MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Even at halftime, with West Virginia’s shutout season temporarily still intact, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson wasn’t feeling confident.
“I could tell we just weren’t in it.”
The Mountaineers led 20-0 at that point, the zero preserved only because Liberty misfired on three field goals. Missing was the fervor they showed during the season opener.
In the second half Liberty capitalized, burning Gibson’s group on a 60-yard pass and a steadily-assembled 78-yard drive. While the FCS Flames never threatened to pull the upset, their 372 yards put a damper on West Virginia’s 41-17 win.
BOXSCORE: West Virginia 41, Liberty 17
“We were flying around and we look really fast one week, and the next week, we look lethargic,” Gibson said. “I don’t get it. We work all year long for 12 opportunities, and today wasn’t our best effort.”
Then he reconnected with the fact West Virginia had moved to 2-0.
“I’m disappointed in the way we played, but I’m very happy we got the win, which was our No. 1 goal.”
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West Virginia played without senior Mike linebacker Jared Barber, who rested a sore shoulder, but the primary soft spots showed in the secondary. On Liberty’s longest play of the game, Zac Parker ran unobstructed through an eight-man zone, caught a pass from Jeff Woodrum and completed a 60-yard touchdown.
“I’m not sure what happened,” said Spur safety KJ Dillon. “They found a gap.”
That play flummoxed Gibson, the kind of mistake reminiscent of recent years before the defense had matured into its current state.
“We dropped eight. A 10-yard dig should never hit us for 60 yards in our base coverage. That shouldn’t happen,” he said. “I didn’t want to gamble there, bring pressure and get hit with a big play. So I drop eight and we got hit anyway.”
His supposition as to what happened?
“Probably a lot of guys loafing or not breaking go the ball.”
The superb tackling championed against Georgia Southern took a holiday during Week 2. When Dillon came flying up toward former teammate Will Johnson, the tight end hurdled him for a complete whiff and a 16-yard pickup.
“He knew I was trying take them knees out, but good job by him,” Dillon said. “I told him the next play I wasn’t expecting that. He’s athletic but I didn’t want him to be athletic right there.”
Just another teaching point for WVU to tackle during the bye week.
“We have to stay on our feet and run through tackles,” Gibson said. “You’ve got to see what you hit. You can’t duck your head.”