West Virginia-TCU ready to add another thrilling chapter?

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia stands 10-1 in its last 11 games. TCU is 12-1 off a bye under Gary Patterson.

As West Virginia (5-0, 2-0) zoomed up to No. 12 in the AP poll, the Frogs (4-2, 2-1) plummeted from preseason No. 13 and are currently unranked.

Once on the verge of becoming Big East comrades during 2011, their schools instead jumped into the Big 12 where three of four meetings have been won on the final play. (And within a span of about four hours last Jan. 2, they salvaged the league’s postseason reputation by winning Cactus and Alamo bowl thrillers.)

We’re fidgety to see what Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. kickoff brings, so let’s prep the stage with this week’s edition of Four-Down Territory:

1. What about the bye-week effect?

West Virginia coaches owned up to the impact of having two weeks to prepare for BYU and Texas Tech, the same benefit TCU coach Gary Patterson enjoys for this game.

The extra time let him study film from last season, all in the name of spotting potential wrinkles WVU’s offense might produce.

“I get to do the what-ifs you don’t normally get a chance to do” in a seven-day window, Patterson said.

That could be crucial, noted Dana Holgorsen, who said Patterson’s defenses are among the best at sniffing out pre-snap indicators.

“It affects the way I call the game,” Holgorsen said. “I’ve got to change it up a little. Get the hair a little crazy and have an edge.”

With injuries inevitably taking a toll at midseason, the bye week featured other perks. TCU’s top pass-rusher Josh Carraway — public enemy No. 1 in Morgantown for this head-snatching tackle on Clint Trickett — had time to rehab a bad ankle that slowed his explosion during the past three games.

Five weeks after suffering a PCL injury, dynamic receiver/returner KaVontae Turpin is a game-time decision.

2. Another blitz bombardment?

West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said his players prefer to blitz on every snap, and he nearly obliged them during the final three quarters at Texas Tech.

TCU’s offense, however, is more balanced — running the ball on 42 percent of snaps compared to Tech’s 34 percent — and running it far more effectively. That gives Gibby pause.

“You can’t take as many chances against a run team,” he said. “When you’re getting after them, if you don’t hit the right gap or you get pushed around a little bit, big plays can happen in the run game.”

Key to West Virginias blitz efficacy? The recovery of TCU center Austin Schlottman, a team captain who could return from afoot injury after sitting out two games.

3. Howard vs. Hill, Part II (maybe)

Nine years ago, middle-school basketball fans in the MetroPlex had no idea they were witnessing a battle between future Big 12 starting quarterbacks.

The results of that long-ago Skyler Howard vs. Kenny Hill may exist in a tattered scorebook somewhere, if it actually happened.

“(Hill) probably doesn’t remember, but I think we played middle-school basketball against each other,” Howard said. “I remember going at it with someone from Southlake Carroll and I believe it was him.

“It makes sense, because you look at the way he plays with the competitiveness and the way I play competitive. You’ve got two eighth-graders out there who don’t know how to control their emotions yet, so I could see us going at it, but it was a long time ago.”

There’s no fuzziness over Howard’s improvement as a senior, particularly on choosing check-down routes instead of forcing throws deep. He’s 15th nationally with 66-percent completion rate, 25th in passing efficiency and eighth in total offense at 357 yards per game.

The only interception in his past 94 attempts was an on-the-money pass Ka’Raun White lost against K-State. Hill’s eight interceptions are the most among Big 12 starters and he was picked three times in a 24-23 win at Kansas.

4. Gauging receivers’ progress

No game last season highlighted West Virginia’s inconsistency at receiver like the 40-10 loss at TCU.

Jovon Durante went butterfingers on a potential 55-yard touchdown. Shelton Gibson let a 50-plus gain slip through his hands. The now-departed David Sills dropped a bomb at the goal line. (WVU netted only 160 passing yards that night, and Howard was saddle with a career-low passer rating.)

The unit has curbed its drops this season, with Gibson (94.4) and Daikiel Shorts (83.6) ranking among the nation’s top 35 receivers in yards per game. Durante caught the decisive touchdown against K-State and took a Jet sweep 51 yards at Texas Tech. White’s 23 catches have led to 19 first downs overall, and he has been a factor on third- and fourth-down situations, converting 7-of-10 targets.

Holgorsen warns, however, they remain “nowhere near being a top-notch receiver group.”

“Jovon and Shelton continue to be the flashy, inconsistent guys,” Holgorsen said. “I’m waiting for someone to step up and make a real difference. I have seen guys step up and make real differences. I don’t see that yet.”

Receivers coach Tyron Carrier said the inconsistencies surface in subtle ways, such as not selling decoy routes.

“My guys will show spurts,” he said. “They’ll come out one game and just show everything and you think ‘He’s on his way.’ Then the next game he kind of falls back in old habits.”





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