West Virginia heads into its noon ESPN2 road game at TCU with a rare pause waiting afterward, and that break might come at exactly the right time for a defense that has lost its way since the 3-0 start.
The Mountaineers have played eight straight Saturdays, and only 34 teams in the FBS made it through the first eight weeks without an open date. For WVU, the upcoming vacancy on the schedule offers a chance to step back and sort out a unit that has not matched what head coach Rich Rodriguez and defensive coordinator Zac Alley expected.
"It sure would have been nice to have an open date last week or the week before or the week before, but that ain't the way it rolled," Rodriguez said.
Alley said he had hoped his defense would play with physicality and relentlessness. Instead, he described a group that has been too inconsistent snap to snap.
"I think we're still boom or bust," Alley said. "I mean, it's either three-and-out, or three-play explosives.
There's no, 'Hey, they got two first downs, and then we held them and they punted.' It's either, 'Hey, we went out and did our job really well for three plays and got them off the field,' or, 'It's a freaking touchdown on the fourth play.'
We're too Jekyll and Hyde."
That break arrives with the back half of the schedule looming, including top-15 Texas Tech, Houston and Utah over the final four weeks of the regular season. The next open week gives West Virginia a chance to break down what has gone wrong and try to build it back stronger before that stretch begins.
In Other News...
Sonny Dykes Had A Frustrated Reaction To West Virginia's Win
West Virginias 24-2 win over TCU had the kind of closing sequence that can tilt a game from competitive to lopsided in a hurry. After both teams spent much of the afternoon fighting through stalled possessions, David Afoghos late strip sack and Ben Cutters recovery gave the Mountaineers the kind of defensive break that can put a game out of reach and leave the opponent looking back at all the missed chances.
For Sonny Dykes, the frustration showed up quickly afterward. The TCU coach pointed to the Horned Frogs inability to finish drives, along with turnovers, missed field goals and other failed critical plays, as the difference in a game where his team managed to outgain West Virginia in several statistical categories. From West Virginias perspective, it was another reminder that style points do not matter much when the defense keeps producing the one play that ends the night. [Read more 🡒]
Ross Hodge Made Clear What WVU Still Must Fix Fast
West Virginias 103-66 exhibition win over Glenville State offered a cleaner look at where the Mountaineers are settling in under Ross Hodge, and where the work still needs to continue before the games count. The result moved WVU to 1-1 in preseason play, and Hodge used the postgame to frame the night as more than just a tune-up, touching on the significance of the outing and the way his team handled itself on both ends.
There was also a little bit of the usual October injury watch to sort through, along with some encouraging signs from practice that Hodge has seen from one players rebounding and competitiveness. Even in a lopsided exhibition, those are the kinds of details that matter for a roster trying to sort out its rotation and sharpen its identity before the season gets moving for real. [Read more 🡒]
Honor Huffs West Virginia Future Just Took Another Turn
Honor Huffs path back to college basketball has taken another sharp turn, and it leaves West Virginia in a holding pattern. He will not return to the Mountaineers as he pursues a fifth year of eligibility through the courts, while also entering the transfer portal in search of another possible landing spot. With the roster currently full, a return to Morgantown already looked complicated unless something changed on the depth chart.
Huff has a hearing scheduled for next week that could determine whether he gets a preliminary injunction to play elsewhere. For West Virginia, the situation adds one more layer of uncertainty to a roster that already has no obvious opening for him, leaving his future to be decided first by the legal process and then by whatever opportunities remain once that process plays out. [Read more 🡒]