WVU is not what you'd expect this season. 10th in nation running the football, it has made a living with superior ST play and forcing turnovers(26 is good for 2nd among power 5 teams and 1st if you consider TO's per game). Oklahoma State has 28, but has played 11 games to WVU's 10.
WVU hosts ISU riding a 3 game winning streak. WVU beat Texas Tech pretty good, and score doesnt indicate that. WVU took a knee at 1 yard line rather than add a meaningless td. WVU held Tech to a season low yards and points. This is a physical WVU team that punches you in the mouth.
It had some real bad luck with scheduling and injuries coinciding to create some lopsided losses on the road to Baylor, TCU, and OU, which were all at full strength when WVU played them.
WVU has reinvented its offense after its 4th straight loss, and is now dedicated to the run. It is also healthy for the 1st time since game 4, although All American Karl Joseph is out for the year.
I watched ISU play several times this year, and ISU is a physical, smack you in the mouth team. I just think ISU lacked talent and coaching to win several of the close games they were in, but ISU is dangerous to any team not named OU with lanning at qb.
I expect a tough, hard-fought game, with WVU winning in Morgantown on senior day 30-17.
WVU will not take ISU lightly, and you will get WVU's best effort of 2015.
O-line sparks rise of running game
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Lucas
Posted: Monday, November 23, 2015 7:15 pm
by Bob Hertzel Sports Columnist
MORGANTOWN — The focus, quite naturally, as West Virginia has morphed from an air assault into a powerful ground game has been on the national rise of running back Wendell Smallwood, the return to prominence of running back Rushel Shell and the manner in which quarterback Skyler Howard has used his legs rather than his arm for his greatest contribution to the offense.
Certainly, with all three of them recording more than 100 yards on the ground in a 49-0 shutout of Kansas last week, a feat last accomplished in 1969 by the Mountaineers, have earned all of the plaudits that are being tossed their way.
But there is another aspect of the surging ground game that cannot be overlooked, and that has been the performance of an offensive line that was willing to shuffle and scuffle.
Indeed, while Tyler Orlosky has been the anchor at center, an intelligent and tough leader, around him changes were made, brought about at first by a foot injury to redshirt freshman Yodny Cajuste, who had been the starter at left tackle.
When he went out Adam Pankey, who manned that position a year ago but moved to left guard to make room for the child prodigy, was moved back to tackle and Tony Matteo moved in at guard, but somehow that wasn’t the answer line coach Ron Crook was seeking.
Pankey belonged at guard, his most dominating position, and so he was moved back while Marquis Lucas, a senior from Miami who had manned the right tackle spot, was shuffled to left tackle while Marcell Lazard with Kyle Bosch, the Michigan transfer, at right guard.
But even that alignment took a hit during the Kansas game when Pankey’s leg injury allowed him to play only one series, Matteo moving in at guard sharing time with Stone Underwood.
It was a patchwork quilt that was knocking defenders on their rumps, opening huge holes.
What had happened to cause this change in the offensive line?
In truth, it went back into the change in offensive philosophy and the running game, which requires linemen to be aggressive and attack rather than to lean back and pass block. All of a sudden technique was taking a back seat to attitude.
It was something that everyone should have taken a hint from during the Maryland game, even before all the changes were made. That was when Lucas, a soft-spoken man of 300 pounds, flipped out on the field after Howard took a late hit out of bounds.
“My guys know me,” Lucas said on Monday as preparations were underway for Iowa State. “They know I’m an emotional guy, especially when things aren’t going as they should. I know what type of group I’m dealing with. I’ve seen us do it before.
“So I can definitely say that lights a match. Some people don’t like it, some people do. You got to be tough.”
At that moment, Lucas became the emotional leader, bottled up some by the offense, but that would change with the switch to a power running game.
The Lucas genie was out of the bottle.
“Marquis is one of my favorite guys,” Holgorsen said. “He’s been here for a long time. He is an inspirational guy. He has a lot of energy. I am proud of the player that he has turned into.”
An offensive line blocking for the run is always in full drive ahead and their goal is to flatten anything in their way.
“I’d definitely say we are meaner,” Lucas said. “I don’t want to say we weren’t mean before, but when you are down and going through a losing stretch like we did, you got to dig deep to bring it out of you.
“The coaches and players like Skyler addressing us and letting us know they want us to be more physical really helped. I know I took it to heart,” Lucas said. “Everyone came out and showed we could play with an edge.
“We are an aggressive bunch. I’m not saying we’re the best but we do have aggression in our line.
Skyler let us know we were not where we needed to be.”
Running the ball changes an offensive lines mentalitiy.
“You definitely have to have a different mentality. Coach Crook emphasizes finishing blocks in the running game. There’s a lot of times you may have blocked somebody but you stop and they end up making the tackle seven or eight yards down the field. You have to do more than block them. You have to finish them.”
Lucas is finishing more than just blocks, though.
“He is going to get his degree in December, and I know he wants to play in the NFL,” Holgorsen said. “He will have that opportunity, and he will leave an alumni of West Virginia University. I am proud of where he is at.”
The degree is larger than anything he has done on the football field.
“I never thought I would get it, but Mom would have no part of that. I always had to have my grades in high school. In high school, my grades started slipping and my mom said threatened to take football away, so I always had to stay on top of that,” Lucas said.
Follow Bob Hertzel on Twitter @bhertzel
WVU hosts ISU riding a 3 game winning streak. WVU beat Texas Tech pretty good, and score doesnt indicate that. WVU took a knee at 1 yard line rather than add a meaningless td. WVU held Tech to a season low yards and points. This is a physical WVU team that punches you in the mouth.
It had some real bad luck with scheduling and injuries coinciding to create some lopsided losses on the road to Baylor, TCU, and OU, which were all at full strength when WVU played them.
WVU has reinvented its offense after its 4th straight loss, and is now dedicated to the run. It is also healthy for the 1st time since game 4, although All American Karl Joseph is out for the year.
I watched ISU play several times this year, and ISU is a physical, smack you in the mouth team. I just think ISU lacked talent and coaching to win several of the close games they were in, but ISU is dangerous to any team not named OU with lanning at qb.
I expect a tough, hard-fought game, with WVU winning in Morgantown on senior day 30-17.
WVU will not take ISU lightly, and you will get WVU's best effort of 2015.
O-line sparks rise of running game
PrintCreate a hardcopy of this pageFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font size
LucasPosted: Monday, November 23, 2015 7:15 pm
by Bob Hertzel Sports Columnist
MORGANTOWN — The focus, quite naturally, as West Virginia has morphed from an air assault into a powerful ground game has been on the national rise of running back Wendell Smallwood, the return to prominence of running back Rushel Shell and the manner in which quarterback Skyler Howard has used his legs rather than his arm for his greatest contribution to the offense.
Certainly, with all three of them recording more than 100 yards on the ground in a 49-0 shutout of Kansas last week, a feat last accomplished in 1969 by the Mountaineers, have earned all of the plaudits that are being tossed their way.
But there is another aspect of the surging ground game that cannot be overlooked, and that has been the performance of an offensive line that was willing to shuffle and scuffle.
Indeed, while Tyler Orlosky has been the anchor at center, an intelligent and tough leader, around him changes were made, brought about at first by a foot injury to redshirt freshman Yodny Cajuste, who had been the starter at left tackle.
When he went out Adam Pankey, who manned that position a year ago but moved to left guard to make room for the child prodigy, was moved back to tackle and Tony Matteo moved in at guard, but somehow that wasn’t the answer line coach Ron Crook was seeking.
Pankey belonged at guard, his most dominating position, and so he was moved back while Marquis Lucas, a senior from Miami who had manned the right tackle spot, was shuffled to left tackle while Marcell Lazard with Kyle Bosch, the Michigan transfer, at right guard.
But even that alignment took a hit during the Kansas game when Pankey’s leg injury allowed him to play only one series, Matteo moving in at guard sharing time with Stone Underwood.
It was a patchwork quilt that was knocking defenders on their rumps, opening huge holes.
What had happened to cause this change in the offensive line?
In truth, it went back into the change in offensive philosophy and the running game, which requires linemen to be aggressive and attack rather than to lean back and pass block. All of a sudden technique was taking a back seat to attitude.
It was something that everyone should have taken a hint from during the Maryland game, even before all the changes were made. That was when Lucas, a soft-spoken man of 300 pounds, flipped out on the field after Howard took a late hit out of bounds.
“My guys know me,” Lucas said on Monday as preparations were underway for Iowa State. “They know I’m an emotional guy, especially when things aren’t going as they should. I know what type of group I’m dealing with. I’ve seen us do it before.
“So I can definitely say that lights a match. Some people don’t like it, some people do. You got to be tough.”
At that moment, Lucas became the emotional leader, bottled up some by the offense, but that would change with the switch to a power running game.
The Lucas genie was out of the bottle.
“Marquis is one of my favorite guys,” Holgorsen said. “He’s been here for a long time. He is an inspirational guy. He has a lot of energy. I am proud of the player that he has turned into.”
An offensive line blocking for the run is always in full drive ahead and their goal is to flatten anything in their way.
“I’d definitely say we are meaner,” Lucas said. “I don’t want to say we weren’t mean before, but when you are down and going through a losing stretch like we did, you got to dig deep to bring it out of you.
“The coaches and players like Skyler addressing us and letting us know they want us to be more physical really helped. I know I took it to heart,” Lucas said. “Everyone came out and showed we could play with an edge.
“We are an aggressive bunch. I’m not saying we’re the best but we do have aggression in our line.
Skyler let us know we were not where we needed to be.”
Running the ball changes an offensive lines mentalitiy.
“You definitely have to have a different mentality. Coach Crook emphasizes finishing blocks in the running game. There’s a lot of times you may have blocked somebody but you stop and they end up making the tackle seven or eight yards down the field. You have to do more than block them. You have to finish them.”
Lucas is finishing more than just blocks, though.
“He is going to get his degree in December, and I know he wants to play in the NFL,” Holgorsen said. “He will have that opportunity, and he will leave an alumni of West Virginia University. I am proud of where he is at.”
The degree is larger than anything he has done on the football field.
“I never thought I would get it, but Mom would have no part of that. I always had to have my grades in high school. In high school, my grades started slipping and my mom said threatened to take football away, so I always had to stay on top of that,” Lucas said.
Follow Bob Hertzel on Twitter @bhertzel
