The West Virginia Mountaineers now have back-to-back wins for the first time since September, and are entering their bye week with a 5-3 record after securing a 24-20 win over TCU on the road on Saturday. West Virginia has now topped their win total from last season, and are just one win from bowl eligibility. And there is plenty of optimism to build on during the bye week.
Those are all exciting things, and it's important to highlight those facts and give West Virginia credit for them before diving into the topic at hand here. Because the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades are in for the game against the Horned Frogs, and it's time to do our weekly analysis of the grades. And it's more of the same we've seen all season from the Mountaineers. In fact, the numbers are a bit underwhelming for a victory.
West Virginia's grades from the TCU win revealed
Let's take a look at the grade and analyze them below. Remember, anything above a 65.0 is considered above-average. We'll start with the offensive side of the ball.
WVU football Top 10 offensive PFF grades against TCU
1. Cam Cook, RB (52 snaps) - 78.4
2. Wes King, C (59 snaps) - 74.4
3. Cyrus Traugh, WR (15 snaps) - 73.1
4. John Neider, WR (13 snaps) - 68.8
5. Malik Agbo, RT (33 snaps) - 68.0
6. Michael Hawkins Jr., QB (59 snaps) - 67.9
7. Amare Grayson, WR (59 snaps) - 67.0
8. Amari Latimer, RB (29 snaps) - 62.6
9. Prince Strachan, WR (46 snaps) - 61.8
10. Josh Sapp, TE (15 snaps) 69.6
The offensive looked a bit slower than usual against the Horned Frogs. That was to be expected, given they were playing a team with a run defense and a scoring defense ranked among the top 10 in the country.
But Cam Cook still stepped up with a massive game against his former team, posting 90 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown in the win. Michael Hawkins Jr. graded out a bit lower than normal, particularly through the air, but TCU's defense did a good job at limiting the passing attack. Despite that, receivers such as Cyrus Traugh and John Neider were good run blockers and did their jobs in the passing game.
West Virginia's offensive line wasn't super strong, but did their jobs well enough as they continued to look much better than last year. Carsten Casady started at right tackle, but Malik Agbo played the majority of the snaps. Agbo joined center Wes King and right guard Amare Grayson with above-average offensive grades, which included above-average grades both pass blocking and run blocking.
But three offensive lineman who started – Casady, Nick Krahe, and Kevin Brown – graded below average, with Casday and Brown looking particularly bad at pass blocking. And if you can't block the edges in the passing game, you're going to struggle.
DJ Epps continued his inconsistent play, with no receptions as the starting slot receiver and one dropped wide-open catch that might have went for a touchdown. Starting outside receiver Jaden Bray and tight end Ryan Ward also graded out well-below average.
WVU football Top 10 defensive PFF grades against TCU
1. Kamari Wilson, S (36 snaps) - 73.9
2. Will LeBlanc, DL (26 snaps) - 71.7
3. Isaiah Patterson, LB (47 snaps) - 71.4
4. Jason Hall Jr., LB (51 snaps) - 71.1
5. Harper Holloman, EDGE (63 snaps) - 68.0
6. David Afogho, DL (29 snaps) - 68.5
7. Ben Cutter, LB (62 snaps) - 64.8
8. Zeke Durham-Campbell, EDGE (28 snaps) - 64.1
9. Jacob Bradford, S (68 snaps) - 63.3
T-10. Matt Seig, S (19 snaps) - 62.5
T-10. Nate Gabriel, DT (61 snaps) - 62.5
The good news here? West Virginia posted their best PFF defensive grade as a team against a Power 4 opponent, and their third-best of the year. Their grade was also 9.6 points higher than their second-highest team defensive grade since Big 12 play began.
The bad news? The grade was still just a 64.6, which is a below-average starting defense according to the system. Only six of the 21 players who saw defensive snaps posted above-average grades. And in the pass game, it was more of the same.
Geimere Latimer (who is the top-graded defensive player for the season) allowed six receptions on nine targets. Cam Torbor gave up five receptions on seven targets. Andrew Powdrell did the same, and allowed a touchdown reception as well. Chams Diagne gave up four receptions on five targets, and Jacob Bradford allowed three receptions on three targets.
The pass rush, tackling, and run defense were bright spots, though. The Mountaineers recorded 25 quarterback hurries and five sacks. 10 Mountaineers finished with above-average tackling grades and had no missed tackles, while nine defenders had above-average run defense grades. Those are certainly trends to build upon.
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