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WVU Looking to Stay Unbeaten When ’Eers Meet BYU

MORGANTOWN — For a third straight game West Virginia University (2-0) will face an opponent — Brigham Young University — with a struggling offense, but a stout defense which is allowing it to keep games close.

Mountaineers fans are hoping that the results of today’s 3:30 p.m. clash at FedEx Field against the Cougars (1-2) will be the same.

“Offensively, everyone wants to say what’s wrong with them?” WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said. “A lot of it has to do with how they came close to winning three games, and offensively, it usually takes a little longer to get together, especially with a new staff than it does defensively.

“Ty Detmer (former BYU quarterback) is there. He’s accustomed to what BYU’s done for years and years back in the days when I was watching BYU with Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robby Boscoe and all those guys. Ty Detmer was the next in line and knows what he’s doing and knows what they need to do in order to score points, in order to get better.”

WVU defensive coordinator Tony Gibson also knows what his defense must do better if it wants to prevent the Cougars from hand the Mountaineers their first loss — tackle.

“Obviously, we didn’t do a very good job of tackling or even running to the ball,” Gibson said. “We’ve spent the last week addressing those problems and we feel like we have gotten those points to the players. Now, it is up to them to take the things we’ve talked about and make them happen on Saturday.”

Offensively, senior quarterback Skyler Howard and his unit will face a BYU defense that is big and strong up front and is solid in the secondary.

“They (BYU) like to junk up the box a lot,” said Howard, who overcame bruised ribs to complete 20 of 33 attempts for 389 yards and five touchdowns in WVU’s 38-21 victory against Youngstown State. “They are a little different on the back end, but as far as just junking the box. They play extremely hard. They fly around, they do a lot of stuff that you don’t see every day. We’ll take what they give us.”

Against the Penguins’ defense, that meant hooking up with wideouts Shelton Gibson (2) and Ka’Raun White (1) for touchdown passes of more than 50 yards and with Daikiel Shorts and Kennedy McCoy on intermediate routes.

“It’s almost there,” assistant coach (wide receivers) Tyron Carrier said. “We still have a lot of bad habits that we’re trying to break. You’re not going to fix bad habits as fast, but they’re improving on it. They’re putting in effort, but they’re nowhere where they need to be right now.

“Just little things. Foot placement, pad level, sharpening their routes, attacking the ball, coming back to the ball when the ball is thrown, those types of things. They’re getting better at it, but I’m not satisfied with it at all.”

But, while the passing game has been up and down, the running game appears to be right on pace. Senior Rushel Shell has rushed for 174 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries while junior college transfer Justin Crawford has added 141 yards and a score on 33 totes of the pigskin. Howard (15-85) and McKoy (3-34) are also threats to run if the Cougars’ defense focus too much on Shell and Crawford.

“I think so,” senior center Tyler Orlosky said when asked if the Mountaineers’ offensive line could match up against BYU’s front. “I think we can go strength for strength against any team in the country. I think up front especially. I think that’s our main part of our team; our backbone of our offense is our offensive line, so I think if it’s a challenge, I think we can beat that challenge.”

Defensively, Gibson’s gang will have to find a way to slow down the Cougars’ Jamaal Williams, who has rushed for 248 yards and one touchdown on 55 carries, and be prepared for two quarterbacks — senior Taysom Hill, who has thrown for 628 yards and two touchdowns so far, or sophomore Tanner Mangum, who has thrown for 3,377 yards since he’s been at BYU.

“(Tanner) Mangum, he’s a thrower, so I went back and watched about four or five games from a year ago with him, they look totally different when he’s in the game,” Gibson said. “He’s not much of a runner, they don’t try to run him, and I’m not saying he can’t, but he’s more of a pocket-passer.”

∫  Today’s meeting with the Cougars will be the first between the schools, but not the first time the Mountaineers have played at FedEx Field. WVU defeated James Madison by a 42-12 score during the 2012 season.

∫ Eleven Mountaineers on the 2016 team already have earned their bachelor’s degree – tied for third nationally behind Virginia (15) and Pitt (13). Parkersburg’s D.J. Carozza is among that group.

∫ The game will be televised on ESPN2.

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