The week of the Backyard Brawl has arrived. While the Mountaineers are not exactly riding a high coming into the matchup with Pitt, you can throw all the records and statistics out the window when a rival comes to town.
WVU Defensive Coordinator Zac Alley acknowledged the rivalry in his Tuesday press conference, saying "they hate us, and we hate them, it’s going to be great.”
In all seriousness, this is a bitter rivalry, and if last week’s loss at Ohio is any indication, the Mountaineers have a lot of work to do if they want to win this year’s edition of the Brawl on their home field in Morgantown. While there very well may be a long list of things that the team needs to get right, here are three things that the Mountaineers must fix on Saturday afternoon.
1. Make Eli Holstein uncomfortable and keep him in the pocket
West Virginia got their crack at a dual-threat quarterback in Week 2, and while Parker Navarro of Ohio threw three interceptions, he still completed 71% of his passes and led the team in rushing with 87 yards, many of those yards coming via scrambling. While Holstein didn’t rush for 1,000 yards in 2024 like Navarro did, he did have 14 rushes for 59 yards in the Brawl last season.
The last thing that the Mountaineers can afford is to give Holstein a clean pocket with time to throw. He’s already thrown for over 500 yards and eight touchdowns on the young season. Pitt has playmakers on offense, including running back Desmond Reid, who caught two touchdowns against WVU last season. Reid is a threat in the rushing attack with 966 yards in 2024, as well as a receiving weapon for Holstein, putting up 579 receiving yards last season.
“They want to take vertical shots and try and push the ball down the field obviously, and if you can get the pass rush there, its hard to throw it when you’re on the ground," defensive coordinator Zac Alley said.
Look for West Virginia to bring pressure early and often against Holstein and company. If they are able to disrupt the offensive flow and force turnovers and punts, maybe the Mountaineer offense will string enough plays together to put points on the board.
2. The Offensive Line must be exponentially better
Speaking of the West Virginia offense, they had better figure things out in a hurry if this team wants any chance of hanging with Pitt on Saturday. Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded the Mountaineers' starting offensive linemen as follows:
That works out to an average of 62.08 – the week prior against Robert Morris, the starting five graded out to an even more dismal average of 61.09. You are not going to win many games offensive linemen who grade out like that. You’re certainly not going to beat Pitt on Saturday with those numbers. Whether it's these individuals taking massive strides from Week 2 to Week 3, or we see new faces on the offensive line, this unit has to be better.
3. Sustain offensive drives and create favorable field position
West Virginia’s inability to capitalize on turnovers was one of the most glaring reasons for its loss at Ohio. Three second-half interceptions resulted in three 3-and-outs for the WVU offense. They started with the ball around midfield on each of those possessions and were unable to even pick up a first down. That has to change on Saturday. West Virginia’s offense was so bad against Ohio that the Bobcats possessed the ball for over 40 minutes.
While based on what we have seen, it is unfair to expect the Mountaineers to come out and put up 40+ points, they need to sustain drives and create favorable field position. West Virginia had numerous drives ending in three or four plays. WVU had two drives last for seven plays, one resulted in a turnover on downs, and one resulted in a field goal.
No, Rich Rodriguez’s offensive philosophy isn’t built to chew clock, but you had better pick up some first downs and move the ball down the field against Pitt. Giving Holstein and the Pitt offense a short field after three-and-outs will not lead to 'Country Roads' making an appearance at the end of the game. West Virginia must move the chains and get into scoring position often, scoring enough points to make this a tight contest.