MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In the nine days since Tony Gibson scolded his West Virginia defense for loafing and lagging against Youngstown State, he has (in ascending order of importance) reviewed film, tempered his evaluation and regained emotional balance.
Gibson was so peeved after WVU yielded 405 yards in the 38-21 win over the FCS Penguins that he apologized to Mountaineers fans and “everybody who’s ever played here on defense.”
On Tuesday, with a bye week behind him and the BYU matchup only days ahead, Gibson sounded contrite about the postgame blistering of Sept. 10.
“Did I overreact? Yeah. Did I want to light a little fire and not have them think they’re that good? Yeah,” he said.
“I was frustrated because we didn’t end the game the way we talked about. It was the last two drives that got me.”
The last two drives saw Youngstown State, using its backup quarterback, rack up 104 yards. One series culminated in West Virginia territory on Al-Rasheed Benton’s interception. The other drive resulted in a 15-yard touchdown scramble by Trent Hosick.
“The quarterback gets out around the edge and scores on us, and that shouldn’t happen,” Gibson said. “We were lackadaisical, not wrapping up, guys not running to the ball.”
West Virginia’s defensive staff charted 18 missed tackles that day, an alarming total that convinced Gibson to put his players through the tackling circuit in each practice since.
One of those whiffs came when Youngstown’s Alvin Bailey twisted away from safety Jarrod Harper for a 74-yard touchdown catch.
“Y’all know that was my least favorite play, because I should’ve made the tackle,” Harper said Tuesday. “In those situations — good ball, good catch — you’ve got to get him down any way you can.”
Benton, in his first season as the starter at Mike linebacker, understood the source of Gibson’s chewing.
“We didn’t play the brand of defense we’re coached to play,” Benton said. “So I’m glad we got that out of Gibby. I want him to expect the best from us. It wasn’t good enough.
“We have to play fast, we have to play physical, and we have to play with a lot of effort. And there were a lot of plays on film where that didn’t show.”
Through the two-game sample size, West Virginia’s defense presents a statistical oddity: It boasts a No. 20 national ranking in points allowed (16 per game) despite sitting 99th in yardage surrendered (433.5) and 105th in turnovers forced (two).
The Mountaineers’ pass rush hasn’t generated much either, totaling one sack on 90 dropbacks.
So when players noticed teammates loafing on film, the peer pressure turned palpable.
“One thing we pride ourselves on is being able to get after each other, me included,” Benton said. “I want everybody to let me know when I’m doing bad, just like I’m going to let you know. Everybody’s accountable.”