Post by elp525 on Sept 17, 2011 4:05:52 GMT -5
09/16/2011
Garrett Cullen
MetroNews Sports
No. 18 West Virginia (2-0) faces a pivotal early season road test on Saturday at Maryland (1-0). It’ll be West Virginia’s first trip to College Park since 2007 and head coach Dana Holgorsen’s first road trip overall as a head coach.
“You’ve got to play a bunch of road games and put yourself in hostile situations if you’re going to have success. I like road games,” Holgorsen said. “The routine is typically the same as a home game, you go to the locker room at the same time, put your stuff on the same way, and you go out there and you play. There have been plenty of road games where we’ve gone out and been outnumbered and come out with a victory. To me, there’s not a big difference.”
What will be a big difference, however, is the level of competition the Mountaineers will be facing on Saturday. West Virginia trailed at the half in week two of the season to Norfolk State 12-10 before pouring it on in the second half to take a 55-12 win. It was a slow start that the Mountaineers can’t afford to let happen again against the Terps on Saturday.
“They look good. You should watch them on tape. They’ve got good-looking kids,” Holgorsen said of the Maryland defense. “They’ve got experience – their two-deep guys are very active and play hard. They give you some problems.”
The Terrapins returned seven starters defensively from 2010, including senior Kenny Tate and juniors Joe Vellano and Demetrius Hartsfield. Tate moved from safety to outside linebacker in the offseason and had 11 tackles with an interception in Maryland’s 32-24 win over Miami this year.
Offensively, the Terrapins are led by quarterback Danny O’Brien who was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and a freshman All-American in 2010. The sophomore threw for 348 yards and a touchdown in that win over Miami, completing 31 of 44 passes.
“He can throw the deep ball, get out of the pocket if he wants to make a play,” said Mountaineer defensive lineman Bruce Irvin. “Danny O’Brien’s a good quarterback and he’s still young. I’m sure he still has a lot more learning to do and he’s going to do nothing but get better and I have a lot of respect for him.”
Overall, the Terrapins finished with 499 offensive yards against the Hurricanes while forcing four turnovers defensively. However, they’ll be without a couple of their receivers on Saturday – seniors Quinton McCree and Ronnie Tyler were both suspended indefinitely from the team late Thursday for a violation of team rules. Together, they combined for 13 catches, 82 yards and a touchdown in the win over Miami.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is the only team in the nation yet to give up a turnover offensively or force one defensively.
“Just because we haven’t turned the ball over in two weeks doesn’t mean we can relax. It’s part of our everyday coaching efforts,” Holgorsen said. “Our style and how we practice is to make sure that we focus on those things.”
Another focus in practice throughout the week for the Mountaineers has been on blocking and improving the running game. Overall, West Virginia has 59 carries on the year for 144 yards – an average of just 2.44 yards per carry.
“The thing about it is it’s never as bad as it seems and it’s never as good as it seems,” said offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. “Everybody has a role to execute and everybody’s got to do it including us as coaches – everybody just has to do a better job.”
West Virginia was able to get by against Marshall and Norfolk State without much of a rushing attack – however, it’s likely that won’t be as much of the case on Saturday.
“Coaches are emphasizing finishing blocks and we’re working hard at that,” said offensive lineman Don Barclay. “We’re trying to get the running game going a little bit to open up other things.”
Freshman running back Vernard Roberts has 76 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries this season. However, his longest carry has been for just nine yards.
“We’re just that close to making a big run,” he said. “We’ve just got to execute, stay patient and let the blocks develop. Hopefully, you guys will see a long run.”
Roberts, meanwhile, is one of several Mountaineers that will be making a trip close to home on Saturday. Overall, 10 players on the roster come from either the state of Maryland or from Washington, D.C.
“People have been blowing my phone up – sometimes I just ignore the call because my family’s just been calling me non-stop asking me about tickets and stuff like that,” he said. “It’s going to be fun just to see them there and it’ll definitely give me a lot of energy.”
Another guy with some extra pressure on his shoulders to beat the Terps is receiver Tavon Austin who attended Dunbar High School in Baltimore.
“My grandma always tells me, ‘Tavon, if you’re going to lose to a team do not lose to Maryland.’ So, my grandma says I can’t lose to Maryland,” he said.
Last year in Morgantown, Austin was a big part of why the Mountaineers handled the Terrapins 31-17. He finished the game with seven catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns as the Mountaineers jumped out to the early 28-0 lead just into the second quarter.
Overall, the series between West Virginia and Maryland couldn’t be much closer all-time. While the Mountaineers have won five straight going back to 2004, they lead the series just 24-21-1 overall. At Maryland, the teams are an even 11-11-1.
Kickoff on Saturday is set for noon. Pregame coverage on many MetroNews stations will begin at 8:00 A.M.
Garrett Cullen
MetroNews Sports
No. 18 West Virginia (2-0) faces a pivotal early season road test on Saturday at Maryland (1-0). It’ll be West Virginia’s first trip to College Park since 2007 and head coach Dana Holgorsen’s first road trip overall as a head coach.
“You’ve got to play a bunch of road games and put yourself in hostile situations if you’re going to have success. I like road games,” Holgorsen said. “The routine is typically the same as a home game, you go to the locker room at the same time, put your stuff on the same way, and you go out there and you play. There have been plenty of road games where we’ve gone out and been outnumbered and come out with a victory. To me, there’s not a big difference.”
What will be a big difference, however, is the level of competition the Mountaineers will be facing on Saturday. West Virginia trailed at the half in week two of the season to Norfolk State 12-10 before pouring it on in the second half to take a 55-12 win. It was a slow start that the Mountaineers can’t afford to let happen again against the Terps on Saturday.
“They look good. You should watch them on tape. They’ve got good-looking kids,” Holgorsen said of the Maryland defense. “They’ve got experience – their two-deep guys are very active and play hard. They give you some problems.”
The Terrapins returned seven starters defensively from 2010, including senior Kenny Tate and juniors Joe Vellano and Demetrius Hartsfield. Tate moved from safety to outside linebacker in the offseason and had 11 tackles with an interception in Maryland’s 32-24 win over Miami this year.
Offensively, the Terrapins are led by quarterback Danny O’Brien who was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and a freshman All-American in 2010. The sophomore threw for 348 yards and a touchdown in that win over Miami, completing 31 of 44 passes.
“He can throw the deep ball, get out of the pocket if he wants to make a play,” said Mountaineer defensive lineman Bruce Irvin. “Danny O’Brien’s a good quarterback and he’s still young. I’m sure he still has a lot more learning to do and he’s going to do nothing but get better and I have a lot of respect for him.”
Overall, the Terrapins finished with 499 offensive yards against the Hurricanes while forcing four turnovers defensively. However, they’ll be without a couple of their receivers on Saturday – seniors Quinton McCree and Ronnie Tyler were both suspended indefinitely from the team late Thursday for a violation of team rules. Together, they combined for 13 catches, 82 yards and a touchdown in the win over Miami.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is the only team in the nation yet to give up a turnover offensively or force one defensively.
“Just because we haven’t turned the ball over in two weeks doesn’t mean we can relax. It’s part of our everyday coaching efforts,” Holgorsen said. “Our style and how we practice is to make sure that we focus on those things.”
Another focus in practice throughout the week for the Mountaineers has been on blocking and improving the running game. Overall, West Virginia has 59 carries on the year for 144 yards – an average of just 2.44 yards per carry.
“The thing about it is it’s never as bad as it seems and it’s never as good as it seems,” said offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. “Everybody has a role to execute and everybody’s got to do it including us as coaches – everybody just has to do a better job.”
West Virginia was able to get by against Marshall and Norfolk State without much of a rushing attack – however, it’s likely that won’t be as much of the case on Saturday.
“Coaches are emphasizing finishing blocks and we’re working hard at that,” said offensive lineman Don Barclay. “We’re trying to get the running game going a little bit to open up other things.”
Freshman running back Vernard Roberts has 76 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries this season. However, his longest carry has been for just nine yards.
“We’re just that close to making a big run,” he said. “We’ve just got to execute, stay patient and let the blocks develop. Hopefully, you guys will see a long run.”
Roberts, meanwhile, is one of several Mountaineers that will be making a trip close to home on Saturday. Overall, 10 players on the roster come from either the state of Maryland or from Washington, D.C.
“People have been blowing my phone up – sometimes I just ignore the call because my family’s just been calling me non-stop asking me about tickets and stuff like that,” he said. “It’s going to be fun just to see them there and it’ll definitely give me a lot of energy.”
Another guy with some extra pressure on his shoulders to beat the Terps is receiver Tavon Austin who attended Dunbar High School in Baltimore.
“My grandma always tells me, ‘Tavon, if you’re going to lose to a team do not lose to Maryland.’ So, my grandma says I can’t lose to Maryland,” he said.
Last year in Morgantown, Austin was a big part of why the Mountaineers handled the Terrapins 31-17. He finished the game with seven catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns as the Mountaineers jumped out to the early 28-0 lead just into the second quarter.
Overall, the series between West Virginia and Maryland couldn’t be much closer all-time. While the Mountaineers have won five straight going back to 2004, they lead the series just 24-21-1 overall. At Maryland, the teams are an even 11-11-1.
Kickoff on Saturday is set for noon. Pregame coverage on many MetroNews stations will begin at 8:00 A.M.
