MORGANTOWN —
Much has made of West Virginia University’s defensive shortcomings this season, and rightfully so, but when it comes to the latest loss at Texas Tech it would be a mistake to overlook the fact that the offense put only 14 points on the board despite having the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy at quarterback and the two leading candidates for the Biletnikoff Award at receiver.
The tendency is to write it off as one of those days, a smudge on what has been a Mona Lisa season to date.
“Every team is going to lose a game. Just like last year. We lost to Syracuse. It woke us up. I think we’re woke up now,” is the way one of those Biletnikoff Award candidates, Tavon Austin, put it.
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson also understands that dynamic of the situation.
“It’s hard to execute at an extremely high level every week,” he said. “I told our group, when you’re a little off … and we were a little off. Geno (Smith) was a little off; our receivers were a little off; every single person was a little off.
“I told them when that happens you have to have great leadership. Someone has to step up. Even if the others don’t want to follow, you have to drag their (rear). Somebody has to step up to make a play. It can’t be other people waiting on Stedman Bailey to make a play. It can’t be other people waiting on Tavon Austin to make a play.”
But no one made that play.
And that was scary, not so much that no one made it but the why behind no one making it.
“Everybody is talking about why and a lot of it in my opinion is just excuses. You talk about the environment and you talk about back-to-back road games … the bottom line is we got a schedule at the beginning of the year. We knew we were playing in Lubbock on that day. For us not to show up, there’s no excuse for that,” Dawson said.
Why?
Dawson had his own theory on why, and it wasn’t an excuse.
“If you looked at the stats, it looked like we were in the game,” he said. “But the stat they never keep is mental and physical toughness, and they beat the hell out of us in both of them.”
Is this a soft team when staring at a difficult situation?
“I’m not going to label us soft unless we are soft more than one time. We’ve been tough a lot this year,” Dawson said.
And now there is more. Two the next four games are season makers or breakers. First comes Kansas State, unbeaten and No. 4 in the country, on Saturday, and then comes Oklahoma on Nov. 17, a game that could be the biggest one in Morgantown in some time if the Mountaineers can right themselves and beat K-State.
Another problem stands before the Mountaineers, however, and that is injuries.
They may run out of the field Saturday against the Wildcats at full strength, save for cornerback Brodrick Jenkins, who has been declared out, but they may not, the offense being very banged up in the Texas Tech loss.
The biggest boost they could get, of course, would be a healthy Shawne Alston coming back from what they’ve termed a deep thigh bruise, perhaps the worst in history as it has kept him out of action for a month.
Just the presence of the senior would give the offense a huge mental lift at a time when it really needs it, to say nothing of another pair of legs to go with Andrew Buie and Dustin Garrison.
Stedman Bailey limped to the locker room on a gimpy ankle after missing the second half in Lubbock, but Austin vows his running mate will play.
“He will definitely be playing this week. We’ll have our one-two punch back,” Austin said on Tuesday night.
And Jeff Braun, the powerful offensive guard, also had an ankle and showed up with it in a walking boot on Tuesday but vowed he, too, would play against Kansas State.
Considering how strong K-State is on defense and how they like to control the flow and tempo of the game, slowing it down to their advantage, WVU cannot afford to be at less than full strength coming in.
Email Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter@bhertzel.
Sports
WVU offense looking for bounce-back
- Sports
-
-
Polar Bears set for Oak Glen today
Oak Glen is next on the menu for the Fairmont Senior baseball squad.
With the 11-0 win over Braxton County on Tuesday evening, and Oak Glen’s eight-inning 2-1 win over Ritchie County, the two teams find themselves squaring off against one another while fighting for a spot to play in the state tournament. -
HERTZEL COLUMN: Big 12 baseball tournament is about America
All of a sudden the Big 12’s annual baseball tournament is more about America and the American way than it is about baseball.
And that makes it a wonderful thing. -
East’s Summers signs to play softball at FSU
East Fairmont softball player Kayla Summers always dreamed about playing softball in college.
On Tuesday, Summers signed her letter of intent to play at Fairmont State University.
“Ever since I started playing softball, I always told my parents that I was going to go to college and play softball,” she said. -
Musgrave to pitch WVU’s second game
West Virginia University baseball coach Randy Mazey believes that the change in format of the Big 12 Tournament will benefit his Mountaineers because it allows him to hold conference Pitcher of the Year Harrison Musgrave until the key second game of the tournament.
-
Jets QB Geno Smith picks Jay-Z’s agency as new rep
Geno Smith has joined Jay-Z for one big sports and hip-hop collaboration.
The New York Jets rookie quarterback has chosen the rap artist’s new Roc Nation Sports to represent him. Smith, who slipped out of the first round last month and fell to the Jets in the second round at No. 39 overall, fired his agents — Select Sports — shortly after the NFL draft. -
Liriano dominates as Pirates edge Cubs, 1-0
Francisco Liriano continued his torrid start, scattering two hits over seven innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Wednesday night.
-
Penguins rout Senators, 7-3, take 3-1 series lead
Jarome Iginla and James Neal each scored twice and the Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Ottawa Senators 7-3 on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
-
FSHS glides past Braxton, 11-0: PHOTOS
Fairmont Senior High School’s baseball team leveled Braxton County in the Class AA semi-regionals Tuesday evening, 11-0.
The Polar Bears were led by their cleanup hitter, Johnny Kesling, and starting pitcher, Fletcher DeVaul. -
HERTZEL COLUMN: Bill Stewart is missed, remembered
It was Monday, the first anniversary of Bill Stewart’s sudden death while playing the 16th hole of a charity golf tournament with West Virginia University’s former athletic director and his former boss, Ed Pastilong.
-
Miles granted release from WVU
Junior forward Keaton Miles, who suffered through a disappointing sophomore season as West Virginia fell below .500, has been granted a release and will seek a transfer, according to published reports.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Polar Bears set for Oak Glen today
