The West Virginia Mountaineers escaped Milan Puskar Stadium with a win on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bearcats, but 'escape' really does feel like the perfect way to describe. It took a game-winning, walk-off field goal that capped a two-minute drill drive which began on West Virginia's own one-yard line to secure it.
And the reason the Mountaineers were in that position had a lot to do with the fact that defense put together a very subpar effort, which left the Mountaineers trailing the entire game despite West Virginia's offense putting up some miraculous numbers of their own behind a historic effort from Mike Hawkins Jr.
Now that the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades are in the for the Mountaineers, let's do what we like to try and do each week and see what we can learn from the numbers – and what they tell us are, unsurprisingly, two wildly different stories.
West Virginia's offensive grades show another elite performance from their skill players
Seven weeks into the season, and it still feels incredible to see the difference between West Virginia's offense one year ago, and where they are now. And in what has become a common occurence this season, several of West Virginia's skill players posted excellent grades.
DJ Epps played 54 total snaps, was targeted eight times in the passing game, and recorded eight receptions for 163 yards and one touchdown. Two of those were receptions of 20-or-more yards, while another two were between 10-to-19 yards. He earned an 85.3 receiving grade, and and 81.3 offensive grade, leading the team in both categories.
Mike Hawkins Jr.'s historic effort, which saw him go 25-for-33 passing for 464 yards and three touchdowns while adding 77 rushing yards and two touchdowns with his legs, earned an 80.2 offensive grade – the second best on the team. He posted an 81.6 passing grade, went 9-for-14 when the defense blitzed, 11-for-12 on play action, and 3-for-4 on deep passes. He also recorded two big time throws.
Wide receiver Cyrus Traugh posted a 77.6 offensive grade for the third-best offensive grade, and tight end Ryan Ward was right behind him with a 74.1 offensive grade. Wide receiver Prince Strachan (69.3), running back Amari Latimer (68.6), and tight end Josh Sapp (67.5) also all had above-average offensive grades.
The sole offensive lineman who graded out above-average offensively was Carsten Casady, who posted a 65.1 offensive grade. But five of the team's six offensive lineman who saw action (Amare Grayson, Nick Krahe, Malik Agbo, Carsten Casaday, and Kevin Brown) posted pass blocking grades that were above average, which contributed to Hawkins Jr. not seeing pressure on 29-of-39 dropbacks.
West Virginia's defensive grades are still quite concerning
The Mountaineers played 27 different players on defense against Cincinnati. Only six posted above average defensive grades – linebacker Jason Hall Jr. (76.3), nickel safety Geimere Latimer II, (72.1) defensive end Zeke Durham-Campbell (71.9), safety Jacorey Thomas (69.1), defensive back Andrew Powdrell (66.2), and edge rusher Harper Holloman (65.6).
Cincinnati qurterback JC French IV was put under pressure on just 10 of his 37 dropbacks during the game, and sacked just twice. The Mountaineers tallied 13 missed tackles on the afternoon. In pass coverage, only four players managed above-average grades. Linebacker Isaiah Patterson allowed three receptions on three targets for 129 yards and one touchdown.
Linebacker Ashton Woods gave up three receptions for 37 yards and one touchdown. Linebacker Cam Torbor gave up four receptions on four targets for 46 yards. Safety Matt Sieg was targeted once and gave up a reception for 59 yards. Powdrell, the highest-graded in pass coverage, gave up three receptions on four targets for 31 yards.
Run defense was the only sort of bright spot, where the Mountaineers had 11 defender grade above-average. But Cincinnati did tally 236 rushing yards and 6.2 yards per attempt, so even the slightly better grades don't mean much.
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