MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia owns the nation’s 17th-ranked passing attack and stands No. 16 in total offense, which essentially pleases Dana Holgorsen.
The coach, however, is entirely unsatisfied with his offense in the category that matters most, points. Scoring just 29 per game, West Virginia ranks only 66th nationally and eighth in the Big 12 Conference.
“We’re moving the ball, we’re averaging a lot of yards, (but) we’ve got to score more — period,” Holgorsen said.
West Virginia (4-0, 1-0) carries an unbeaten record into mid-October though its previous two wins each were tainted by turnovers inside the opponent’s 5-yard line. Tyler Orlosky’s mistimed snap caught Skyler Howard unaware and breathed late life into BYU. Then Rushel Shell’s fumble nearly proved catastrophic in a 17-16 win against Kansas State.
The red-zone results took another hit when now-departed kicker Josh Lambert misfired from 30 yards two weeks ago. That leaves West Virginia with only eight touchdowns on 18 trips inside the opposing 20 — a 44-percent success. The other nine teams in the Big 12 score red-zone touchdowns at a clip of 66 percent.
The topic has begun to annoy Holgorsen, who claims the play-calling and matchups are just as sound near the goal line as they are at midfield.
“The guys have to score. I mean, jeez,” he said. “How does that happen? Well, you get guys that get the ball in the end zone — that’s how it happens. I think you can understand where I am with that.”
The Mountaineers have endured two redzone delay-of-games, a false start by Adam Pankey, and a holding flag on Kyle Bosch, execution lapses that are being addressed during the bye-week runup to facing Texas Tech (3-2, 1-1)
Orlosky sounded just as baffled about West Virginia’s inability to finish drives. (“If I knew I’d tell you, but for the past four weeks we haven’t done it,” he said.) This lack of execution lingers despite a diversified attack replete with capable running backs, Howard’s dual-threat skills and a receiver (Daikiel Shorts) who seems made for fades.
“We just haven’t been able to convert,” Orlosky said. “I think it has to do with our ability to make plays in space, and when we get down there we’re not able to make those same plays.
“Teams have been outplaying us in the red zone and that’s something we can’t allow to happen.”
With Texas Tech’s scorched-turf offense generating 50-point performances in an NCAA-record nine consecutive home games, the Mountaineers may not be able to withstand botched opportunities this Saturday.
“They’re going to score a lot of points regardless of the defense they go against,” Orlosky said. “Offensively, we haven’t put up numbers we’d like to, but we have to this week or we will not win the game.”