Nolaeer
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Cornerback Josh Norwood sat out the first half after he was ejected in the second half of last week's win for targeting. Gibson actually borrowed from the cornerbacks to address a problem at safety. Starting bandit Toyous Avery missed the game with a shoulder injury, and Gibson asked Derrek Pittsto start and to play a lot. Middle linebacker Dylan Tonkery hobbled through the week and only made it into the second half against Kansas. He was replaced by Adam Hensley, who made two tackles in the most meaningful playing time of his career.
"I think we've got enough players on defense to back up anybody who goes down," linebacker David Long said. "I think we're prepared for that, and I think you can see that with Derrek and Hensley going out there and making plays."
However they were aligned and whatever mood the Mountaineers were in, they silenced the Big 12's leading rusher, forced three turnovers by a team that doesn't turn the ball over, allowed just 286 yards of offense and got away with a 38-22 victory.
"We could have stayed out there until the morning and they weren't scoring on our 1s," Gibson said. "And you can print that big and bold. Tell them to go for 2 the first time he scores, because he isn't going to score much more."
Ah, yes. There was also some animosity at the end. Hints, if you will, but each side sure seemed to get the hint. WVU led 31-14 and took over at the Kansas 30-yard line following a turnover on downs with 3:01 to go. Martell Pettaway ran the ball, as could be expected, on first down. He picked up 13 yards. Quarterback Will Grier then threw a touchdown pass to David Sills, and, sure, 38-14 looked better on the scoreboard at Mountaineer Field and on the postgame shows around the country.
Gibson put his second-string defense in for the final possession. Kansas had its regulars in the game and faced third-and-7 but converted with a 13-yard pass play. Next thing you know, the Jayhawks are in the end zone with a touchdown as time expired ... and then electing to for a 2-point conversion. It worked, and 38-22 looked a little different.
But up close, the defense and the first team had done its job and allowed just 211 yards and two scores.
FWIW WVU has the 20th ranked defense in country-tops in big 12. Ohio State 27, Texas 31, ISU 33, TCU 37. no one lse even close.
WVU is the only big 12 team with 2 5 star dlinemen(2nd and 7th rated defensive tackles when they came out of high school).
2018 S&P+ rankings, through 6 weeks
Team Rec. S&P+ Rating S&P+ Rank Last Wk Change
Alabama 6-0 29.6 1 1 0
Clemson 6-0 26.2 2 2 0
Georgia 6-0 25.2 3 4 1
Ohio St. 6-0 24.1 4 3 -1
Michigan 5-1 22.7 5 7 2
Oklahoma 5-1 22.1 6 6 0
Penn St. 4-1 21.8 7 8 1
Notre Dame 6-0 18.5 8 9 1
UCF 5-0 18.5 9 10 1
Washington 5-1 17.8 10 5 -5
West Virginia 5-0 17.5 11 14 3
"I think we've got enough players on defense to back up anybody who goes down," linebacker David Long said. "I think we're prepared for that, and I think you can see that with Derrek and Hensley going out there and making plays."
However they were aligned and whatever mood the Mountaineers were in, they silenced the Big 12's leading rusher, forced three turnovers by a team that doesn't turn the ball over, allowed just 286 yards of offense and got away with a 38-22 victory.
"We could have stayed out there until the morning and they weren't scoring on our 1s," Gibson said. "And you can print that big and bold. Tell them to go for 2 the first time he scores, because he isn't going to score much more."
Ah, yes. There was also some animosity at the end. Hints, if you will, but each side sure seemed to get the hint. WVU led 31-14 and took over at the Kansas 30-yard line following a turnover on downs with 3:01 to go. Martell Pettaway ran the ball, as could be expected, on first down. He picked up 13 yards. Quarterback Will Grier then threw a touchdown pass to David Sills, and, sure, 38-14 looked better on the scoreboard at Mountaineer Field and on the postgame shows around the country.
Gibson put his second-string defense in for the final possession. Kansas had its regulars in the game and faced third-and-7 but converted with a 13-yard pass play. Next thing you know, the Jayhawks are in the end zone with a touchdown as time expired ... and then electing to for a 2-point conversion. It worked, and 38-22 looked a little different.
But up close, the defense and the first team had done its job and allowed just 211 yards and two scores.
FWIW WVU has the 20th ranked defense in country-tops in big 12. Ohio State 27, Texas 31, ISU 33, TCU 37. no one lse even close.
WVU is the only big 12 team with 2 5 star dlinemen(2nd and 7th rated defensive tackles when they came out of high school).
2018 S&P+ rankings, through 6 weeks
Team Rec. S&P+ Rating S&P+ Rank Last Wk Change
Alabama 6-0 29.6 1 1 0
Clemson 6-0 26.2 2 2 0
Georgia 6-0 25.2 3 4 1
Ohio St. 6-0 24.1 4 3 -1
Michigan 5-1 22.7 5 7 2
Oklahoma 5-1 22.1 6 6 0
Penn St. 4-1 21.8 7 8 1
Notre Dame 6-0 18.5 8 9 1
UCF 5-0 18.5 9 10 1
Washington 5-1 17.8 10 5 -5
West Virginia 5-0 17.5 11 14 3
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