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Image Credit: The Associated Press

Opponent: West Virginia Mountaineers (1-1, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)
Location: Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium (54,000)
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2014
Time: 12:00 PM ET
TV/Radio Broadcasts: Big Ten Network, Terrapin Sports Radio Network

(Discuss this article on the BSL Message Board here.)

Opponent Preview

The West Virginia Mountaineers are off to a 1-1 start to their season, losing a close game to Alabama to open the year and crushing Towson last weekend by a score of 54-0. They look to be a different team than the one the Terps beat 37-0 last season in Baltimore. One of the biggest positives for the Mountaineers has been the play of QB Clint Trickett. Trickett was a Florida State transfer last season, but didn’t pick up Dana Holgerson’s Air Raid offense fast enough to make a real impact. This season, he boasts a 75% completion percentage, and has passed for over 345 yards in each of the team’s two games so far. With Trickett taking the snaps, West Virginia has recorded the 10th most passing yards per game in the country.

While their passing game is extremely dangerous, West Virginia’s running game isn’t so potent. They currently rank 90th in the country in rushing yards per game. Rushel Shell is the team’s leading rusher, carrying 24 times for 109 yards on the year. Four different players have scored rushing touchdowns for the Mountaineers this season: Shell, Andrew Buie, Wendell Smallwood, and backup QB William Crest. If you’ll remember, Crest is a local product that the Terps were unable to land. He has thrown 4 passes on the season for West Virginia, and run 5 times for 27 yards.

West Virginia’s defense has shown some improvement this season, but still isn’t where the team wants it to be. They currently rank 33rd in the country in points given up per game, but shutting out a team like Towson can skew those numbers a bit. They ran a 3-4 scheme last season, but appear to have moved to a 3-3-5 look, a rare defensive scheme outside of pass-happy conferences like the Big 12. This defense features 3 down linemen, 3 linebackers, 3 defensive backs, and 2 safety/linebacker hybrids. It is a very effective defense against spread teams, but has a weakness in the middle. If Maryland can get their inside running game going early, it may be a long day for West Virginia’s defense.

Maryland Preview

It hasn’t necessarily been pretty, but the Maryland Terrapins currently hold a 2-0 record. Unfortunately for them, there have been more questions than answers about their team over the past two weeks, especially on the offensive side of the ball. More specifically, QB C.J. Brown has come under quite a bit of scrutiny for his lackluster play so far this season. He has struggled in the passing game, completing just 54% of his throws and holding a poor 3:2 touchdown to interception ratio. There are rumors that he has been dealing with a bit of a hand injury, and while that may explain some of the poorly thrown passes, it doesn’t excuse some of the poor decisions he has made. Head coach Randy Edsall stated this week that he just wants C.J. Brown to relax and have fun. He believes that his issues have more to do with his head than his body.

Turnovers plagued the Terps in their game last week against South Florida, as they coughed up the ball six times in their 24-17 win. Brandon Ross and C.J. Brown each fumbled twice, and Brown also threw two interceptions. Ross was benched for the remainder of the game in favor of Wes Brown, who took full advantage of the opportunity and led the team in rushing. The team may experience some rain in College Park on Saturday, so ball security has to be an even bigger priority than usual.

Lost in all of the talk about how poor the offense has been so far this season has been the stellar play of the Maryland defense. They were put on the field five times after Terrapin turnovers last week, and allowed zero points off of those possessions. Against James Madison, they were flying to the ball, and the first-team defense pitched a shutout. Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart has great depth on his defense, and has been seen rotating players in his front 7 a lot so far this season. Many of the positions in that unit can go two-deep with ease, some even three-deep. This allows Stewart to continue to bring pressure on opposing teams with fresh legs, wearing down the offensive line of the opponent.

Opponent Interview

This week, I was able to speak with Stephen Nesbitt, a West Virginia football beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I spoke with Stephen last year when the Terps played West Virginia, and would like to thank him for his insightful responses once again.

BSL: Last season, the Mountaineers were dominated by the Terps on both sides of the ball, and were on the wrong end of a 37-0 blowout. What are the biggest things that have changed since that game, and how well do you believe that West Virginia matches up against Maryland this season?

Nesbitt: The West Virginia team you’re going to see Saturday really isn’t so different from the one that made the trip to Baltimore last September and was absolutely embarrassed by Maryland. The big change, though, is that WVU’s quarterback carousel finally came to a stop. Paul Millard started the first two games last season and gave way to Ford Childress for two games before Childress tore a pectoral muscle against Maryland. That left WVU with one last option in Clint Trickett, a first-year transfer from Florida State. Trickett took over five games in and carried the Mountaineers the rest of the way despite tearing his labrum in an upset win against then No. 11 Oklahoma State. Trickett is back for his senior season and has been lights out so far, with 715 passing yards, a 75.3 percent completion, four total touchdowns and no turnovers through two games: a surprisingly close loss against No. 2 Alabama and a rout of Towson.

WVU replaced most of its defensive line but returns more talented and experienced just about everywhere else. It’s probably justified that WVU is still a couple point underdog against Maryland, but this one certainly won’t be 37-0 — at least in Maryland’s favor. As offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said Tuesday, the Maryland game was really just indicative of who WVU was last season. “We just weren’t real good.”

BSL: Clint Trickett is now the full-time starter at quarterback for West Virginia. Dana Holgorsen’s Air Raid offense requires a quarterback to make many quick reads and get the ball out of his hands quickly. How has Trickett developed as a quarterback in this system in his time with the team?

Nesbitt: The reason it took five games for Trickett to earn his first start last season was that he had only just arrived in West Virginia in August, which left him precious little time to learn Dana Holgorsen’s air-raid offense and strip away his pro-style past from Florida State, where he was primary backup to Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel and Jameis Winston before transferring. His communication problems between the huddle and the sidelines left Holgorsen fuming last fall, and about three or four headsets paid the price. Now, as Holgorsen said Saturday, for the first time since Geno Smith was at WVU he feels like he can call any play and the quarterback will “just make it work”. He’s got two quality receiver threats to work with in Kevin White, who has two 100+ yard games already this season, and Mario Alford, who returned a kickoff for a score against Alabama.

BSL: Despite moving to a 3-4 system last season, the Mountaineers still finished with one of the worst total defenses in the country (108th ranked). What changes have been made on the defensive side of the ball to try to improve the West Virginia defense?

Nesbitt: West Virginia moved to the 3-4 a few seasons back, actually, once defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel left for Arizona and took his trademark 3-3-5 defense with him. West Virginia struggled mightily on defense last season and saw defensive coordinator Keith Patterson leave for Arizona State in February. Safeties coach Tony Gibson was promoted and became WVU’s fourth defensive coordinator in the past four seasons. His first order of business was to install the 3-3-5 or 3-3 Stack defense, which uses three down linemen, three linebackers behind them, three defensive backs and two hybrid safety/outside linebackers. It’s a defense that, if implemented well, gives an offense a lot of looks and offers controlled chaos, with plenty of stunts and spins to get pressure on the quarterback while still defending well downfield. The backfield pressure is still a work in progress, but both Alabama and Towson offenses have admitted the scheme has been tricky to crack.

BSL: West Virginia boasts a very tough schedule to open the season. Two Top 5 teams will play the Mountaineers in the first four weeks of the season, with Towson and Maryland the two teams sandwiched between those two prime match-ups. They matched up well against Alabama in their opener, losing by just 10 points. How do you expect the season to go overall for the Mountaineers in 2014, and how important is it to them to take at least 2 of these first 4 games?

Nesbitt: I’m still not sold the Mountaineers are The Real Deal, meaning a lock for a bowl game, but they’re certainly a heck of a lot better than they were last fall, when they finished 4-8. These first four games, you’re right, are critical. They are 1-1 today with an expected loss against Alabama and an expected win against Towson. If these next two games go as losses, a five-win season looks a lot more likely than a six-win season. But if you hit the conference stretch 2-2, having stolen one from Maryland or Oklahoma, there’s a significantly better shot at a bowl bid.

BSL: Last but not least, what are your keys to the game for the Mountaineers against the Terps? What do they need to do to not only avoid embarrassment again, but to come away with a road victory?

Nesbitt: Maryland has given up possession something fierce, with more turnovers (seven) than anybody but Houston, Vanderbilt and could-we-really-be-any-worse SMU. West Virginia has forced just one turnover so far this year but showed a real nose for the timely turnover last season, so if they can swipe possession a few times — Gibson said it’ll take four — Maryland’s chances will diminish greatly. WVU had a comical six turnovers against Maryland last season, which “set the defense up to fail” Trickett said, and he’s there to ensure that doesn’t happen again Saturday.

Zack’s Keys to the Game

  • Hold onto the ball – Six turnovers in one game simply can’t happen again. You can live with one or two once in a while, but this offense’s improvement has to start with holding onto the ball. A team like West Virginia has the talent to take advantage of those turnovers.
  • Get C.J. into a rhythm – This was a key from last week as well, but it will be a key until the point that C.J. Brown begins to pass like we all know that he can. Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley should look to set up the run and the short passing game, allowing C.J. Brown to make a few easy throws to get his confidence back.
  • Blitz selectively – Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart loves to blitz. But against a team like West Virginia who relies on a very short passing game, blitzing may not work most of the time. More important is to tightly cover the Mountaineers’ receivers and be physical with them at the line of scrimmage.
  • Play smart, play clean – The Terps have yet to play a full, clean, impressive game so far this season. The offense has struggled in both of their games so far, and has looked sloppy most of the time. A few methodical, smart, clean drives to begin the game could work wonders for a struggling offense like this.
Zack Kiesel
Zack Kiesel

Terps Analyst

Zack is a financial analyst for a defense contractor in Washington, DC. The Owings Mills native focuses most of his efforts on Maryland Football recruiting and individual coach and player pieces; but also covers Terps Basketball. He has established relationships with Big Ten beat reporters across the conference, which he utilizes in his game previews. Now a Sr. Terps Analyst for BSL, Zack can be reached at: [email protected].

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