CHARLESTON, W.Va.—Coach Bill Stewart admits the only part of No. 21 West Virginia in midseason form is punter-kicker Pat McAfee. Too bad he doesn’t play defense.
The unit has spent a lopsided amount of time on the field in the first two games, and with eight new starters has been plagued by missed tackles and blown assignments.
West Virginia (1-1) had a week off to work on overcoming mistakes made in a 24-3 setback at East Carolina, the Mountaineers’ most lopsided loss in four years. The defense focused on tackling and other simplicities in preparation for a Thursday night game at Colorado (2-0).
“A lot of the young guys haven’t been in an atmosphere like this before, so then they think on the run and then they’re two steps slow,” linebacker Mortty Ivy said. “They have to go with the flow and know their assignment and know what they are supposed to do. They just need to fly around and make a play.”
One of the many aspects under scrutiny is the secondary. Opponents have converted 26 first downs passing against the Mountaineers.
Cornerback Brandon Hogan, a converted wide receiver, let a lapse in judgment turn into a 35-yard pass play on third down against East Carolina and the Pirates eventually scored.
One year after Patrick Pinkney was benched midway through a 48-7 loss to West Virginia, the East Carolina quarterback went 22-of-28 for 236 yards with a touchdown and he engineered three scoring drives of 11 or more plays.
Keeping Colorado’s Cody Hawkins and his teammates from making big plays on first down is Stewart’s top defensive priority.
Colorado has averaged nearly 35 points in wins over Colorado State and Eastern Washington. Hawkins is completing nearly 72 percent of his passes and has 475 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
“The six-, seven-, eight-yard downs have to stop. That is first and foremost,” Stewart said Monday at his weekly news conference. “I want to see us attack. We didn’t have that against ECU. I think if we, defensively, can stop them for a reasonable amount on the first down, then it makes your third down becomes more crucial.”
Stewart said he expects linebacker Reed Williams, last year’s leading tackler, to make his season debut against Colorado. Williams had offseason surgery on both shoulders and sat out the first two games.
“I left it up to him and the medical people and he feels like he can go now,” Stewart said. “It’ll be good to have him out there.”
For now, the defense’s best friend might be McAfee, who is averaging 44 yards per punt and is 3-for-3 on field goals. Who knows how long he’ll kick in the higher altitudes of Colorado?
Despite being known as the Mountaineers, the elevation of West Virginia’s campus is at 1,000 feet. Stewart isn’t worried about how his players might perform at 5,400 feet in Boulder.
“A football play lasts an average of four seconds, with the longest one being six seconds,” Stewart said. “All you have to do is bust it for six seconds and then you’ll have 35 seconds to rest.”
