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The Good and the Bad of WVU v. Iowa State

I’d like to welcome Martell Pettaway to the They’ll Never Spell Your Name Right Club. The Hall of Fame committee will meet at the Richwood Avenue Fishbowl next Friday. More importantly, welcome to college football, big fella. That’s running backs coach JaJuan Seider and then running backs Rushel Shell and Justin Crawford greeting the debuting true freshman on the sideline after his first career touchdown.

I think this has to be one of the most surprising individual performances in a long time, at least since Dustin Garrison’s 291-yard game against Bowling Green back in 2011. I welcome other suggestions, and I might even come back around and say this is more surprising. Garrison was at least playing early in his true freshman season. Pettaway hadn’t played at all in the first 10 games. He was the third running back to get a carry Saturday. So, yeah, he was in uniform and he was there for a road game and he had been practicing with the regulars for a few weeks, but this wasn’t supposed to happen.

Thirty carries, too. Thirty. I guess he was fresh? And for a guy with 180 yards, his longest was just 23 yards. He was robbed of one long run, a 35-yard gain that a holding penalty on Daikiel Shorts turned into a 4-yard gain, but everything else was in pretty healthy chunks. He looked more Shell than Crawford/Kennedy McKoy but he looked a little like all of them, too. (Aside: I think Quincy Wilson is a fair comparison, but am I crazy to think of fellow TNSYNRC member Avon Cobourne?) I think more than anything else, he looked like his own player, someone who could hammer away with inside zone plays but someone who could see the corner and get himself ready to hit it at the right speed and angle.

Three plays that proved he was ready to go.

  1. Here’s his debut.

It’s a power play for quarterback Skyler Howard, but Pettaway gets his face in a defender’s face and just does his job. Nothing too amazing, but that got him settled and involved from the jump.

2. Third-and-15, and you’ll find a lot of players who know the odds are long and are happy to get down and get off the field.

Not this guy. He’s 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, and though I’m not sure about either of those, he’s not a huge kid. But he does run low and lean forward, and he likes to use his legs to thunder through contact or to keep firing away with his feet. That’s how he scored in the fourth quarter.

3. Haven’t seen many traditional screen passes this season, have we?

Near as anyone could tell, Pettaway had never run this play before. I can’t imagine that’s true, but say he has practiced it. He hasn’t practiced it often, because WVU doesn’t do this all that often with the other running backs. It relies on precision and timing, which is to say rehearsal, so I’m not sure anyone was expecting this. It’s the first play of the fourth quarter, and Howard and Dana Holgorsen coached Pettaway up during the break on the sideline to make sure he understood the machinations. Quick study, this one. Big 12 newcomer of the week, and that’s two in a row for the Mountaineers. Crawford had it the week before.

Think of how much trouble WVU used to have when one or two backs were hurt and how different the offense had to behave. The Mountaineers were down three backs Saturday and went past 600 yards with a bunch of backups on the field late in a game in which they had more points and touchdowns than they had in any of the first 10 games. Depth matters, and WVU wasn’t flexing it solely on offense Saturday in the 49-19 win on the road against Iowa State.

How did we get here? Let’s find out by taking a look at the Good and the Bad of WVU v. Iowa State.

Good: Stats

stats

 

You’ve probably noticed this, but I dig stats. Sometimes I use them to explain things. Sometimes they explain things for me. I find the right numbers to be irrefutable, but I know some numbers can lie to you.

That’s George Washington right there. WVU is very good at running the ball. Where, why and how are important, but so is who. The running backs and quarterback are involved, but late in this season, we’ve seen the Mountaineers kick erstwhile left tackle Adam Pankey inside to left guard to make the G-C-G combination even better than it was. Running in the middle is important to this team, and WVU does it with counters and power plays but also with inside zone.

Saturday was an inside zone day. WVU really thought Crawford was going to have a big day, and it did look like he was on his way. Iowa State played a three-man front, and it was a little undersized. The line moved around after the snap and had to find ways to create plays it couldn’t make with sheer size or speed or talent. Oklahoma is similar. It has the size and the speed and the talent, but those players are so good that they can shoot gaps and take angles.

Inside zone can work against either one, if it’s blocked the right way. The offensive line likes inside zone the most, and after Saturday, it’s no wonder why.

Nose guard Demond Tucker is really good, and though I’m puzzled by what he’s doing here, you do see that WVU had to account for him Saturday. Tucker didn’t want to get blocked, so he was made to move like he does here. The same went for 6-foot-5 defensive end Jhaustin Thomas. They didn’t sit in one spot, but movement and two-man fronts and outside linebackers and/or safeties coming off the edge made for alleys WVU could create and Pettaway could exploit.

Good: Expectations
One of my favorite parts of this season is listening to cornerbacks coach Blue Adams handle the success of Rasul Douglas. Like, against Oklahoma, when WVU blew a coverage in the secondary and was subsequently outnumbered on the play side where Douglas was blocked and Dede Westbrook took a screen for 75 yards, Adams was adamant Douglas could have made the tackle. That’s their relationship. It’s working, too. Douglas doesn’t think he’s accomplished too much. He rues plays he doesn’t make, even if we think its a bit unreasonable to expect him to make them.

Imagine the conversation after this.

It’s a pick play with a tight end and a slot receiver sweeping across the field to get in the way of Douglas as he tracks Allen Lazard. It’s obvious. It’s legal, too, because there’s no contact. Adams said Tuesday that Douglas shouldn’t have allowed this to happen. (Aside: What do you do if you’re Douglas? Do you bang into the tight end to get the flag? Do you even know the pick is coming? Tough spot. Hard to blame any cornerback for this, but that won’t change Adams’ mind.)

This play bugged the Mountaineers, not because it was dirty or chintzy but because they knew it was out there. So you better believe they talked about it on the sideline.

Skip ahead.

Watch safety Joyous Avery (No. 16), who’s on the hash at the top of the screen. He sees the two sweepers/pickers and knows what they’re up to. He finds the running back, who can also use the pick, but he’s accounted for because linebacker Justin Arndt gets under the sweepers and makes this play. (Side Good: Arndt! Tough night against Oklahoma, but a splendid rebound against Iowa State with eight tackles, good sideline-to-sideline range and a forced fumble.)

All in all, WVU’s defensive backs had mixed results with people getting in their way.

Good: Usage

WVU’s depth chart lists FC and BC, which means field cornerback and boundary cornerback, and that means a corner on the short side of the field and a corner on the wide side of the field. But WVU does not use field and boundary cornerbacks. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson wants his cornerbacks lining up quickly, so that means one stays on the right and one stays on the left. That way they’re never racing to or from the field when an offense tempos and snaps quickly.

Except, that’s not really happening. Not all the time at least. I’ve been following this for a while, and Douglas plays left and right. Not all the time. Not every game. But it’s true. The only pattern I can discern is that Adams is using Douglas as a constant and having Maurice Fleming and Antonio Crawford, who didn’t play Saturday, cover the side or the player Adams wants them covering. Each has a strength, or Adams has a preference for each, and Douglas is able to make sure the defense has the best matchup no matter the personnel. It’ll never make his portfolio for Big 12 defensive player of the year, but that speaks to his value.

He’s forced nine turnovers now. That ought to be more valuable than 10 1/2 sacks or 20 tackles for a loss, which lead the Big 12. Those things might derail a drive. Douglas is ending drives. He has 60 tackles now, and he’s breaking up passes that aren’t even his responsibility. His (eighth) interception was again not a fluke, and though it’s an error by the quarterback, Douglas is in the right spot. It’s not his most acrobatic or most impressive, but it’s not easy. The forced fumble is one of the best plays of his career. Jarrod Harper gets, I guess, an assist for chasing and punching, and Reese Donahue (Side Good: Here he comes …) has no business being where he is, though in a good way. Douglas gets the ball out, but the player of the play is Maurice Fleming, who’s running WVU’s pursuit drill like he’s supposed to.

To review, this is from last year’s G&B of Maryland:

He and Worley are the cornerbacks on the opposite side of the play. WVU drills this every day. Every day. It’s a pursuit drill, and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson does it differently than others. Without getting in too much detail — I could, if you want — the defensive end, the safety and the outside linebacker on the play side go after the ball and combine to force it outside and/or stop it fast. The nose guard runs up the line of scrimmage toward the sideline and the middle linebacker follows suit. The free safety uses his depth and perception to angle in and close alleys. That’s all supposed to stop the play, but it doesn’t always happen. The defensive end, outside linebacker and safety on the back side of the play have spots to hit on the play side deeper down the field, and the cornerback on the back side has to get back as fast as possible to keep a roof on the play.

Fleming was the roof, and the roof recovered the fumble.

Douglas made another meaningful play, though, and it’s another example of his harmony with the defense.

This is a guy who’s always looking to make a play now. Doesn’t matter where or who. Jacob Park gets out of trouble, which he did a few times, although WVU didn’t really blitz as much as normal and intentionally weak pressure against heavy coverage invites scrambles. Douglas has his receiver covered, and Douglas is not going to let him get behind him. But then Iowa State’s other No. 9, Deshaunte Jones, locks eyes with Park and initiates the scramble drill. He probably scores if Douglas isn’t ballhawking.

And that matters because everything matters.

Good: Red zone defense
Remember when Holgorsen said he wanted his offense to score touchdowns on half of its red zone possessions, and we were like, “That’s … not ambitious.” WVU’s defense has allowed touchdowns on half of its red zone possessions, and that ranks No. 18 nationally. Yes!

Anyhow, all season long, Iowa State was very good about scoring points in the red zone, but the problem for the Cyclones was that they kicked field goals. As you know, that’s not a good habit in the Big 12. They had three red zone possessions and kicked three field goals. They ran 10 plays inside WVU’s 20-yard line: three carries for 5 yards, 1-for-7 passing for 5 yards — and a 15-yard penalty for a chop block that took a touchdown off the board.

That penalty? It came after the Douglas tackle above. If you give a team with problems enough chances to make a mistake, it’ll find a way. But WVU makes life difficult, too. On first down after the penalty, the Mountaineers more or less accepted a short gain and made it clear the Cyclones were not completing a pass in the end zone — and I thought we were going to see our first targeting call for a senton. But later in the game …

… the Mountaineers drop eight, use the goal line as their friend and flood all the passing lanes to complicate a throw that is not impossible. This, of course, seemed to matter later when Park looked flustered playing 1-on-8 and flat-out missed a receiver who was open in the right corner, but behind some traffic. He was lightly booed. At home!

Good: Another stat
WVU’s defense bent and allowed 11 drives to reach its half of the field. Four ventured inside the 30. Each ended in a field goal.

Bad: Short-yardage woes
Still here! On third-and-1, 2 or 3, WVU has run the ball 27 times and gotten 17 first downs. Five fourth-down runs have generated one first down. So in short yardage, WVU is 18 for 32. That’s not great, and it’s not computing with me, because, again, the offensive line is quite good and G-C-G usually gets a push.

Then again, that’s out of ordinary offensive sets. WVU insists on getting big when it has to go small.

I don’t even think the problem is that the Mountaineer aren’t good at this. I mean, they’re not, but there’s a reason. They’re taking away their advantages and giving them to the defense. Out of the shotgun or the pistol, WVU can do a lot of things with, depending on the formation, a lot of people. The defense is then at a disadvantage because it has to be looking for a bevy of possibilities.

Out of this formation on the first play, it’s never not going to be a handoff to Crawford, and you can assume it’s going right. Maybe WVU is saving the dive to Wellman, but maybe WVU made it easy on Iowa State. The Cyclones’ line gets great burst at the snap, and Tucker spins Tyler Orlosky around, which is a rarity. There’s plenty of space in the middle for Crawford but also for the two linebackers, who have an easy time getting through some traffic and coming down the line before Crawford can do what he does well and find even a little room. That’s good defense, but how many times until it’s bleh offense? I know, I know, WVU should be able to get a yard, but if an offense doesn’t have a good track record doing that — and WVU’s does not — why tempt that? Why not work with your advantages, which is the fact you’re able to do many other things better and thus make the defense broaden its focus before the snap?

On the second snap, WVU again goes to a set in which it limits its options, and Iowa State was all over a sneak. This only succeeds, I think, because it was so fast … and maybe because #Big12refs.

The good news? This is the aforementioned one first down on a fourth-down run this season!

More improvement? Well, Pettaway and Kennedy McKoy scored on short-yardage runs, and McKoy’s, with his balky shoulder, was neat to see. The first play was not a success, and that Thomas cat, the one wearing No. 8 who eschews Marcell Lazard, was one with whom to deal. But WVU hates the sin and not the sinner.

It’s the same play, but WVU flips tight end Trevon Wesco (Aside: Yeah!) to the other side and flips Wellman and Alex Brooks in the backfield. WVU goes right, which is a more direct way of dealing with Thomas. Lazard and Wesco handle that business, Wellman and right guard Kyle Bosch plant Tucker and No. 19 had great seats for McKoy’s touchdown. And, hey, good for Brooks. I don’t think he’d ever played before these two snaps in place of Mike Ferns, who I think got banged up on the opening kickoff and tried to play on but wasn’t feeling it. He cleaned up the back side of the play on both snaps.

Bad: Breaks
Poor Ka’Raun White. He’d scored in back-to-back games after some an alleged case of the yips and then opened the scoring with the kind of play the Mountaineers were begging to see. he really seemed to be on his way. Then he gets hurt drawing pass interference? Bah. Hate that. For him. For the offense. For the team, which keeps taking hits.

The Mountaineers have but two games left, and though this isn’t great, it’d be a lot worse a month ago. White’s presence and productivity do mean a lot to the offense. He’s threatening enough that it changes what defenses attempt to do to contain Gibson, who’s No. 2 nationally now in yards per catch, which seems to be his metric. (Aside: The leader goes to Air Force, which seems fitting, except that the Falcons run an intricate option offense and lead the nation in rushing attempts.) Replacements? Could be Gary Jennings or Devonte Mathis or, most likely, Marcus Simms. Holgorsen poured some water on the freshman Tuesday, but Simms was the quick-change replacement Saturday, and he caught a touchdown when Howard checked from run to pass on the second play he was on the field.

He’s in the, uh, running for Fastest Player. In the spring, Holgorsen said Simms had no idea what he was doing but that he kept catching passes in the end zone. He showed the speed and the catches in the end zone, but he looked like he belonged. He finished routes and he actually blocked. It wasn’t tremendous, but he was willing.

This is the play some earmarked for Howard, who I guess does something to facilitate, but follow Simms, who starts at the top of the screen and plays to the whistle.

Bad: I don’t know the rules

He’s in the tackle box. The pass is not past the line of scrimmage. The presence of a receiver in the area is a rumor to Park. This is intentional grounding, and the referee would admit to Holgorsen that he screwed up the call, which is the best.

WVU might lead the nation in uncalled targeting.

This is targeting, right?

targeting

 

I mean, it’s a crouch or leading from Note 1. Now, is it a blind-side block? I would argue yes, but maybe others disagree. But you only need one item from Note 1, and “(w)hen in question, it is a foul.” So there was no question this wasn’t a foul. I blame Arndt. If he wasn’t so damn tough and actually went to the grass, this is a penalty.

Bad: The Skyler Howard portion of the program
I’m not going to get into the postgame comments, in which he said Senior Day was just “one more opportunity to get booed with my mom.” I will say that in the game, I thought he was fine. WVU was never going to need him to play way above his ceiling to win the game. That wasn’t the game plan. WVU never shifted gears as it flipped through running backs.

I think you can forgive the completion percentage when he goes for that many yards and is taking that many chances down the field. And what we know about Howard is he’s going to float between 45 and 55 percent on most days. Increase the difficulty by adding vertical plays (with receivers who are not yet gifted in that area) and you understand all numbers will not be gaudy.

That paragraph, by the way, is from the Cactus Bowl G&B. It ages well.

But, woo, was he out of sorts in the early going.

yeahno

 

He can make this throw. He has made this throw. Ka’Raun White is gone. He’s hopped the fence, and this is a 60-yard gain or a touchdown. Howard has time and room to make that kind of throw, but even on the run, he’s good enough get this ball to White so that he can make a play. It instead lands at the yellow line. This was weird.

It’s also weird to me — and to us, it turns out — that he isn’t checking down to running backs. Maybe the aim was to shoot the moon Saturday, in which case there’s no room for sim– never mind me. He has Wellman here on a play that ought to be familiar.

And then …

… this one is a little bit more difficult. It’s a slight callback to the pictured play involving White. But Pettaway does his job and avails himself for a throw and a big gain, and Howard does something very different.

All in all, a good game for Howard. He ran the ball very well. He hung in and took a hit on one touchdown pass to Shelton Gibson, who did a nice job adjusting and coming back to the ball. (Aside: It’s amazing to me that he’s somewhat attached to drops but he makes so many ridiculous catches. I thought for sure Howard missed this, and I’m not sure Gibson wasn’t thinking the same. Then he remembered he has that sixth gear, so he went out and got it. Also, the officials called this a touchdown on the field. The broadcast doesn’t mention that, and the official’s microphone is either off or dead.)

On that pass Gibson adjusts for and on this next one, Howard feels the cornerback blitz and knows Gibson’s 1-on-1 with a safety, who has no chance. Howard, for his sometimes erratic plays on short and intermediate throws, still throws a very nice deep ball.

Something else about Gibson, and it might just be his predilection for explosive plays, is that he runs good routes on deep plays. He keeps the safety inside here and then floors it when he realizes the safety is expecting, I guess, an out. You’re not starting flat-footed and then catching Gibson if he’s running at you. I feel like that’s day one, lesson one stuff.

Good: The other Howard
I actually wrote about the nose guards, Tucker and WVU’s Darrien Howard, for my preview Saturday. They did not disappoint. Howard’s on a roll. In this last half of the season, and without much backup, his coaches have told me he’s had his best game three or four times. Howard was the defensive player of the game Saturday. He’s a nimble grizzly bear in there and he’s earned himself a spot in the league.

He’s got three sacks now and 55 tackles. For as long as WVU’s played this defense, it’s never had a nose who’s made that many tackles. He plays an overlooked position. He sacrificed one and maybe two seasons for the purpose of extremely limited playing time, but I do hope you haven’t completely missed how good he’s been.