West Virginia will look to begin a new streak, this time of the winning variety, when they host the Colorado Buffaloes in Morgantown on Saturday for a 12PM ET kickoff on TNT. The Mountaineers are coming off an impressive 45-35 road win over the 22nd-ranked Houston Cougars. This was their first win in conference play, and they are now set to meet a Colorado team that has also lost 5-out-of-6 Big 12 games. Can the Mountaineers win a game at home for the first time since the Backyard Brawl? Here are three keys to making that happen.
1. Run the Football Early and Often
Colorado has the worst run defense in the Big 12 and are among the worst in the country in that department. They are giving up 215.8 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, against Houston last Saturday, West Virginia put forth one of their best efforts running the football that they have in conference play all season. The Mountaineers ran it 53 times for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. They were led by freshman Diore Hubbard, who had a career-best 29 carries for 108 yards. Considering that Houston proved to be rather stout against the run coming into the matchup, this was an impressive showing from West Virginia.
Now, against a struggling Colorado defense that has given up 50+ points in each of the last two games, West Virginia should be looking to run the football until the Buffs prove that they can stop it. The Mountaineers’ productivity level in the running game will be a strong indicator of whether they can secure a victory in consecutive weeks.
2. Wreak Havoc on the Quarterback
Colorado has used a number of different quarterbacks in recent weeks, and it is expected that 5-star freshman Julian Lewis will get the start on the road in Morgantown. Much like West Virginia, Colorado’s offensive line has been subpar this season in both pass protection and run blocking. In consecutive losses to Utah and Arizona, Colorado quarterbacks were sacked a total of 10 times. Look for Zac Alley to dial up the pressure on the freshman quarterback.
3. Continue to give Scotty Fox Jr. Freedom in the Offense
There has been a notable progression in Scotty Fox Jr. over the course of this season, particularly over the last three weeks. While his best passing game (statistically) came against TCU, he showed improvements from that start to the start against Houston. West Virginia clearly game planned to use Fox Jr. more in the running game than he had been used in previous weeks; they even opened up the playbook a little more, showing a growing trust in the true freshman quarterback.
Across the fanbase there is a growing belief that Scotty Fox Jr. very well may be the quarterback of the future for the Mountaineers. Against a struggling Colorado team, a key to victory is to simply let Scotty be Scotty, trust in his ability to go out and compete and lead his team to another win in conference play.