West Virginia’s defense and Mike Hawkins Jr. made life miserable for Virginia on Friday night, and Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott had a clear read on why the 38-27 result tilted the Mountaineers’ way.
Hawkins was the engine. The redshirt sophomore completed 10 of 17 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, then turned around and ripped off 123 rushing yards and three more scores on the ground. Elliott said the breakdowns came fast when Virginia failed to fit things properly early, and Hawkins kept punishing the mistakes.
“Well, you saw that if you misfit it kind of like we did early in the game, it goes for a touchdown. And then if you get him behind the chains, they can empty you out and create a lot of one-on-one matchups, and he made the throws. We knew coming in that we wanted to make him one-dimensional if we could, but tonight we struggled in some situations, and then I thought when we did get into some third-and-long situations, he just made the more competitive play than we did.”
Elliott also spent time breaking down West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley’s approach. That part wasn’t unfamiliar territory for him; the two worked together on staff at Clemson under Dabo Swinney. On Friday, Elliott said Alley leaned on a varied plan that kept Virginia from settling in.
“With a lot of the exotic pressures, we probably led more with a controlled passing game as opposed to down-the-field shots," he said. "And once we got behind, it’s hard, especially when they’re getting shots on your quarterback; it’s hard to get everything to line up.
They did a really good job. They were competitive.
They mixed it up. They played some man coverage, and they bailed out of there.
They played some Cover 2. I thought Zac (Alley) did a really good job of putting together a good plan.”
Virginia also had trouble finding room for Beau Pribula, who was held to -1 yard on six carries. Elliott said West Virginia’s pressure package helped shut down the dual-threat element and made it difficult for the Cavaliers to lean on quarterback runs.
“We knew they were going to be aggressive. They’re bringing pressures off the edge, which force the ball to be given to the back, which don’t give you a two-way option with your quarterback, and you can’t live in the QB draw the whole night.
Your quarterback’s going to get beat up, especially when they’re forcing you to run in the interior. They did a really good job from a pressure standpoint.”
In Other News...
WVUs Upset Win Looks Even Bigger After What The Grades Show
West Virginias upset of No. 25 Virginia already looked like a tone-setting win, but the postgame grades gave it even more weight. The Mountaineers handled business in a 38-27 victory, and the performance sheet from Pro Football Focus offered a clearer picture of why the result felt so convincing: quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. was graded as the highest-rated quarterback in the country through Week 3.
The win also featured strong work from the other side of the ball, with linebacker Ashton Woods and cornerback Nick Taylor drawing especially good marks. For a West Virginia team trying to build something early in the season, those kinds of individual showings matter as much as the final score, because they hint at a defense and a quarterback room that may be settling in at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Looks Tougher Than Expected But One Concern Still Lingers
West Virginia came away from its latest game looking a little sturdier than many expected, with a calm, effective quarterback helping steady things and a physical presence on defense giving the Mountaineers a harder edge. Taylor stood out on that side of the ball, and Ashton Woods has quietly put together a strong run over the last two weeks, giving the defense some real momentum as the season moves forward.
The one area still worth watching is up front, where the offensive line had its roughest stretches. A true freshman on the line allowed four pressures, a reminder that development can show up quickly when the competition gets tighter, even if the long-term outlook remains encouraging. For West Virginia, the encouraging part is clear enough, but the next step is making sure that growth in the trenches catches up with the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
WVU's Fast Start Now Faces A Big 12 Test Fans Know Too Well
West Virginias encouraging start got a real boost with the win over No. 25 Virginia, a result that gave the Mountaineers some early momentum heading into the heart of the schedule. Now the focus shifts to the Big 12 opener, where Oklahoma State arrives as the kind of conference opponent that can quickly tell a team what it really has.
For WVU, this is the familiar part of the calendar where the tone changes fast. The broadcast details and the records are all part of the setup, but the bigger backdrop is the history between these teams, which has usually made this matchup feel bigger than a single September or October game. Fans know the drill by now: a promising start means little unless the Mountaineers can carry it into the league grind and handle one of the Big 12 tests that has given them trouble before. [Read more 🡒]