DALLAS — From Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon and Derek Henry, to Texas standout Johnathan Gray and Oklahoma fab freshman Samaje Perine, the cadre of running backs who pummeled West Virginia in 2014 was lengthy.
The Mountaineers allowed 178.7 rushing yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry, ranking 74th nationally in both categories. For a defense that prided its progress in third-down stops and pass coverage, the inability to stuff the run was a sore spot.
Sure, some of these opposing running backs were studs who ran through a lot of defenses. Still, Gray’s only 100-yard game of the season came in a 33-16 win over West Virginia. He scored on three of his 10 carries.
“They made a lot of mistakes on defense and we executed when they made mistakes,” said the Longhorn, who could be a Heisman candidate by the time Texas visits Morgantown on Nov. 14.
Though West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson saw a few encouraging signs—K-State ran for 1 yard on 29 carries—the season-long trend was problematic. Seven opponents averaged 5 yards or more per attempt, and Texas A&M averaged 4.9 while beating WVU 45-37 in the Liberty Bowl.
In some cases, Gibson’s unit was outmanned. Other times it did a poor job fitting gaps.
Yeldon and Henry combined for 239 yards and three touchdowns. Perine put up 242 yards and four scores on his own, a bust-out performance that surprised even his Oklahoma teammates.
“I think that’s the first time we thought ‘This guy’s special,’” said Sooners center Ty Darlington. “Guys were just bouncing off of him. You take a hit from Karl Joseph to the thighs and keep running? That’s substantial.”
Trevor Knight, who threw an interception and no touchdowns during the 45-33 victory, made his best plays simply handing off to Perine.
“After that game it was like, ‘Wow this dude can get it done,’” Knight said.
The fact that Perine finished the season with 1,713 yards—highlighted by an NCAA-record 427-yard output vs. Kansas—was small consolation for Gibson.
Then again, Texas Tech’s DeAndre Washington piled up 132 yards against WVU and Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown scampered for 161. The Mountaineers’ K.J. Dillon delivered a knockout hit on B.J. Catalon only after the TCU running back gained 105 yards.
West Virginia’s 3-3 stack defense was implemented to cope with the Big 12’s spread offenses, and it relies on athleticism and versatility to compensate for a lack of disruptive defensive linemen—the kind Dana Holgorsen calls “war daddies.” Those kind of defenders are hard to find and difficult to recruit, and West Virginia won’t have any in the program for 2015 either.
Gibson just hopes the guys he does have will stand up better against the run this time around.