Holgorsen evaluating what led to 2nd-half energy dropoff

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It was as if someone had walked along the West Virginia sideline with a giant Shop-Vac that sucked away all of the energy. After jumping to a 35-10 halftime lead at Texas Tech, WVU sat back with an attitude bordering on disinterest as the final 30 minutes slowly melted away.

“We kind of settled in after halftime thinking it was going to be an easy second half,” said right tackle Colton McKivitz. “I don’t think guys were focused 100 percent. You’re not doing your job to the fullest, and it started showing.”

It almost showed in the most embarrassing way possible. Texas Tech was driving with a chance to tie the game with under 2 minutes left until cornerback Keith Washington saved the day with a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown in what ended up as a 42-34 Mountaineers win.

There was an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu for West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who drew parallels to last year’s 38-36 escape against Baylor. The Bears outscored WVU 23-0 in the fourth quarter of that one.

“It reminded of the Baylor game last year. This entire setup where we came out and played well, jumped out to a big lead and just couldn’t finish the game,” Spavital said. “It’s something we’ve emphasized over the course of spring ball and fall camp. Obviously we kind of went back to our old ways in the second half. We have to fix it.”

In order to fix something, one must first find the culprit.

“We’ve got to evaluate it and see what went wrong,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen.

It wasn’t his halftime speech.

“At halftime, Coach Holgorsen said ‘It’s 0-0 now, get back out there and do it again,’” recalled defensive end Reese Donahue. “We didn’t do it again. We had a problem.”

The atmosphere at Jones AT&T Stadium certainly wasn’t conducive to energy. The game kicked off at 11 a.m. locally, and nearly half the crowd was gone after watching two Texas Tech marching band alums get married at a halftime ceremony on the 50-yard line.

“We want it loud. That’s how we like it,” Donahue said. “We play best when we’re under pressure.”

This was not just a defensive issue. In fact, more of the problems were evident on offense. The Mountaineers were bedeviled by drops, penalties, overthrows and lapses in protection throughout the second half.

“Holding and false starts is just not focusing,” McKivitz said. “At that point you’re trying to keep the defense off the field and give them a breather. We didn’t do that.”

The sloppiest sequence came early in the fourth quarter. Receiver Josh Sills was hit with a third-down holding penalty, and then a delay of game pushed the Mountaineers back into a third-and-26 situation.

Spavital said the coaching staff tried a variety of tactics to reverse the momentum shift, but nothing seemed to take.

“We rotated from getting on the kids to encouraging them to ignoring them,” Spavital said. “We need some senior leadership to step up. We did everything. With the momentum swinging, we didn’t have anybody step up to make that play to get that momentum back on our side.”

That problem will be addressed in practice this week as the Mountaineers prepare for Kansas.

“It’s more about focus and more about leadership,” Spavital said. “[That] is where I see these conversations happening this week.”

Mr. Tackle

Don’t count West Virginia linebacker David Long among those who lost a step in the second half.

Long finished the game with 15 tackles, including 10 solos. It was the second-most productive day of the junior’s career behind his 18-tackle effort against Oklahoma State last year.

His 11.5 tackles per game rank 14th in the country.

National stat rankings update

West Virginia’s stint as the nation’s top scoring defense is over after allowing 34 points to the Red Raiders, but the Mountaineers are still among the better teams. WVU now ranks 20th with 17.8 points allowed per game.

The Mountaineers rank third in tackles for loss, averaging 10 per game. Only Miami and East Carolina are doing better.

West Virginia’s offense is fourth in the country in third-down conversion rate at 58.7 percent. Central Florida, NC State and Alabama are the only three teams ahead of the Mountaineers. Unsurprisingly, all four of those teams remain unbeaten.

Grier near the top

Grier is near the nation’s lead in several categories. Her is second in passing yards per game with an average of 371.8 yards per game, third in quarterback rating (200.75) and third in touchdown passes (17).

Night kick in Ames

West Virginia’s game at Iowa State on Oct. 13 will kick off at 7 p.m. Eastern on FS1.





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