Defending Bryce Ford-Wheaton & Kaden Prather
Ford-Wheaton #3 is a big juco transfer - 6'3, 230 pounder. I guess he's the Darrin Moore (except better at football) of Neal Brown's tenure at WVU. Kaden Prather #3 is another big wideout - 6'4, 215 -- that lists every offer in the country coming out of HS.
Both of these guys would be outside WR1 and outside WR2 at Texas Tech. They are good. Competently defending these two is key because of how important they are to WVU's offense. Ford-Wheaton is 2nd in the Big 12 in targets per game, Prather is 6th.
WVU even throws it to these guys when they are covered. Ford-Wheaton leads the conference in contested targets (and contested catches). Prather is not far behind him -- he's 7th in the conference in contested targets, just behind our very own Trey Cleveland.
Bottom line is that neither of these guys have to be open to hurt you. Tech's DBs are going to be challenged. I've been really impressed with Malik and Rayshad Williams. Wouldn't surprise me if Frye never plays meaningful snaps again. And these two will need to step up against some really big WRs Saturday that don't need seperation to beat you.
I think our DBs are up for the task, but it's going to be tough. There's a reason why WVU's offense is one of the most productive in the conference, and it starts with these two wideouts.
I don't see how Tech loses this game if the defense holds both in check.
I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to lose hope that we actually have a competent P5 defense. I thought it could be top 40 nationally, but that has pretty much slipped away if you're trying to justify it with any form of statistics.
It's Now or Never for Tech's Offense
Tech's entering the easy part of its schedule, especially when it comes to defenses faced. In fact, this is one of the worst defenses to come into Jones Stadium in quite a while. WVU's allowed a TD on almost 40% of its Big 12 opponents' possessions. That's Tech 2016 defense level bad.
We must take advantage. A lack-luster performance at home against these guys will destroy all the goodwill we built up with the first-half performance against Oklahoma State.
Last week was a major step in the right direction, for sure. Probably the best we've played offensively all year. Had we not been held scoreless in our last 6 possessions of the game... to be honest, it's hard to call any game "good" offensively when it's tied up and you go the last 6 possessions without scoring. But this offense needed to show a sign of life, and Behren Morton was it.
In any event, it's time for us to win a game offensively. The kind of performance where it doesn't really matter what happens in the other phases of the game. We used to be good for one of those every now and then, and they almost always came against the worst defenses in the league. That might be what we are up against Saturday.
If you can't tell, my standards are really high for Saturday's offensive output. I'm not going to freak out when Behren or Shough or Donovan or Beadles throws for 400+ yards and 4 TDs. That absolutely should happen.
Just Win, Baby
That's right. Scoring more points than WVU is a key this week.
I'm a little terrified of this game. I don't like how "must-win"-y it feels. The stakes are uncomfortably high in my book. Some of that is because I'm going and losing as a TD favorite when in attendance is really painful. Brutally painful.
But the stakes are also high because a win Saturday makes going to a bowl game a very strong possibility. Real strong. I want a bowl game.
A win Saturday avoids any discussion regarding whether we are the worst team in this league. Yeah, unfortunately, we're still kind of duking it out with Kansas / Iowa State / WVU to not be last place or the perceived worst team in the league. Flame away, but that's at stake if you take your rose-tinted glasses off and look at the conference from 50,000 feet. I don't want to be last place.
Winning Saturday would also build a ton of momentum going into the pivotal two-game Baylor / TCU stretch.
Scoring more points than the other team could also really solidify our QB spot. I'm ready for someone to take the job and run with it. Having a guy do it with 4 years of eligibility left would be an added bonus. This game -- the way they play defense -- is set up for the starting QB to play well in a win and never look back.
Just win. Please.
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
shop.summerlandwinebrands.com
@Saynotobarefoot
Ford-Wheaton #3 is a big juco transfer - 6'3, 230 pounder. I guess he's the Darrin Moore (except better at football) of Neal Brown's tenure at WVU. Kaden Prather #3 is another big wideout - 6'4, 215 -- that lists every offer in the country coming out of HS.
Both of these guys would be outside WR1 and outside WR2 at Texas Tech. They are good. Competently defending these two is key because of how important they are to WVU's offense. Ford-Wheaton is 2nd in the Big 12 in targets per game, Prather is 6th.
WVU even throws it to these guys when they are covered. Ford-Wheaton leads the conference in contested targets (and contested catches). Prather is not far behind him -- he's 7th in the conference in contested targets, just behind our very own Trey Cleveland.
Bottom line is that neither of these guys have to be open to hurt you. Tech's DBs are going to be challenged. I've been really impressed with Malik and Rayshad Williams. Wouldn't surprise me if Frye never plays meaningful snaps again. And these two will need to step up against some really big WRs Saturday that don't need seperation to beat you.
I think our DBs are up for the task, but it's going to be tough. There's a reason why WVU's offense is one of the most productive in the conference, and it starts with these two wideouts.
I don't see how Tech loses this game if the defense holds both in check.
I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to lose hope that we actually have a competent P5 defense. I thought it could be top 40 nationally, but that has pretty much slipped away if you're trying to justify it with any form of statistics.
It's Now or Never for Tech's Offense
Tech's entering the easy part of its schedule, especially when it comes to defenses faced. In fact, this is one of the worst defenses to come into Jones Stadium in quite a while. WVU's allowed a TD on almost 40% of its Big 12 opponents' possessions. That's Tech 2016 defense level bad.
We must take advantage. A lack-luster performance at home against these guys will destroy all the goodwill we built up with the first-half performance against Oklahoma State.
Last week was a major step in the right direction, for sure. Probably the best we've played offensively all year. Had we not been held scoreless in our last 6 possessions of the game... to be honest, it's hard to call any game "good" offensively when it's tied up and you go the last 6 possessions without scoring. But this offense needed to show a sign of life, and Behren Morton was it.
In any event, it's time for us to win a game offensively. The kind of performance where it doesn't really matter what happens in the other phases of the game. We used to be good for one of those every now and then, and they almost always came against the worst defenses in the league. That might be what we are up against Saturday.
If you can't tell, my standards are really high for Saturday's offensive output. I'm not going to freak out when Behren or Shough or Donovan or Beadles throws for 400+ yards and 4 TDs. That absolutely should happen.
Just Win, Baby
That's right. Scoring more points than WVU is a key this week.
I'm a little terrified of this game. I don't like how "must-win"-y it feels. The stakes are uncomfortably high in my book. Some of that is because I'm going and losing as a TD favorite when in attendance is really painful. Brutally painful.
But the stakes are also high because a win Saturday makes going to a bowl game a very strong possibility. Real strong. I want a bowl game.
A win Saturday avoids any discussion regarding whether we are the worst team in this league. Yeah, unfortunately, we're still kind of duking it out with Kansas / Iowa State / WVU to not be last place or the perceived worst team in the league. Flame away, but that's at stake if you take your rose-tinted glasses off and look at the conference from 50,000 feet. I don't want to be last place.
Winning Saturday would also build a ton of momentum going into the pivotal two-game Baylor / TCU stretch.
Scoring more points than the other team could also really solidify our QB spot. I'm ready for someone to take the job and run with it. Having a guy do it with 4 years of eligibility left would be an added bonus. This game -- the way they play defense -- is set up for the starting QB to play well in a win and never look back.
Just win. Please.
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
Summerland Wine Brands - Shop - Fields of Gold
shop.summerlandwinebrands.com
@Saynotobarefoot
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