Mountaineers Host Reeling Longhorns
Mountaineers Host Reeling Longhorns
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Following West Virginia's sixth loss of the year, the 2021 season is anything but over.
That's the mentality with two games to go as the Mountaineers remain in the hunt for a bowl berth.
"It's about us," head coach Neal Brown said. "We gotta play quality football."
The Mountaineers will face a tough test in Texas this Saturday (Noon, ESPN2), where the consensus appears to be that the Longhorns are better than their 4-6 record -- even after losing to Big 12 bottom-feeder Kansas last week.
Despite any missteps in the first year of head coach Steve Sarkisian, the offensive coordinator of 2020 national champion Alabama, the Texas offense still ranks second in the Big 12.
"Schematically, the best offense that we'll play," defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. "They put pressure on you in ways that a lot of people don't. Coach Sarkisian does an unbelievable job. You can go all the way back as far as you want to, (but) you don't have to go any further than the playoff games last year to see how he stresses people schematically."
The Longhorns (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) relied heavily on starting running back Bijan Robinson through the Longhorns' 10 games, as his skill and athleticism allowed him to become the conference's leading rusher.
But Robinson suffered a dislocated elbow in last week's loss to Kansas, sidelining him for the Longhorns' final two games. Losing a weapon of Robinson's caliber is always a tough swallow, but Texas' deep roster has softened the blow immensely.
"Bijan Robinson didn't score all of the points," Lesley said. "A lot of them, yeah, but not all of them. They've scored on everybody, against every style of defense, on every opponent. They've scored on the best teams in our league, they scored on some really good teams not in our league. They're talented, they're one of the most talented offenses we play, top to bottom."
Quarterback Casey Thompson is one of those expected to pick up the slack, given his dual-threat abilities. He's thrown for nearly 2,000 yards and 23 touchdowns this season while rushing for four more.
Thompson is not a traditional dual-threat as he doesn't run the ball often, but he is effective when he does. Lesley praised the athleticism, awareness and arm strength of the redshirt junior, who ranks seventh in the conference in total offense.
Also a factor on Texas' offense is Xavier Worthy, who is the Big 12's top wide receiver with 831 yards and 11 touchdowns.
"Usually, when you do find him, they move him, so you gotta find him again," Lesley said. "That's the chess match. They're gonna get him the ball, we know that, and he's gonna make some plays. He has against everybody. It's not like he's gonna stop that, I'd be naive to think that."
With two games remaining on the schedule, West Virginia (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) will need to win both in order to secure bowl eligibility. A victory against Texas would not only stop the current Mountaineer skid, but put the team one game closer to bowl season.
"Outcomes take care of themselves, but you've got to play quality football that gives you an opportunity to win," Brown said. "That's the goal for me: play quality football. We didn't do that on Saturday (against Kansas State), so we're gonna get them ready to go with the goal of doing that on this coming Saturday."