always coming on blitzes right at the snap and is able to play it as it goes at times and freelance things because he can get there. He also comes on his own blitzes at times outside the framework of the defense but in this one he stuck mostly to what his assignments were supposed to be and managed four tackles for loss and three sacks.
--Long felt that he did better in coverage which is something he wanted to improve because teams have been able to complete passes on him in zone looks.
--The defensive line collapsed the pocket multiple times and was able to occupy blockers up front which freed Long and his counterparts at linebacker to make plays against the Horned Frogs. He credited them for what he was able to do because they were able to take double teams up front and allow the linebackers to get free and make tackles in the backfield.
--Freshman defensive lineman Dante Stills took advantage of his opportunities in this game but it’s nothing new for him as he has played well for the bulk of the year.
--Senior quarterback Will Grier said that Jake Spavital controls the tempo on the sideline while he orchestrates it on the field which is part of how they were able to get into things against TCU.
--West Virginia does a lot of different things and it’s hard to guard it all so they were able to get Wesco free on his touchdown by playing off a swing pass which they had faked earlier to Tevin Bush and they going back to him for the chunk play down the field for the score.
