West Virginia shouldn’t have much trouble with UT Martin, but this one still offers a useful checkpoint before the Mountaineers head to Charlotte next week for the Virginia game.
The biggest thing to monitor is the pass rush. WVU generated more than 35 pressures on Coastal Carolina’s Deuces Bailey on just 17 blitzes, which is the kind of disruption that changes a game without needing to sell out extra bodies.
The problem was finishing the job. Rich Rod called it a fixable issue, and that’s exactly what this matchup is about: stay controlled, keep the quarterback from escaping the pocket, and turn pressure into results.
If that improvement shows up today, it won’t be because UT Martin is an FCS opponent. It will be because WVU handled the detail the right way.
There’s also value in letting the passing game breathe a little more. Nobody is asking for a full aerial showcase, and the Mountaineers probably don’t need to throw it more than 14 times.
But after last week, the reps matter. West Virginia doesn’t want to roll into the Virginia game with barely any in-game work for Mike Hawkins Jr. and his receivers, then suddenly expect everything to click.
Keep the best stuff tucked away, sure, but give Hawkins enough chances to build timing and trust.
The Coastal Carolina game also showed how quickly a comfortable lead can get messy when the details slip. WVU pinned the Chanticleers on the one-yard line, then helped them escape with a drive kept alive by three penalties, including one that was questionable, in my opinion.
The first of those came on third down while Coastal was still backed up. A stop there likely sends the Mountaineers to a short field and puts the game well out of reach at 31-0.
The offense had its own cleanup work, too. Three straight second-half three-and-outs came with three penalties: a false start by center Wes King, a hold on tight end Cam Ball, and an unsportsmanlike penalty on wide receiver Jaden Bray.
Those are the kind of mistakes that can be avoided, and the hold was simply poor technique. Cam Cook’s fumble also got mixed into that stretch, though WVU did recover it.
Add in the fact that the Mountaineers threw the ball only three times on those three possessions, and Coastal was able to make the game tighter than it needed to be. That’s why this one matters, even if the outcome shouldn’t be in doubt. West Virginia needs to keep pressing in the second half, clean up the penalties, and play a full four quarters.
In Other News...
West Virginia's Hot Start Was Overshadowed By An Ugly Blue Lot Scene
West Virginias fast start on game day was supposed to be all about the football, but the atmosphere outside the stadium took a sharp turn before kickoff. In the Blue Lot, a tailgate scene turned physical as multiple fans were involved in an altercation, with one man thrown to the ground while others looked on and tried to make sense of what was unfolding.
The confrontation was captured on video and spread publicly, turning a routine pregame setting into the kind of unwanted headline Mountaineer fans would rather forget. A shirtless fan stepped in during the chaos, but it remains unclear whether anyone was arrested or injured in the incident, leaving the postgame conversation focused on the scene in the parking lot instead of the early buzz around the team. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mountaineers Son Is Rising At Ohio State With A Powerful Story
Chris Henry Jr. has already found a role in Ohio States offense as a freshman wide receiver, and his rise carries a familiar name for anyone around West Virginia football. He is the son of Chris Henry Sr., who starred for the Mountaineers before going on to the Cincinnati Bengals, giving this latest chapter a clear link back to the programs own history.
His story reaches well beyond football, though, because Henry Jr. was raised by his mother and by Adam Pacman Jones, his fathers former teammate who later became a legal guardian and mentor. For West Virginia fans, it is another reminder of how tightly the sports past and present can overlap, even as Henry Jr. begins building his own path in Columbus. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Trickett May Be More Vital To WVU's Offense Than Fans Realize
Rick Trickett has spent a 53-year career around offensive line rooms, and his football family has deep West Virginia roots through sons Travis, Chance and Clint. At WVU, though, Travis Trickett is the one most directly shaping the Mountaineers' offense in the present tense. He serves as a senior offensive assistant and works closely with Rich Rodriguez, who handles the play-calling but leans on Trickett for the kind of in-game offensive insight that can help a staff stay a step ahead.
What makes Trickett especially important is that his value goes beyond one job title. He has built a reputation as a recruiter, and around the program there is growing speculation that his background and feel for the game could eventually make him a head coach somewhere down the line. For now, WVU benefits from having him in the middle of the operation, even if his influence is easy to miss from the outside. [Read more 🡒]