By: Jonathan K. Martin | WV Sports Chat
The West Virginia Mountaineers entered their Big 12 opener against Kansas riding high off a gritty 31-24 overtime victory in the Backyard Brawl against Pitt the previous week. But in Lawrence, the wheels simply came off.
Here are three key offensive takeaways—and the urgent fixes needed to potentially salvage the season.
Insert Jaylen Henderson at Quarterback: The Run Threat WVU Desperately Needs
We can apprec everything Nicco Marchiol has done for West Virginia. His late heroics against Pitt will never be forgotten. But it’s time for a change.
Enter Jaylen Henderson, the dual-threat transfer from Texas A&M who’s been waiting in the wings. Henderson brings the exact running ability WVU’s scheme craves under Rodriguez, a coach who built his career on mobile quarterbacks like Pat White.
When Henderson entered the game against Kansas you instantly realized his potential, particularly running the football. He rushed for 79 yards on 7 carries. And while he’s limited throwing the football, the Mountaineers need mobility, especially with a shaky offensive line.
Get Tye Edwards Healthy
Without a true workhorse back, WVU’s ground game was a non-factor. After exploading during the Backyard Brawl, Edwards was unavailable at Kansas, leaving Clay Ash and Cyncir Bowers getting the majority of the carries.
Edwards exploded for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in the Pitt win, breaking tackles and powering through contact in the way only a redshirt senior with 1,047 rushing yards from his Northern Iowa days can. His physicality complements Rodriguez’s tempo, wearing down fronts and setting up play-action. Without him, WVU couldn’t sustain drives.
The Mountaineers need to get him healthy.
The Offensive Line is a major problem
If there’s one unit that looked like a “wet paper bag,” as one analyst put it, it’s WVU’s offensive line. Kansas’s front seven teed off, sacking Marchiol repeatedly and stuffing runs at the line of scrimmage. The Mountaineers allowed four tackles for loss and multiple pressures that led to those negative-yardage “rushes,” turning potential drives into punts.
This isn’t new—WVU’s line has been a question mark since fall camp. Without improvement, no quarterback or back can succeed; sacks will balloon, and the tempo grinds to a halt.
