Saturday, October 8, 2011
Holgorsen's UCONN Post-game Quotes
On Defense and Special Teams
"We made great strides with our special teams. Defensively we played well."
"That's a dominating performance by our defense." speaking of second half performance.
On Phases of the Ball
"You can't win a championship without all three sides of the ball."
"I may have given up on the run too early. They do a good job against the run."
"We wouldn't be 5-1 if we weren't showing some consistency on all sides of the ball."
"Good team win."
On Geno
"He [Geno] still tries too hard. He needs to trust the guys around him."
"Geno's effort's good, but that's not what's important for him. It's the mental framework of what we're trying to do."
On UCONN
"They executed their game plan in the first half. They kept their offense on the field. I think we had eight plays in the first quarter. As an offense you have to be patient and not press."
"We focused on starting fast, but UCONN probably had something to do with that."
WVU vs. UCONN Recap
Final Score: WVU 43, UCONN 16
West Virginia improves to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in Big East play after a dominating win over conference foe Connecticut (2-4, 0-1). Once again, it was a tale of two halves, but the Mountaineers put together a solid performance in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The changes made to special teams appear to have paid off, and after early struggles, the defense played well, creating a turnover and even putting points on the board with their first safety.
The offense again put up of 500 yards of total offense, albeit heavily skewed towards the pass. Time of possession evened out by the end of the game, as UCONN was forced to play catch up. The Mountaineers appear to be addressing problems and improving each week, but they still need to work on playing a complete game. Overall it was a solid performance by the Mountaineers, who should be in good position to win their next three games before heading into a tough stretch to end the season against South Florida, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.
Gameball
This one goes to Geno Smith for his ridiculous 450 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he shares it with Milan Puskar who passed away Friday night at 77 years old. Puskar was the co-founder of Mylan Labs and a huge benefactor to West Virginia University, providing tens of millions of dollars in gifts to the school.
Now that the game is over, let's answer the questions we had before kickoff:
Can WVU put together a solid game in all phases?
The special teams was vastly improved with punter Molinari, and WVU didn't give up any big returns. The defense and offense were both shaky in the first half, but pulled it together in the second. As we've seen repeatedly this season, the game was a tale of two halves. But in terms of playing all three phases, this was the best the Mountaineers have played all season.
Will the fans show up?
Sort of. 56, 179 was the official number. The attendance was definitely better than last week, but the student section was about 3/4 full. They must have slept in...
Seriously though, student attendance should not be an issue, but it has quickly become one. Many student sections around the country would love to have free tickets.
How good is UCONN?
It's still too tough to say for sure, but they're not great. UCONN seems to be missing an identity on offense. The Huskies were able to hang tough with WVU in the first half, but so did Norfolk State.
Score Prediction:
Our guess: WVU 37, UCONN 17
Final Score: WVU 43, UCONN 16
West Virginia improves to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in Big East play after a dominating win over conference foe Connecticut (2-4, 0-1). Once again, it was a tale of two halves, but the Mountaineers put together a solid performance in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The changes made to special teams appear to have paid off, and after early struggles, the defense played well, creating a turnover and even putting points on the board with their first safety.
The offense again put up of 500 yards of total offense, albeit heavily skewed towards the pass. Time of possession evened out by the end of the game, as UCONN was forced to play catch up. The Mountaineers appear to be addressing problems and improving each week, but they still need to work on playing a complete game. Overall it was a solid performance by the Mountaineers, who should be in good position to win their next three games before heading into a tough stretch to end the season against South Florida, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.
Gameball
This one goes to Geno Smith for his ridiculous 450 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he shares it with Milan Puskar who passed away Friday night at 77 years old. Puskar was the co-founder of Mylan Labs and a huge benefactor to West Virginia University, providing tens of millions of dollars in gifts to the school.
Now that the game is over, let's answer the questions we had before kickoff:
Can WVU put together a solid game in all phases?
The special teams was vastly improved with punter Molinari, and WVU didn't give up any big returns. The defense and offense were both shaky in the first half, but pulled it together in the second. As we've seen repeatedly this season, the game was a tale of two halves. But in terms of playing all three phases, this was the best the Mountaineers have played all season.
Will the fans show up?
Sort of. 56, 179 was the official number. The attendance was definitely better than last week, but the student section was about 3/4 full. They must have slept in...
Seriously though, student attendance should not be an issue, but it has quickly become one. Many student sections around the country would love to have free tickets.
How good is UCONN?
It's still too tough to say for sure, but they're not great. UCONN seems to be missing an identity on offense. The Huskies were able to hang tough with WVU in the first half, but so did Norfolk State.
Score Prediction:
Our guess: WVU 37, UCONN 17
Final Score: WVU 43, UCONN 16
3rd Quarter Update
33-9 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Talk about a momentum swing. WVU got a much needed turnover to stop yet another methodical UCONN drive. A 78 yard return after a fumble recovery set up the Mountaineers at the UCONN 12, and Geno cashed in with a TD pass to Tavon Austin. The Mountaineer defense played with much more energy, forcing UCONN into a three-and-out on the next drive.
Geno then hit Stedman Bailey for a beautiful 84-yard touchdown catch-and-run to put WVU up 24-9 with 5:49 left in the third. The Huskies had to abandon their methodical, grind-it-out approach in order to play catch up, and seemed to be much more uncomfortable, giving up a safety with 2:31 left in the quarter.
The momentum swing combined with WVU's quick offensive tempo and scoring blitz appeared to suck the life out of Connecticut. Everything went the Mountaineers way in the 3rd, culminating in an amazing touchdown catch by Brad Starks in the corner of the end zone at the end of the quarter.
It's important that West Virginia doesn't fall asleep in the final quarter after getting the large lead. Maryland made a furious comeback earlier this year, a situation that hopefully is still fresh in the team's mind.
Talk about a momentum swing. WVU got a much needed turnover to stop yet another methodical UCONN drive. A 78 yard return after a fumble recovery set up the Mountaineers at the UCONN 12, and Geno cashed in with a TD pass to Tavon Austin. The Mountaineer defense played with much more energy, forcing UCONN into a three-and-out on the next drive.
Geno then hit Stedman Bailey for a beautiful 84-yard touchdown catch-and-run to put WVU up 24-9 with 5:49 left in the third. The Huskies had to abandon their methodical, grind-it-out approach in order to play catch up, and seemed to be much more uncomfortable, giving up a safety with 2:31 left in the quarter.
The momentum swing combined with WVU's quick offensive tempo and scoring blitz appeared to suck the life out of Connecticut. Everything went the Mountaineers way in the 3rd, culminating in an amazing touchdown catch by Brad Starks in the corner of the end zone at the end of the quarter.
It's important that West Virginia doesn't fall asleep in the final quarter after getting the large lead. Maryland made a furious comeback earlier this year, a situation that hopefully is still fresh in the team's mind.
Halftime Update
Score: WVU 10, UCONN 9
The Good
The Mountaineers need to play with more energy and make fewer mistakes in the 2nd half to get the offense clicking. Special teams needs to continue its much improved play. Expect a higher scoring 2nd half from both teams.
The Good
- Garrison was a bright spot in the offense again, scoring the only touchdown for the Mountaineers. He didn't rack up many yards, but it's points that matter. It's nice to see the running game bailing out Geno on an off day.
- Special teams have improved. Molinari nailed a beautiful 41-yard punt that pinned the Huskies at the 2-yard line. If Mr. Molinari keeps this up, there's no doubt the job is his.
- We've seen this type of play against Norfolk State, only for the Mountaineers to explode in the 2nd half. Point: the offense has the ability to get back on track quickly based on half-time adjustments.
- The game has played to Connecticut's favor at times, with long drives by the Huskies that keep the WVU offense off the field. Time of possession: UCONN 18:56, WVU 11:04
- The defense was gashed at the end of the half to allow the Huskies to get a field goal, which was nearly a touchdown. The defense needs to play with more intensity.
- Geno's passes seem to be a little off in today's game. He overthrew a possible touchdown and under threw several receivers. There were also several batted balls.
- Dana Holgorsen says "play hard, play smart, play fast," but the Mountaineers rarely played any of those ways in the first half. The coach's halftime speech will be ugly.
The Mountaineers need to play with more energy and make fewer mistakes in the 2nd half to get the offense clicking. Special teams needs to continue its much improved play. Expect a higher scoring 2nd half from both teams.
Molinari's First Punt
The punting game needed a face lift, so Mike Molinari got a shot and booted the ball 46 yards on his first punt. Not bad, and definitely better than what we've seen so far this year. What matters though is consistency, so we'll see how he holds up. Although we'd prefer less punting and more scoring.
1st Quarter Update
3-3 at the end of the 1st quarter.
The Mountaineers are looking sluggish in all phases of the game--not bad, just not quite clicking. As Holgorsen would say, they are not playing smart football. West Virginia has already committed a personal foul and a turnover.
Ivan McCartney coughed up the ball at the WVU 37 yard line. Last year, it was turnovers that killed the Mountaineers as they turned it over 7 times in their first ever loss to the Huskies.
The defense has been the most disappointing so far by not getting off the field. They are allowing the Huskies to sustain long drives, putting the Mountaineers in a huge time-of-possession hole. UCONN has held the ball for 11:07, with West Virginia getting it for only 3:53. Part of that is WVU's quick-strike offense...but this needs to improve in the rest of the game.
The Mountaineers are looking sluggish in all phases of the game--not bad, just not quite clicking. As Holgorsen would say, they are not playing smart football. West Virginia has already committed a personal foul and a turnover.
Ivan McCartney coughed up the ball at the WVU 37 yard line. Last year, it was turnovers that killed the Mountaineers as they turned it over 7 times in their first ever loss to the Huskies.
The defense has been the most disappointing so far by not getting off the field. They are allowing the Huskies to sustain long drives, putting the Mountaineers in a huge time-of-possession hole. UCONN has held the ball for 11:07, with West Virginia getting it for only 3:53. Part of that is WVU's quick-strike offense...but this needs to improve in the rest of the game.
Pinball
You don't see that every day! UCONN missed a field goal with 9:50 remaining in the first after driving down the field with relative ease. But the field goal was very interesting, looking more like a pinball machine--first bouncing off the left upright, then off the crossbar before finally bouncing out, no good. Score remains 0-0.
WVU (4-1) vs. UCONN (2-3) Kickoff
It's time for WVU Big East football...and who knows how much longer we can say that with expansion news swirling out of control. Last year UCONN beat WVU for the first time ever, and you have to imagine that is in the minds of Geno and company. Our pre-game prediction...
The running and passing game both show up, but a few special teams problems read their ugly heads. Still, the Mountaineers are too much to handle for the struggling Huskies.
WVU wins 37 - 17.
Story lines to watch during the game.
Can WVU put together a solid game in all phases?
The passing game is solid, but both the running game and specifically the special teams play has been suspect. There's also some room for improvement from the young defense. They created some turnovers last week, and need to continue that trend.
Will the fans show up?
Coach Holgorsen called out the fans last week in a very candid manner. Do the fans listen, or does the lecture backfire on the coach? We suspect the fans will be out in full force. Most people appreciate honesty, and Holgorsen had a point. Not to mention, his questioning of WVU as an elite program was bound to stoke the fire.
How good is UCONN?
The Huskies have a 2-3 record, but they've been competitive. Will UCONN pull it together?
The running and passing game both show up, but a few special teams problems read their ugly heads. Still, the Mountaineers are too much to handle for the struggling Huskies.
WVU wins 37 - 17.
Story lines to watch during the game.
Can WVU put together a solid game in all phases?
The passing game is solid, but both the running game and specifically the special teams play has been suspect. There's also some room for improvement from the young defense. They created some turnovers last week, and need to continue that trend.
Will the fans show up?
Coach Holgorsen called out the fans last week in a very candid manner. Do the fans listen, or does the lecture backfire on the coach? We suspect the fans will be out in full force. Most people appreciate honesty, and Holgorsen had a point. Not to mention, his questioning of WVU as an elite program was bound to stoke the fire.
How good is UCONN?
The Huskies have a 2-3 record, but they've been competitive. Will UCONN pull it together?
The Beginning
Well, this is it--the first WVU Pigskin blog post! We hope that there is a bright future here, and that you, the readers, will find it engaging.
Our initial plans for the blog include:
Real-time updates and analysis during Mountaineer games.
Recruiting news.
Commentary on the ongoing conference expansion.
Much, much more!
It's about time for the WVU, UCONN kickoff. Let's Go Mountaineers!
Our initial plans for the blog include:
Real-time updates and analysis during Mountaineer games.
Recruiting news.
Commentary on the ongoing conference expansion.
Much, much more!
It's about time for the WVU, UCONN kickoff. Let's Go Mountaineers!
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