WVU Football: 5 Players To Watch Versus Oklahoma
By Phil Poling
No. 4: Special Teams
A program’s special teams can either win or lose you a game on any single play. In WVU’s first Big 12 game of the season, Kansas State missed a field goal to win the game with 2:03 left on the clock. Against Texas, Mountaineer punter Billy Kinney pinned the Longhorns deep in their own territory, forcing a miraculously long drive against a stellar defense.
Those are just two instances of special teams affecting a WVU game. Remember when this happened? O-H…N-O!
Kicker Mike Molina was perfect on his attempts last week, and will look to build off connecting on a career long 44-yarder.
One area that needs definite improvement is the punt return team. Sophomore Gary Jennings hasn’t been able to get much going, only gaining 33 yards on 20 returns. That averages out to only 1.6 yards per return. This has caused the offense to start deep in their own territory, something we need to cause – not deal with.