MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With one-third of the football season behind them, the West Virginia Mountaineers enter a bye week wearing the look of a dangerous team, yet sporting a 2-2 record that shows plenty of gaps remaining.
We complete our two-day question-and-answer segment about where the team is headed during the next eight games:
How reliable is West Virginia’s run game?
The preseason foaming over the Mountaineers’ running backs may have grown excessive, at least from a standpoint of statistical expectations. This remains a deep and capable assembly, with two, perhaps three, future NFL performers. Yet for various reasons —some of them schematic—no one seems likely to flirt with a 1,000-yard season.
Rushel Shell is currently on pace for 800 yards, and owns at least one explosive run (defined as 12 or more yards) in all four starts. His overall 4.0 yards per carry doesn’t overwhelm, but that belies his tough interior running, which impressed the heck out of Nick Saban.
West Virginia’s 3.4 yards per rush ranks next to last in the Big 12, a stat made less alarming by the fact no one else in the league has lined up against two defenses like Alabama and Oklahoma. For something that is alarming: The Mountaineers ran it 59 times for only a 3.1-yard average vs. Maryland, whose run defense ranks 99th nationally after the first month.
Dana Holgorsen wants more explosive gains from the backs but summarized the run game so far as,”It’s not great and it’s not bad.”
MORE: Bye week questions, Part 1
While Wendell Smallwood offers tremendous value in the passing game, eight of his 32 carries have netted no gain or minus yards. Dreamius Smith has tumbled down the depth chart, though his brief-but-solid fourth-quarter showings against Maryland and Oklahoma could portend a resurgence.
Clint Trickett’s outstanding numbers fuel the perception of a pass-happy attack, when in fact West Virginia has been balanced with 179 passes vs. 175 runs. Even after reallocating the 11 sacks—giving the offense 190 drop-backs vs. 164 designed runs—West Virginia has attempted to throw the ball 54 percent of the time.
With the exception of those 23 measly carries against Alabama, whereby Holgorsen eventually deemed the Crimson Tide’s defensive front immovable, the commitment to the running game has been evident. The production, a little less so.
In situations where the line to gain was 3 yards or less, West Virginia has scored or picked up the first down on 16-of-24 runs. That’s neither abysmal or satisfactory. With Alabama and Oklahoma out of the way, the Mountaineers had better pick up the conversion rates.
“We’ve played two pretty good run defenses,” Holgorsen said. “Their schemes put more people in the box than we can block. They can do that because they have great cover people. There’s going to be teams that we play that cannot do that.”
Will Daryl Worley return this season?
This decision appears to be completely out of Dana Holgorsen’s hands, having moved into the domain of university administrators. While the Ray Rice case was far more violent than Worley’s, its never-ending media coverage will factor into how athletes are disciplined at every level, from the NFL down to high school.
Defense attorneys claim Worley was defending his girlfriend when he grabbed a woman by the neck at a downtown nightclub. It’s an angle that potentially could turn public sentiment in the player’s favor and soften any blowback should he be reinstated.
Though Worley has yet to enter a plea to his misdemeanor battery charge, the stance taken by his counsel indicates a willingness to fight the allegation. That could mean no new legal developments until December, which could cost Worley the rest of this season but might help his reputation long term.
Worley’s absence coincides with the curious departure of fellow cornerback Travis Bell, leaving a once-deep position vulnerable.
When will William Crest play again?
So far, his garbage-time appearance in the 54-0 win over Towson was Crest’s only action. He’ll need to see plenty more to justify burning a redshirt.
Holgorsen continues to verify the potential for utilizing the freshman quarterback in special packages, though it may be mere lip service meant to create busy work for opposing defensive coordinators. If there is a set designed to use Crest’s read-option skills, it hasn’t surfaced in a meaningful game. West Virginia ran nine short-yardage plays inside the Maryland 40 and Trickett took the snap on all of them.
If Trickett and the starters put it on Kansas early, Crest might see ample second-half action. Beyond that, it’s hard to budget for anymore blowouts, with every game presuming to be a dogfight.