Post by dehayes35 on Sept 27, 2007 10:01:06 GMT -5
Bulls won't be able to contain Mountaineers' ground game
By Steve Muench
Scouts Inc.
West Virginia had rattled off eight consecutive home wins and nine of its past 10 games when South Florida came to town last year.
Most expected the Bulls to get their hats handed to them but they never backed down and left Morgantown with the most important win in program history. Neither of these teams have lost since that game and both come into Friday night's highly-anticipated game ranked (ESPN2, 8 ET). South Florida is looking to take the next step as a program and establish itself as the team to beat the Big East this year. West Virginia seeks revenge for last year's loss and wants to continue its quest for a BCS championship.
South Florida QB Matt Grothe is clearly the face of the program and played a big role in the Bulls' win last year. That being said, their ability to slow down the vaunted Mountaineers' ground game was the most impressive part of their performance. Why did it make such a big impression?
QB Pat White is the key to a West Virginia ground attack that is the perfect marriage of scheme and personnel. A staple of this offense is a designed quarterback-keeper that can involve faking a handoff to the back. If the defensive front gets caught off position because it reads pass and/or perimeter defenders are too quick to collapse inside when they see White stick the ball in the back's gut, it creates a seam. And that's all the explosive White needs to rip off a big chunk of yards. The problem for opposing linebackers is they can't hesitate to see whether or not White keeps the ball because it makes it easier for his blockers to get into position. It can also give the back a jump on the defense and that's risky because Steve Slaton and Noel Devine are just as dangerous when they get in the open field. Defenders have to stay aggressive, understand their role and execute on every snap consequently.
West Virginia offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, who coached at South Florida before joining the Mountaineer staff, also makes good use of the option and White runs it well. White keeps the ball when he sees the defense overplaying the pitch and collapsing inside in an effort to take away the dive. He will pitch when Slaton or Devine is able to break contain and he can hand the ball off to FB Owen Schmitt when the defense tries to take away the perimeter. Schmitt isn't a speed demon like his colleagues but he reads his blocks well and runs hard. Further complicating matters, West Virginia also does an excellent job of adjusting to defenses. Against Marshall earlier this year, the Herd held the Mountaineers to 32 yards on seven carries in the first half. So West Virginia went from favoring a finesse attack in the first half to favoring a power running game in the second half. It started pounding the ball between the tackles and pulling backside offensive linemen. It clearly worked, as Slaton and Devine finished the game with a combined 222 rushing yards.
As if that's not enough to give opposing defensive coordinators heartburn, West Virginia also runs a lot of misdirection and finds ways to get the ball in the hands of WR Darius Reynaud. Reynaud is yet another big-play threat so defenses must know where he is at all times.
To give us a better perspective on how the Bulls will fare against this attack let's go back in time. In 2005, South Florida's run defense surrenders 305 yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries when these two teams met. The biggest reason for the meltdown was a lack of discipline, as the Bulls' defensive ends and outside linebackers got caught too inside far too often. With no one keeping him contained, White was free to turn the corner pretty much at will. Another problem that becomes clear in watching the film was South Florida's inability to counter the Mountaineer receivers when they blocked down. Defenders were often blindsided and struggled to get off the blocks in time to make a play.
Fast forward to last year's meeting in Morgantown when South Florida held West Virginia to an average of just 3.6 yards per carry. The Bulls looked like a different team and the most noticeable difference was the play of the defensive line. At defensive end, George Selvie, who led the team with seven tackles, and Josh Julmiste did an excellent job of keeping outside contain and focusing on White rather than trying to help out with the pitch. The outside linebackers funneled White inside but rarely allowed Slaton to get outside of them. Perimeter defenders did a better job of keeping their shoulders square to the line of scrimmage rather than turning them inside making it easier to see any receivers blocking down. For their part, ILB Ben Moffitt, the safeties and the defensive tackles took away the dive and wrapped up when White got turned inside. Finally, the maturation of CBs Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams and their ability to match up in man coverage allowed the safeties to play a bigger role in run support.
Now the question is will South Florida repeat last year's impressive performance or will it falter? The Bulls are a well-coached team with players that can run on defense but here's why I think they'll have a hard time slowing the Mountaineers down on Friday.
For starters, there have been notable changes in the personnel. Julmiste has since been dismissed from the team and replacement Jarriett Buie can't be seen as an upgrade. South Florida also lost OLB Stephen Nicholas to graduation and his replacement is junior college transfer Tyrone McKenzie. McKenize has played well thus far but it's still his first year in the scheme, which increases his chances of getting caught out of position. These two new additions on the outside raise concerns about South Florida's ability to keep outside contain. Meanwhile, West Virginia added Devine, giving them yet another weapon and a back that can help keep Slaton fresh. And though the offensive line lost two starters to graduation, it's a unit that appears to be gelling and is capable of holding its own against this defensive front.
Secondly, Pat White sustained an ankle injury in this game last year and it clearly hindered him. Now that he's healthy, he'll be far more effective and that means the defense has to be sound at all times. On the flip side, the Mountaineers may have underestimated Grothe the last time these two teams met. They're well aware of what he's capable of now so they're in better position to limit his production. What's this have to do with West Virginia's ground game? Slowing the Mountaineers is a team effort. If the offense sustains long drives that eat up chunks of the clock, the Bull defense is far less likely to wear down and fatigue leads to mistakes. In addition, limiting White and Co.'s opportunities will make it harder for them to get into concert with the offensive line.
Thirdly, playing with emotion is good but those emotions have to be controlled to avoid mistakes. The Bulls have sold out Raymond James Stadium for the first time in the program's relatively brief history and they don't have a lot of experience playing games draped in this much hype. It will be tough for each individual player to stay focused on his specific job on every snap over the course of four quarters and all West Virginia needs is one mistake to shift momentum in its favor.
By Steve Muench
Scouts Inc.
West Virginia had rattled off eight consecutive home wins and nine of its past 10 games when South Florida came to town last year.
Most expected the Bulls to get their hats handed to them but they never backed down and left Morgantown with the most important win in program history. Neither of these teams have lost since that game and both come into Friday night's highly-anticipated game ranked (ESPN2, 8 ET). South Florida is looking to take the next step as a program and establish itself as the team to beat the Big East this year. West Virginia seeks revenge for last year's loss and wants to continue its quest for a BCS championship.
South Florida QB Matt Grothe is clearly the face of the program and played a big role in the Bulls' win last year. That being said, their ability to slow down the vaunted Mountaineers' ground game was the most impressive part of their performance. Why did it make such a big impression?
QB Pat White is the key to a West Virginia ground attack that is the perfect marriage of scheme and personnel. A staple of this offense is a designed quarterback-keeper that can involve faking a handoff to the back. If the defensive front gets caught off position because it reads pass and/or perimeter defenders are too quick to collapse inside when they see White stick the ball in the back's gut, it creates a seam. And that's all the explosive White needs to rip off a big chunk of yards. The problem for opposing linebackers is they can't hesitate to see whether or not White keeps the ball because it makes it easier for his blockers to get into position. It can also give the back a jump on the defense and that's risky because Steve Slaton and Noel Devine are just as dangerous when they get in the open field. Defenders have to stay aggressive, understand their role and execute on every snap consequently.
West Virginia offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, who coached at South Florida before joining the Mountaineer staff, also makes good use of the option and White runs it well. White keeps the ball when he sees the defense overplaying the pitch and collapsing inside in an effort to take away the dive. He will pitch when Slaton or Devine is able to break contain and he can hand the ball off to FB Owen Schmitt when the defense tries to take away the perimeter. Schmitt isn't a speed demon like his colleagues but he reads his blocks well and runs hard. Further complicating matters, West Virginia also does an excellent job of adjusting to defenses. Against Marshall earlier this year, the Herd held the Mountaineers to 32 yards on seven carries in the first half. So West Virginia went from favoring a finesse attack in the first half to favoring a power running game in the second half. It started pounding the ball between the tackles and pulling backside offensive linemen. It clearly worked, as Slaton and Devine finished the game with a combined 222 rushing yards.
As if that's not enough to give opposing defensive coordinators heartburn, West Virginia also runs a lot of misdirection and finds ways to get the ball in the hands of WR Darius Reynaud. Reynaud is yet another big-play threat so defenses must know where he is at all times.
To give us a better perspective on how the Bulls will fare against this attack let's go back in time. In 2005, South Florida's run defense surrenders 305 yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries when these two teams met. The biggest reason for the meltdown was a lack of discipline, as the Bulls' defensive ends and outside linebackers got caught too inside far too often. With no one keeping him contained, White was free to turn the corner pretty much at will. Another problem that becomes clear in watching the film was South Florida's inability to counter the Mountaineer receivers when they blocked down. Defenders were often blindsided and struggled to get off the blocks in time to make a play.
Fast forward to last year's meeting in Morgantown when South Florida held West Virginia to an average of just 3.6 yards per carry. The Bulls looked like a different team and the most noticeable difference was the play of the defensive line. At defensive end, George Selvie, who led the team with seven tackles, and Josh Julmiste did an excellent job of keeping outside contain and focusing on White rather than trying to help out with the pitch. The outside linebackers funneled White inside but rarely allowed Slaton to get outside of them. Perimeter defenders did a better job of keeping their shoulders square to the line of scrimmage rather than turning them inside making it easier to see any receivers blocking down. For their part, ILB Ben Moffitt, the safeties and the defensive tackles took away the dive and wrapped up when White got turned inside. Finally, the maturation of CBs Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams and their ability to match up in man coverage allowed the safeties to play a bigger role in run support.
Now the question is will South Florida repeat last year's impressive performance or will it falter? The Bulls are a well-coached team with players that can run on defense but here's why I think they'll have a hard time slowing the Mountaineers down on Friday.
For starters, there have been notable changes in the personnel. Julmiste has since been dismissed from the team and replacement Jarriett Buie can't be seen as an upgrade. South Florida also lost OLB Stephen Nicholas to graduation and his replacement is junior college transfer Tyrone McKenzie. McKenize has played well thus far but it's still his first year in the scheme, which increases his chances of getting caught out of position. These two new additions on the outside raise concerns about South Florida's ability to keep outside contain. Meanwhile, West Virginia added Devine, giving them yet another weapon and a back that can help keep Slaton fresh. And though the offensive line lost two starters to graduation, it's a unit that appears to be gelling and is capable of holding its own against this defensive front.
Secondly, Pat White sustained an ankle injury in this game last year and it clearly hindered him. Now that he's healthy, he'll be far more effective and that means the defense has to be sound at all times. On the flip side, the Mountaineers may have underestimated Grothe the last time these two teams met. They're well aware of what he's capable of now so they're in better position to limit his production. What's this have to do with West Virginia's ground game? Slowing the Mountaineers is a team effort. If the offense sustains long drives that eat up chunks of the clock, the Bull defense is far less likely to wear down and fatigue leads to mistakes. In addition, limiting White and Co.'s opportunities will make it harder for them to get into concert with the offensive line.
Thirdly, playing with emotion is good but those emotions have to be controlled to avoid mistakes. The Bulls have sold out Raymond James Stadium for the first time in the program's relatively brief history and they don't have a lot of experience playing games draped in this much hype. It will be tough for each individual player to stay focused on his specific job on every snap over the course of four quarters and all West Virginia needs is one mistake to shift momentum in its favor.
