MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The challenge, perhaps more so than any other through 11 games, is especially daunting for West Virginia in Saturday’s noon season finale at Mountaineer Field against seventh-ranked Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders, No. 5 in the most recent College Football Playoff Rankings, lead the Big 12 Conference in scoring (42.6 points) and defensive scoring (12.3 points allowed), having displayed dominance on both sides of the ball to comfortably position themselves in the race for a league championship.
Texas Tech has a number of players well positioned to land All-Big 12 honors, none more so than Jacob Rodriguez, a finalist for five national awards, including the Butkus, presented annually to the nation’s top linebacker.
With 100 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and seven fumbles forced, Rodriguez is an unquestioned leader of a unit that ranks fourth nationally in fewest points allowed. He’s the only FBS player to score an offensive and defensive touchdown this season.
“He’s one of the most disruptive backers you see,” West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “You talk about punching the ball, it’s a trend and you see it in football at all levels. Guys are going and wrapping to tackle, but they’re literally throwing a punch and knocking the ball out. He’s the best I’ve ever seen at it. I know it’s kind of a newer thing. He’s caused a lot of fumbles. You can see when he chases somebody down, he’s intentionally punching the ball out and he’s very good at it.
“He’s very athletic. Of all the accolades that he’s getting, he’s very deserving of it. He plays hard all the time. You can see he’s a leader out there. He was a lot of fun to watch until last week and then we have to play him and he’s not as much fun to watch. He’s earned all the attention he’s getting.”
A win against the Mountaineers would not only assure Texas Tech of a berth in the Big 12 Championship (which the Red Raiders could also secure Friday should Arizona defeat Arizona State), it would all but lock up one of 12 spots in the CFP as well.
The Red Raiders were among the top spending teams in college football over the offseason, and the move has paid dividends in the form of 10 victories by at least 22 points.
With a Big-12 best 33 sacks as a team and 17 surrendered, Texas Tech has capitalized on a distinct advantage up front more often than not.
“It’s a competitive edge to be able to spend more money — and they have that,” WVU defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “I would use my competitive edge if I had it. The defensive line is obviously impressive. You win games by shoring the trenches up and you watch the NFL, who do they pay? They pay quarterbacks, left tackles, defensive ends, pass rushers and corners, because those guys affect the game more than anybody else. You could have the best quarterback in the country and he can sling it all over the yard, but if you can’t get the pass off, it doesn’t really matter.
“They strategically tried to shore up those positions to make it hard on people to be able to move the football. Their formula has worked out for them this year. It’s certainly a different age in college football, but I commend them for using $100 million or whatever they have to spend on their roster.”
When starting quarterback Behren Morton has played, the Red Raiders are 9-0.
Morton leads the Big 12 with a 66.4 completion percentage, having hit on 156-of-235 passes for 2,118 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions.
A hairline fracture in his fibula prevented Morton from playing in the Red Raiders’ 26-22 loss at Arizona State on October 18, but he has returned to play in three straight games and is listed as probable for the matchup with the Mountaineers.
“He tears apart zone coverage. He finds the holes and windows,” Alley said. “They do a great job of getting guys open schematically. It’ll be a competition to see who can go the fastest this weekend between our offense and their offense. They’re going to be tempo and stress you that way, make you get lined up fast. He’s in full command of the offense and understands where to go with the ball. He’s clearly a tough kid. He has some kind of stress fracture or fracture in his leg and he’s playing through it. You can’t make anything higher up than having guts and that dude obviously has guts and he plays like it.”
With two weeks between games for both teams, Morton has been afforded the luxury of extra rest and preparation.
“He feels great. We kept him in a boot all last week,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said. “He actually went through everything. It was a shorter practice [Sunday], but he went through everything. He doesn’t want to be in that boot. He doesn’t think he needs it right now. But I know he felt better than he felt all year long really when he played UCF. We’ll keep him in it. He’ll do all the pre-practice stuff, all the throwing and all the scout periods and we’ll get him back in the boot and keep him like that.”