Post by elp525 on Sept 15, 2011 7:28:22 GMT -5
Thursday September 15, 2011
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN -- A season ago, West Virginia entered its game against Maryland as the only FBS defense without a sack.
"And then what happened?" WVU defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel said.
The Mountaineers had eight against the Terrapins and finished ranked No. 3 in the country with 45 and No. 2 with 3.46 per game. Saturday's noon ESPNU telecast game against Maryland at Byrd Stadium arrives with another distinction for WVU.
No other team in the country has not committed a turnover and not forced a turnover.
"I don't think I've ever gone two games without a turnover," Coach Dana Holgorsen said. "Defensively, we're talking about not being able to get turnovers."
The Mountaineers (2-0) and four others among the 120 FBS teams have made it this far without a turnover. Holgorsen has actually been an offensive coordinator three times when he's gone consecutive games without a turnover, including twice last season at Oklahoma State. There are also only four other teams this season that haven't forced a turnover.
The Terrapins (1-0) forced four in a season-opening victory against Miami (Fla.) and returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns in the 32-24 win.
Meanwhile, WVU hadn't played back-to-back games without forcing a turnover since seeing it happen twice in 2006. It's been since at least 2000 since WVU went three straight without getting a turnover.
"It's terrible," safety Darwin Cook said.
The defense is otherwise fine. It hasn't allowed an offensive touchdown. Opponents have just 22 first downs in two games and have converted only 5 of 26 third downs, which is No. 6 in the country.
The defenders are still unhappy about not helping an offense that's scored 10 touchdowns and made five field goals in 21 possessions.
"The stat we really need is turnovers," linebacker Doug Rigg said. "Even though we're getting off the field, even though we're keeping teams out of the end zone, that's all great, but we need to get a turnover on their side of the field and put out offense in a better position. Even when we get a three-and-out, they punt the ball. That puts our offense at a disadvantage. They flip field position and that's a big deal when our offense can score as fast as it does."
Casteel tries to brush aside this reality, or at least downplay it so it doesn't become a bigger focus than it already is. The Mountaineers go over it every day in practice. They discuss it all the time in meetings. It's just not the thing they do the first or talk about the most.
"We just haven't gotten any," Casteel said. "I wish had an answer for you."
Some of it is the opponent. A few bounces have been lucky for the other team and not for WVU. Marshall and Norfolk State also have used a lot of screens and quick passes to minimize WVU's pass rush. Yet there are things the Mountaineers, who still have new players in many places, have to do.
It's not about being in place to get an interception or stripping the ball from the opponent.
"We're not as physical as we should be," Casteel said. "Those are things we have to improve on.
"We have to be a team that flies around and makes contact and if you do those things and play with a recklessness, a lot of times you start knocking balls loose."
That's something that doesn't stand out when a team plays as well as WVU has on defense. The Mountaineers can feel good about themselves for forcing Marshall to punt three times as the offense scores on four straight drives, or about getting Norfolk State to punt seven straight times before the offense scored on seven drives in a row.
When the Mountaineers watch film, they see how much easier it may have been. WVU believes it's close to making changes that can change the game.
"We haven't been trying to strip the ball out as violently as we could have," cornerback Keith Tandy said. "We saw we had some chances in the Norfolk State game when we saw the ball was loose and people tried to strip it and just went at it because they remembered the coach said to try to get it out."
The Mountaineers have a general plan for everything they do on defense and that plays right into forcing turnovers. When they're at their best and getting the ball back by a punt or by turnover, they are running to the ball.
Before it's passed, when it's handed off or after it's caught, if the defenders get there in a hurry they have a better chance to take the ball.
"Once the first guy gets there and wraps him up, the second and third guys try to rip the ball out," Tandy said. "When you're flying to the ball you hit people in the back when they're running and the ball pops out. As far as interceptions, when you get pressure on the quarterback it makes it hard for them to get the ball where they want it to go.
"We can definitely get better at that. I've seen too many times on film when guys are falling and we have somebody run up and stop instead of finishing up the tackle and blowing the guy up. That's how we caused a lot of turnovers last year and we haven't don't that much yet."
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN -- A season ago, West Virginia entered its game against Maryland as the only FBS defense without a sack.
"And then what happened?" WVU defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel said.
The Mountaineers had eight against the Terrapins and finished ranked No. 3 in the country with 45 and No. 2 with 3.46 per game. Saturday's noon ESPNU telecast game against Maryland at Byrd Stadium arrives with another distinction for WVU.
No other team in the country has not committed a turnover and not forced a turnover.
"I don't think I've ever gone two games without a turnover," Coach Dana Holgorsen said. "Defensively, we're talking about not being able to get turnovers."
The Mountaineers (2-0) and four others among the 120 FBS teams have made it this far without a turnover. Holgorsen has actually been an offensive coordinator three times when he's gone consecutive games without a turnover, including twice last season at Oklahoma State. There are also only four other teams this season that haven't forced a turnover.
The Terrapins (1-0) forced four in a season-opening victory against Miami (Fla.) and returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns in the 32-24 win.
Meanwhile, WVU hadn't played back-to-back games without forcing a turnover since seeing it happen twice in 2006. It's been since at least 2000 since WVU went three straight without getting a turnover.
"It's terrible," safety Darwin Cook said.
The defense is otherwise fine. It hasn't allowed an offensive touchdown. Opponents have just 22 first downs in two games and have converted only 5 of 26 third downs, which is No. 6 in the country.
The defenders are still unhappy about not helping an offense that's scored 10 touchdowns and made five field goals in 21 possessions.
"The stat we really need is turnovers," linebacker Doug Rigg said. "Even though we're getting off the field, even though we're keeping teams out of the end zone, that's all great, but we need to get a turnover on their side of the field and put out offense in a better position. Even when we get a three-and-out, they punt the ball. That puts our offense at a disadvantage. They flip field position and that's a big deal when our offense can score as fast as it does."
Casteel tries to brush aside this reality, or at least downplay it so it doesn't become a bigger focus than it already is. The Mountaineers go over it every day in practice. They discuss it all the time in meetings. It's just not the thing they do the first or talk about the most.
"We just haven't gotten any," Casteel said. "I wish had an answer for you."
Some of it is the opponent. A few bounces have been lucky for the other team and not for WVU. Marshall and Norfolk State also have used a lot of screens and quick passes to minimize WVU's pass rush. Yet there are things the Mountaineers, who still have new players in many places, have to do.
It's not about being in place to get an interception or stripping the ball from the opponent.
"We're not as physical as we should be," Casteel said. "Those are things we have to improve on.
"We have to be a team that flies around and makes contact and if you do those things and play with a recklessness, a lot of times you start knocking balls loose."
That's something that doesn't stand out when a team plays as well as WVU has on defense. The Mountaineers can feel good about themselves for forcing Marshall to punt three times as the offense scores on four straight drives, or about getting Norfolk State to punt seven straight times before the offense scored on seven drives in a row.
When the Mountaineers watch film, they see how much easier it may have been. WVU believes it's close to making changes that can change the game.
"We haven't been trying to strip the ball out as violently as we could have," cornerback Keith Tandy said. "We saw we had some chances in the Norfolk State game when we saw the ball was loose and people tried to strip it and just went at it because they remembered the coach said to try to get it out."
The Mountaineers have a general plan for everything they do on defense and that plays right into forcing turnovers. When they're at their best and getting the ball back by a punt or by turnover, they are running to the ball.
Before it's passed, when it's handed off or after it's caught, if the defenders get there in a hurry they have a better chance to take the ball.
"Once the first guy gets there and wraps him up, the second and third guys try to rip the ball out," Tandy said. "When you're flying to the ball you hit people in the back when they're running and the ball pops out. As far as interceptions, when you get pressure on the quarterback it makes it hard for them to get the ball where they want it to go.
"We can definitely get better at that. I've seen too many times on film when guys are falling and we have somebody run up and stop instead of finishing up the tackle and blowing the guy up. That's how we caused a lot of turnovers last year and we haven't don't that much yet."
