The Mountaineer offense has struggled the past two games: first against an elite Oklahoma State defense and next a middle-of-the-road Kansas State defense. The WVU offense and coaching staff needs to find a way to get the offense going this Saturday if it wants to keep up with the high-scoring Longhorns offense. Let’s take a look to see matchups WVU can take advantage of to get the offense back on track.
This graphic displays the starters for both the WVU offense and Texas defense. All grades listed are provided by PFF.com.
- D’Shawn Jamison (CB) – While Jamison is a good run defender, he struggles in coverage. The 5’10” Senior has logged more than 490 snaps as an outside corner, meaning he will be matched up frequently with Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Sean Ryan, and Kaden Prather. All three of these receivers are over 6’0″ tall, and should be able to use their size to shield off Jamison from incoming passes. WVU should make it a priority to target D’Shawn Jamison early and often.
- Luke Brockermeyer (MLB) – Despite Brockermeyer only playing 21 snaps in Texas’s loss the Kansas, he is still listed as Texas’s starter for this Saturday’s game. Brockermeyer is a great story; a former walk-on who earned the starting middle linebacker job for the prestigious Texas program. However, he can be a liability on the field. Brockermeyer grades out as the 2nd worst linebacker in the nation, the 5th worse linebacker against the run, and the 3rd worst linebacker in pass coverage. WVU should look to run at Brockermeyer and attack him in coverage whenever possible.
- Alfred Collins (Jack/END) – The key to WVU winning on Saturday will be to establish the run, control the clock, and methodically move down field. The player they should run at most often is Alfred Collins. Collins is a massive lineman, coming in at 6’5″ 302 lbs. However, he struggles mightily against the run, rounding out with the worst run defense grade on the defensive line. Texas currently allows more than 200 yards per game (109th in the FBS) on the ground on 5.3 yards per rush (111th in the FBS), and Collins is a big reason for that.
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