MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Rich Rodriguez hardly minced words moments after West Virginia dropped its fourth straight game last Saturday at Central Florida, 45-13.
Rodriguez said his team “stunk in every way” and went on to add that he hoped this was the bottom.
For a Mountaineer squad that’s done nothing to suggest it isn’t largely overmatched against Big 12 opponents, perhaps what irked Rodriguez most in the setback against the Knights was his team’s lack of competitive spirit.
“Most of the games we haven’t played well, the intensity and competitiveness was still there and this past game, it wasn’t,” Rodriguez said. “That’s poor coaching, because we have to do our job, especially me for our guys having to have a certain level of competitiveness on every play. In that game, even early in the game before anybody scored a touchdown, that was the most surprising part of that deal.”
Defensive coordinator Zac Alley picked up on it early into the matchup with the Knights.
“You watch the amount of loafs and the things that happened in the game, I called it out right on the first series,” Alley said. “The second play of the game, we have six guys not running to the ball.”
Another slow start ensured the Mountaineers faced their third double-figure first-quarter deficit in four Big 12 games, all of which WVU has trailed by at least 14 points at some point during the first half in.
This time, the Mountaineers somewhat bounced back from the slow start by outscoring Central Florida 7-0 in the second quarter to draw to within seven at halftime. Less than 5 minutes into the third quarter, however, UCF’s lead had grown to 21 as the Knights generated a touchdown on the opening series and then returned a fumble for a TD on WVU’s opening possession of the second half.
As a result, the game got away from West Virginia, which fell to 2-5 overall and has lost by an average of 27.8 points over its first four Big 12 games.
“As much as I tell guys you have to flush bad plays away and we played awful, you also have to learn from it,” Rodriguez said. “There are things in that game that were unacceptable and we have to fix. Our guys are conscientious enough to know that and even though we’re still trying to build the kind of culture you want, they know parts of that shouldn’t happen and they’ll learn from it.”
Things hardly get any easier despite West Virginia returning to play at home for the first time in nearly a month in Saturday’s 6 p.m. matchup with TCU.
The Horned Frogs (5-2, 2-2) have scored at least 21 points in all seven games and no fewer than 35 in a victory, and experienced quarterback Josh Hoover figures to significantly challenge a defense allowing an average of 503.5 yards in Big 12 play that surrendered a season-high 578 yards to the Knights, including 328 after halftime.
Rodriguez says it’s on he and the coaching staff to help ensure the Mountaineers remain properly motivated as they look to move past the poor play over the last five weeks.
“It’s hard to put a ribbon on a bad performance, but it’s over,” Rodriguez said. “Shoot, we get to play another game at home. It’s going to be a really good atmosphere. It’s a Coal Rush. Heck, let’s get excited about playing football. I have to make sure that we feel that during the week. We have some good players and there’s a lot of football left. It’s going to be hard to play that bad again, right? So, let’s flush it away and get jacked up about playing.”
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As has seemingly been the case leading into every game this season, WVU again enters the matchup against TCU with uncertainty at quarterback.
Dating back to a September 20 loss at Kansas that marked Nicco Marchiol’s fourth and final start this season, the Mountaineers have had a different starting quarterback their last four games.
Jaylen Henderson got the nod September 27 in a home loss to Utah.
With Marchiol seeking a medical redshirt and Henderson out injured the last two games, WVU turned to redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins as the starter October 3 in a loss at BYU and then true freshman Scotty Fox Jr. at Central Florida.
Fox was benched in favor of Wilkins during the first half, but returned to play in the third and fourth quarters. Wilkins also saw action in both quarters after halftime in Orlando before ultimately leaving for good after he took an impactful hit that caused an injury.
“I loved his competitiveness. He was into the game,” Rodriguez said of Wilkins. “I don’t know if he’ll be able to practice all week, so that’s going to be a hard thing. He’s questionable. He’s another guy with a bright future, very conscientious. Nobody played well or coached well in that game. But Khalil will work his tail off all week to try and least be there in an emergency role or something.”
Rodriguez noted walk-on quarterbacks Scott Kean and Max Anderson, a true freshman from Spring Mills High School, will both log practice reps this week.
Max Brown, the only scholarship quarterback yet to start for WVU this season, has also battled injuries that least in part have prevented him from seeing action outside of the matchup with the Utes. Brown, who previously played at Florida and Charlotte, has yet to attempt a pass and has rushed twice for 19 yards.
“We’ll see how he moves around today and tomorrow,” Rodriguez said.
While Brown could be available, Fox appears in line to make his second straight start. The newcomer to college football has completed 11-of-25 passes for 165 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and rushed for 94 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries, though a 59-yard TD run against Robert Morris makes up most of that production.
“I’ve had one year that was similar to this, and everybody will look for a reason or excuse why, but when your top four or four oldest quarterbacks are all out and can’t play and you’re midway through the season, now you’re down to freshmen,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a talented guy and going to be a really good player, but it presents a challenge that you want to do things he can do, but you also have to make sure it fits the rest of the guys on offense.
“Scotty competed well. He’s getting better every time he plays. There’s nothing like game reps. This week in practice will be good for him to take another step going forward for this Saturday. It’s been a unique challenge to say the least from an injury standpoint and the lack of experience around him as well. I’m just stating the facts. But it’s our job to get him in position where he can have some success and more importantly, the guys around him have to help him have success.”