MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For two straight weeks, West Virginia’s offense has given fans little reason to hurry back to their seats from their halftime bathroom break.
The Mountaineers have moved the ball with a 19th-century level of efficiency in their past two third quarters, gaining 19 yards against Texas and 28 yards against Iowa State.
“As coaches, we’ve got to figure out some better ways to get guys into situations,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said following a 38-14 loss to Iowa State. “I could give you a bunch of reasons. It was a struggle for us offensively. It was a struggle last week in the third quarter. It is what you saw.”
Because no one should have to see it again, we’ve decided to do the dirty work for you, dear reader.
We’ve taken an in-depth look at each third-quarter offensive play run by West Virginia against Texas and Iowa State. And since both games were still in the balance at the time, we are also throwing in a bonus look at WVU’s opening possessions of each fourth quarter.
Texas
First possesion
Situation: First-and-10
Field position: Texas 49
The play: Gifted excellent field position, the Mountaineers go deep. Unfortunately, Texas cornerback D’Shawn Jamison wrestles the ball away from Sam James for a remarkable one-handed interception.
Verdict: It was the perfect play call, but Austin Kendall short-armed a pass that could have been a touchdown if it was run to perfection. It’s doubtful that many teams have players capable of actually turning that throw into an interception, but the margin is thin against a team with Texas’ caliber of athletes.
Second possession
Situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 28
The play: If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen much of tight end Jovani Haskins lately, this play is a good reason why. Haskins completely whiffs on his blocking assignment, hanging Kennedy McKoy out to dry for a six-yard loss.
Situation: Second-and-16
Field position: WVU 22
The play: False start on right guard Chase Berhndt
Verdict: The last two plays of this possession are rendered irrelevant once WVU ends up in a second-and-21 from its own 17. At that point, the goal is to make sure you’re not punting from your own end zone. The Mountaineers gained 12 yards on the next two plays to avoid that fate.
Third possession
Situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 10
The play: Kendall connects with Sean Ryan for nine yards.
Situation: Second-and-1
Field position: WVU 19
The play: With the whole playbook open, West Virginia hands it to Leddie Brown for the sure first-down carry. It’s the right call given the length of the previous two possessions.
Situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 22
The play: Kendall finds Sam James for four yards.
Situation: Second-and-6
Field position: WVU 26
The play: Another short pass, this one a three-yarder to James, presents the Mountaineers with a mangeable third down.
Situation: Third-and-3
Field position: WVU 29
The play: The Mountaineers attempt cut-blocking the Texas defensive line. It fails miserably. Three Longhorns get penetration and Marquez Bimage easily bats down Kendall’s pass attempt before it gets to the line of scrimmage. And if Bimage hadn’t knocked it down, someone else would have.
Verdict: Chalk the failure of this drive up to the coaches getting too cute. Texas knew exactly what was coming on third down.
Fourth possession
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: Texas 14
The play: With an opportunity to tie the game following Keith Washington’s big interception return, the Mountaineers go with… an Austin Kendall option keeper. Way to go for the jugular, guys.
The situation: Second-and-9
Field position: Texas 13
The play: Incompletion. Either Kendall throws the ball too early, or James is late to get into his break. It still goes down as a drop, but the ball arrived before James was expecting it.
The situation: Third-and-9
Field position: Texas 13
The play: Kendall checks down to a crossing James for a 1-yard gain on a pattern that had no chance in hell of gaining a first down. For what it’s worth, Brown is seen shouting at wide receivers coach Xavier Dye after the play is over.
The verdict: It’s hard to do much worse than this on a potential game-tying possession that started in the opponent’s red zone. A combination of play-calling and execution are to blame.
Fifth possession (First of fourth quarter)
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 8
The play: Four Horns meet Leddie Brown in the backfield for a three-yard loss. Brown isn’t the type of guy who goes down on first contact, so this is a mass blocking failure.
The situation: Second-and-13
Field position: WVU 5
The play: Kendall hits Brown out of the backfield for a 12-yard gain.
The situation: Third-and-1
Field position: WVU 17
The play: Texas nickel back B.J. Foster makes an incredible play to break up a pass to Ryan and come down with an interception.
The verdict: Neal Brown blamed himself for this one, saying he should have run in this situation. And maybe he was right. But had Kendall gone through his progressions, he would have seen a wide-open Mike O’Laughlin past the sticks and picked up the first down.
Iowa State
First possession
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 24
The play: A draw to Kennedy McKoy goes for a one-yard loss as right tackle Kelby Wickline and right guard Chase Behrndt are both beaten by their Iowa State counterparts.
The situation: Second-and-11
Field position: WVU 23
The play: A two-yard loss for McKoy as Iowa State defensive lineman Matt Leo shoves Behrndt four yards off the line of scrimmage before making the tackle.
The situation: Third-and-13
Field position: WVU 21
The play: Jack Allison finds T.J. Simmons for a 14-yard gain and a massive conversion.
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 35
The play: After finding success through the air, West Virginia runs an old-school quarterback option with Allison, a pocket passer who may well be the slowest non-lineman or kicker on the team. That Allison gained a yard is a credit to him.
The situation: Second-and-9
Field position: WVU 36
The play: Allison doesn’t appear to make any reads and dumps the ball off to poor McKoy, who is immediately swallowed up for a one-yard loss. This is just a bad play. Allison had a perfect pocket and plenty of time to look for something downfield, but did not.
The situation: Third-and-10
Field position: WVU 35
The play: Iowa State defensive lineman Zach Peterson starts on the right side of the offensive line before looping over to the left to sack Allison on a delayed blitz. This was simply a perfect defensive play call. Once McKoy left the backfield as a receiver, there were no blockers left to account for Peterson.
The verdict: Co-offensive coordinator Matt Moore said that Allison actually ran the option play successfully in a scrimmage setting, so the play call wasn’t as wacky as it looked. However, it appears his success in practice may have had a lot more to do with going against West Virginia’s linebackers than any other factor.
Second possession
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 27
The play: Iowa State crashes into the backfield, but Allison makes a brilliant escape and finds Simmons for a first down.
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 37
The play: McKoy gains three yards on a draw.
The situation: Second-and-7
Field position: WVU 40
The play: Sam James gains two yards on a tunnel screen. This had potential to be a big play, but center Briason Mays overran his man, who made the tackle.
The situation: Third-and-5
Field position: WVU 42
The play: McKoy drops a potential first down that hits him right in the mitts. This one should have been caught, period.
The verdict: A failure of execution by the players ended up being the primary factor cutting this drive short.
Third possession
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 6
The play: Allison hits O’Laughlin for a short gain.
The situation: Second-and-6
Field position: WVU 10
The play: McKoy gains three yards to give West Virginia a manageable third down.
The situation: Third-and-3
Field position: WVU 13
The play: Incompletion. Allison goes back to O’Laughlin, who is surrounded by three Cyclones. Once again, Allison was impatient with his delivery. If he moved down his progressions, he’d have found a wide-open Simmons.
Fourth possession (First of fourth quarter)
The situation: First-and-10
Field position: WVU 24
The play: James carries for a three-yard gain.
The situation: Second-and-7
Field position: WVU 27
The play: Allison hits James on a screen to gain another three yards, once again giving West Virginia a manageable third down.
The situation: Third-and-4
Field position: WVU 30
The play: Allison has all day to throw and finds James 15 yards downfield. Unfortunately, his arm is calibrated for someone 20 yards downfield. Even Iowa State’s defensive backs seem confused by how badly he misses this throw. To make matters worse, Allison once again fails to check down and doesn’t see a wide-open Leddie Brown, who would have easily gotten past the first-down marker on the play.
The final verdict
Ineptitude of this order has multiple culprits.
Obviously, Allison’s poor play in the second half was a major factor, but he wasn’t exactly given any help on the second drive. He can’t be blamed for the failures of the Texas game, either.
Inconsistent offensive line play is a common thread between the two scoreless third quarters. Given West Virginia’s lack of depth up front, that problem doesn’t have a potential resolution this season.
Some dodgy play calling, particularly on first down, also factors into the equation. The Kendall read-option on the first play after an interception return and the Allison option keeper after a huge third down conversion immediately squelched West Virginia’s momentum.
Unfortunately, finding a solution won’t be very simple this week. Oklahoma is outscoring its opponents 94-48 in the third quarter this year.