Texas Tech football: Mountaineer defenders that could be a problem this weekend
This weekend, the Texas Tech football team will have its hands full with these West Virginia defensive stars.
Henry Colombi, congratulations on getting your first collegiate start at QB this weekend. Your reward…facing the No. 1 defense in the nation.
Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, no one is suggesting that the West Virginia Mountaineers have the best defense in the nation. But statistically, they top many national categories and they have a strong case for being the best defense in the Big 12.
When it comes to total defense, WVU sits at No. 1 in the nation having allowed an average of just 240.3 yards per game. In fact, only one opponent thus far, Oklahoma State, has managed to crack the 300-yard mark against them.
It’s also incredibly difficult to run on the Mountaineers. Allowing just 91.7 yards per game on the ground, WVU is No. 9 in the NCAA and best in the conference.
What’s more, teams haven’t had too much success throwing on them as well. They also rank No. 1 in the Big 12 against the pass at just 148.5 yards per game allowed. That’s third-best in the country.
But let’s look at why the statistics may be a bit misleading.
What can’t be denied is that the offenses that the Mountaineers have played thus far have been far from elite. In fact, twice this year, WVU has twice faced a QB making his first career start at the FBS level.
When WVU fell to Oklahoma State 27-13 in week two, the Cowboys had to give the start to freshman Shane Illingworth because Spencer Sanders was out with an ankle injury. That day, Illingworth went 15-21 but for just 139 yards with no TDs and he was picked off once. Still, Oklahoma State was able to rack up 342 yards of total offense.
This past weekend, Kansas gave JUCO signee Miles Kendrick his first start in the Jayhawks’ trip to Morgantown. He was less than stellar going just 14-23 for 95 yards with one TD and two picks.
What’s more, in Baylor and Kansas, the Mountaineers have faced two of the bottom eight teams in the nation in total offense. That comes on top of FCS opponent Eastern Kentucky, which managed just 206 yards of offense in the season opener.
Thus, we will have to wait a bit longer before crowning the Mountaineers as one of the nation’s most elite defenses. In fact, this weekend, they will be facing the highest-ranked offense they’ve seen all year in the No. 21 ranked Red Raiders. What’s more, in the final five games of the year, WVU will face three of the top-5 schools in the Big 12 in terms of total offense.
But make no mistake, this Mountaineer defense is legitimately good. They have playmakers at all three levels of the field and they are playing with a ton of confidence.
So let’s go inside their defensive lineup to see which players Red Raider fans should be prepared to hear plenty about on Saturday. And we will begin with a dominant pair of siblings.