(Neal Brown pregame Zoom conference)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a typical season, which 2020 certainly has not been, bowl games provide the largest window of opportunity to prepare for an opponent outside of the season opener. When West Virginia faces Army in the Liberty Bowl Thursday afternoon in Memphis, the Mountaineers will have had about ten days to gear up for one of the truly unique offenses in college football.
The Black Knights (9-2) employ an option offense to produce the fourth-best rushing attack in the country (281.3 yards per game). Only Alabama, North Carolina and BYU have rushed for more scores (33) than Army. In an era of uptempo spread offenses, Army’s old-school offense presents the Mountaineers with several new challenges.
“It is tight spacing and a lot of bodies in there. There’s a rhyme and reason to how they are doing everything. It is not just a scrum, so to speak. For us, there is a progression that your eyes go through to make sure you fit correctly and that you are gap sound,” said WVU co-defensive coordinator Jahmile Addae.
“It is going to be hard to get a team off-kilter or off-schedule where they are utilizing all four downs and only need two-and-a-half yards per play in order to feel like they are on schedule,” said WVU co-defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley.
“I always thought coaching against this offense made you a better football coach. Because with football it is the foundation and the roots of it.”
For the Big 12’s Defensive Lineman of the Year, Fairmont Senior grad Darius Stills says Army’s offense bears a resemblance to one of his top high school rivals.
“We played versus Bridgeport and that is all they ran every play. It is familiar but I haven’t really played against it in four years. Watching film, it is kind of coming back,” Stills said.
In the tenth and final game of a lengthy season filled with added challenges due to the pandemic, WVU coaches say that the prospect of facing a unique scheme prevents complacency.
“Our defensive players are excited about the challenge just because it is different,” said WVU head coach Neal Brown. “At this point in the year, as long of a season as we have had, when you get the opportunity to do something a little bit different, it makes you pay attention. Practice is a little bit more spirited.”
“It is so unique,” Lesley said. “Football season gets into a battle rhythm and sometimes you try to think of ways to change it because the same thing is going to get redundant, redundant, redundant.”
West Virginia’s defense enters this matchup ranked fifth in the nation in total defense (297.2 yards allowed per game). But the Mountaineers have a narrow window of time to prepare for an offense that is nearly unseen in today’s college game, outside of the service academies.
“It is definitely difficult to replicate what they do, especially getting ready for them in a week’s time. You just have to pay more attention in the film room. That translates to the field well for us,” said WVU senior cornerback Alonzo Addae.
“Can you simulate it in ten days? Probably not. You try the best you can. I think everybody has their own ways of doing it,” Lesley said.
Nine different runnings backs have rushed for over a hundred yards on the season for the Black Knights. Sophomore signal caller Tyhier Tyler leads the team with 502 yards coming in just 6 games. Senior Sandon McCoy leads the squad with 10 rushing touchdowns. Although Army has completed just 31 passes in 11 games, the element of surprise can lead to big plays through the air. They average 15.5 yards per completion.
“With a team that runs it as well as Army, sometimes they catch teams by surprise when they have the ability to throw the ball,” said Alonzo Addae. “It is a lot of downfield passing. So we definitely have to have our eyes in the right spots or else we will have guys running down the field wide open.”
“If you fall asleep or your eyes aren’t necessarily elite, you can give up the big home run hit,” said Jahmile Addae. “And you don’t want to do that against an offense like this, being that they do everything else really soundly. We have to be able to take that away and then be able to fit in run spots as well.”
The task of simulating the Army quarterbacks in practice has fallen to an in-state redshirt freshman wide receiver.
“Graeson Malashevich is playing quarterback for us this week (on scout team),” Brown said. “He’s got some experience. He did that a little at Spring Valley in a couple packages they had. So he is having a good time with that.”
West Virginia’s defense is coming off their worst performance of the season in a 42-6 loss at Iowa State on December 5.
“They have something to prove and so do we,” said Jahmile Addae. “Our last showing, defensively at least, wasn’t what we wanted to be. We have more to prove, in my opinion, than anybody else. Our guys know that and our coaches preach it.”
Army is ranked second-best in the nation in total defense, in part because their offense takes up residence on the field for lengthy drives. WVU offensive coaches are preparing their players for what could be an economy of possessions in which to work with.
“They are one of the top defenses in the country. They are giving up fourteen points a game. They play a unique style, a front that slants and gains penetration. They play hard and run to the football. They do everything that a great defense would do,” said WVU co-offensive coordinator Gerad Parker.
“This is just as much of a mental prep game as it is physically because you are involved in a game where at times you feel like you are sitting over there for a while.”
West Virginia’s defense will be without leading tackler Tony Fields II. The senior middle linebacker elected not to play in the bowl game. However, fellow Arizona transfer Scottie Young will make his WVU debut Thursday.
“You don’t just replace him. But we do feel like we have some guys that will be able to play the mic position that will be extremely productive. Dylan Tonkery, who is going to finish a great career here as a West Virginia kid playing for the Mountaineers, we are looking forward to his last game. I know we will get his best effort. And then Josh Chandler will play some mic too,” Brown said.
“I think our fan base is going to be excited about seeing (Young). He played at an All-Pac 12 level at Arizona. He has had a great year. He knows our scheme.”
The traditional bowl experience with extended trips and several team activities will not be featured this year. It will be similar to a regular season road game. The Mountaineers will fly into Memphis the day before the game.
“It is unfortunate we won’t be able to experience the City of Memphis and our players won’t have the full experience of a bowl. But we are looking forward to just taking the field and playing against a quality opponent to finish the season,” Brown said.
“This is mine and Dante’s last game (together). It is emotional but we are going out with a bang. So I am excited,” Darius Stills said.