10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Offensive glitches putting West Virginia defense in major bind

COMMENTARY

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For a period of each day’s practice, Skyler Howard and the West Virginia running backs rep the read-option handoff that now predicates the offense.

How many of those exchanges typically are dropped or bobbled?

“Almost none,” said running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider.

So imagine the shock-and-aw’ crap Saturday night when the ball popped loose as Howard and running back Wendell Smallwood recreated that maneuver they’ve become accustomed to executing seamlessly. The fumble trickled backward into the end zone, where defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah dove atop the unforced error to claim Oklahoma State’s first touchdown.

“It’s run/pass and I just put my hand out for the run and I guess (Howard) pulled it and my elbow hit the ball or something,” Smallwood said. “I’ll look at the film and see if I was too tight … but we do that everyday in practice. Dana preaches that exchange.”

Dana Holgorsen also referenced the term “preach” in his postgame news conference, re-emphasizing his frustration over gifting the Cowboys a score in what became a 33-26 overtime loss.

While the botched exchange was charged to Howard, Smallwood incurred his own lost fumble later in the half on a tackle that featured minimal contact. When Rushel Shell lost a fumble too, the victimization of West Virginia’s primary three ballcarriers was complete.

How and why the turnover outbreak sprang up, Holgorsen couldn’t fathom. “I don’t know,” he said. “It wasn’t just one person. If I could put one person on the bench because of it, I would. But it was three different people. We work it every day, twice a day.”

Combined with Howard’s fourth-quarter interception—also thrown deep in West Virginia’s own end—the turnover count for the past two weeks now stands at nine. No other factor so blatantly underscores the Mountaineers’ 0-2 start in the Big 12 play.

While WVU’s offense scored 50 points over the past two games, its turnovers gave back 30 points to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. A breakdown:

OKLAHOMA
• Austin Siebert 25-yard FG (Drive started at WVU’s 7 after Howard fumbled)
• Jordan Evans’ 41-yard fumble return TD
• Austin Siebert 44-yard FG (Drive started at WVU’s 20 after Howard interception)
OKLAHOMA STATE
• Emmanuel Ogbah fumble-recovery TD
• Rennie Childs’ 1-yard TD run (Drive started at WVU’s 28 after Shell fumbled)
• Ben Grogan 22-yard FG (Drive started at WVU’s 11 after Devante Averett’s interception)

The scope and severity of the turnovers have hamstrung a WVU defense that’s performing better than the scoreboard indicates.

Oklahoma State’s season-low 362 yards, for instance, were more than 100 off the Pokes’ per-game average. Though Mason Rudolph’s record as a college starter improved to 8-1, the sophomore quarterback was held without a passing touchdown for the first time and threw a personal-worst three interceptions.

“We’re definitely proud of how we played,” West Virginia linebacker Shaq Petteway said Saturday. “We were put in some bad situations and we came out. But we were put in one last bad situation (in overtime) and we didn’t come through.”

A few seats away, Seider gave an unprompted shout out: “Our defense, they played their butt off again.”

Yet that’s not sufficient when the lesser half stands so intent on self-wounding.





More

High School Sports
Class AAAA Boys Basketball All-State List
Morgantown guard Sharron Young captain of first team.
March 29, 2024 - 9:25 am
News
MetroNews This Morning 3-29-24
Summary of West Virginia news, sports, and weather for Friday, March 29, 2024
March 29, 2024 - 6:24 am
News
Dunlow Volunteer Fire Department closes
The Dunlow VFD did not have a valid workers compensation insurance policy.
March 29, 2024 - 1:23 am
Sports
Beanie Bishop posts top 40-yard dash time at Big 12 Pro Day
March 29, 2024 - 1:21 am