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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPPOSING SIDELINE
Football beat reporter sits down with Matt Hauswirth, West Virginia Illustrated beat reporter
West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett throws a touchdown pass to receiver Kevin White during the second quarter of the game against Oklahoma in Morgantown, W.Va., on Sept. 20.
DAN HARMSEN
@UDK Dan
DAN: Order of business number one: how has the Big 12 treated the Mountaineers over the past three years, and how would you compare the league to, what was it, the Big East?
MATT: West Virginia was a program in need of a big change back when the Big East was losing teams left and right. They had no other option. They applied to go into the ACC and even the SEC, both of those conferences turned them away. When the Big 12 came up, people were thinking travel was a little outrageous. But it seemed to be the only plausible option. The American conference was the other one, but if West Virginia wanted to remain relevant, they had to go to the Big 12.
The Big 12 was a great thing, spearheaded by athletic director Oliver Luck who spent the majority of his career in the Texas area. When he came in, prior to moving the conference, he hired Dana Holgorsen as head coach and Holgorsen had plenty of experience in the Big 12 as offensive coordinator under coach Gundy at Oklahoma State, so he knew about all the other teams, so that's why Luck hired him in the first place.
The travel does seem a little crazy to some, but it seems as though West Virginia is coming around to the Big 12 conference. When I went to Big 12 Media Days in July, one of the questions asked of Holgorsen was whether WVU felt like they were a part of the conference and he said absolutely. It seems that the conference reached out to WVU and made them feel at home.
DAN: Last week, West Virginia took Oklahoma to the wire in Morgantown, but came up just a bit short. Earlier in the season, the Mountaineers played Alabama close. A few plays here, a few plays there, could this be a 4-0, top-10 caliber team?
MATT: Without a doubt. When you play teams like Alabama and Oklahoma, two teams that are going to wear down pretty much anyone they face. That's just kind of the mentality and make-up of those teams. West Virginia was in those games, playing with both teams into the fourth quarter and they just lost it. Holgorsen said great teams make critical plays in critical situations; during those two games, it didn't happen. Now, during the Maryland game, it did happen. It was actually a great feeling after that game, watching the team celebrate. The Maryland game seems to be the one game that is the turning point in the season. The last four
or five seasons that they've played, the team that won that game typically goes to a bowl game, and it's a rivalry. That game was clutch with a field goal at the end, but when it comes to those two games, two top-five teams, those two teams you could very well see in the college football playoff, but like you said, WVU was in those games.
Holgorsen came in somewhat on the hot-seat, but people in Morgantown are very happy with the outlook of this team now. Although Holgorsen is not interested in moral victories, you've got to take something out of those.
DAN: Injuries have seemed to be the only things that can get in Clint Trickett's way. You have Kevin White, who is the Big 12's top dog at wide receiver. Rushel Shell seems to be finding some holes behind the offensive line. Is this one of the top offenses in the conference?
MATT: I just wrote an article a week ago about how the offense is starting to get back to what Dana Holgorsen is used to coaching. Top 10 in the country-type offenses, especially in terms of passing yards. His teams can swing the rock around with ease.
Clint Trickett, not that he didn't buy in last year, but he showed up on campus last August, and people didn't really know or understand that he arrived late, and Holgorsen did not have a lot of time to sit down with him—he kind of had to learn on the fly. Trickett has said several times that that was his fallout. The offense is completely night and day from last year. When you have someone like Kevin White, he has absolutely exploded, through four games he has the second most yards per game average in the country, which is unbelievable when you think that Amari Cooper from Alabama is the only one ahead of him, who Holgorsen said was one of the best wide receivers he has ever seen. Kevin White is on his way to an NFL career.
Rushel Shell has been a very nice change of pace with the rushing game. Last year, Charles Sims was fantastic out of the backfield, one of the only bright spots on the team last year — now he's in the NFL, a third-round pick for Tampa Bay. With Shell, he is a bruiser, he is a downhill runner, he's going to come right at you. Holgorsen said Kansas likes to fill the box and play one-on-one with the wide receivers, so shots will be taken downfield. Can't forget about Mario Alford. He ranks 36th in the nation in terms of receiving yards, so he is doing pretty darn well. They've got five running backs who are all very good and with this wide receiver combination; the offense is certainly trending in the right direction.
DAN: Running the numbers, West Virginia has been better defending the pass than the rush through four games. Are those numbers consistent with the performance you are seeing from the defense?
MATT: That makes sense. Honestly, a big reason for that, the secondary is very good — the real deal. Now, there's one player that Kansas fans won't be seeing this week, and Oklahoma fans did not see him a week ago as well, Daryl Worley, starting cornerback — he will not be playing. He's indefinitely suspended due to an altercation that he had at a local nightclub with a female, a physical altercation, so as of right now he is indefinitely suspended as they continue to gather the facts. Worley's lawyers said that he will play this year, but Worley is the best player on this defense, only a sophomore with NFL future written all over him; some think he will be an All-American before he's out of here. He held his own against Amari Cooper in the Alabama game.
Karl Joseph, a hard-hitting safety, he's just a solid football player. KJ Dillon was a safety the last two years, but they've been using him at the linebacker position, so he can drop into coverage or play up close to the line of scrimmage. The linebackers have played pretty well. The defensive line is a work in progress. Not much of a pass rush. They changed their scheme to a 3-3-5. This year they went with just bringing three down linemen and haven't gotten much pressure through four games. I would say that that is a very good assessment of the stats you read. The secondary is above par but the defensive line has room to improve.
DAN: Dana Holgorsen said that re-watching the 2013 loss to Kansas made him "want to puke". At today's press-conference, interim head coach Clint Bowen said, tongue-in-cheek, that he heard Holgorsen wasn't feeling so well last week and he hopes that he's better for Saturday. Are there significant intangibles heading into this game despite the fact that Kansas is reeling once again and fresh off a coaching change?
MATT: No offense to Kansas, but West Virginia has looked night and day compared to last year. They are getting back to the good days. The numbers that everybody in the country is used to seeing. It's a Kansas team that seems to be in transition, but as far as West Virginia fans go, it seems as though Kansas has been in transition for the three years that WVU has been in the conference.
This is a must-win game. West Virginia fans are crazy about their football team. It's the pro team for this state. These fans love their Mountaineers. When it comes to playing a team like Kansas, it's a must-win game. If Holgorsen doesn't win this game for some reason on homecoming, if they drop this game, there will be some words being said in the media.
By all means, West Virginia looks like a completely different game as opposed to the last time they played. A lot of that has to do with injuries. WVU looked like a different team emotionally and technicality wise. They didn't have a lot of things working to their advantage.
It's weird because last year they were 4-6 heading into the Kansas game, with Kansas and Iowa State in their last two. Those looked like two winnable games and with two wins they could have made a bowl game. That's not what happened: the season went in the opposite direction as they lost both.
Talking to the players, they remember that game from last year rather vividly. It's not just a revenge-factor. They lost eight games and missed a bowl for the first time in 12-plus years. This program is used to going to bowl games and winning. They are starting to learn that the Big 12 is different and just because it is Kansas, a team that hasn't won a lot of Big 12 games in the past couple of years, you can't let your guard down. This Kansas team is an FBS team, believe it or not. This football team knows they've got to bring their A-game. This new interim, he's a Kansas graduate, a guy who has been with the team for a long time, all the players, along with coach Holgorsen say that he'll have the team fired up for an upset-bid in Morgantown.
DAN: I think I know how you're going to answer this, but just to get you on the record: who is going to win this football game?
MATT: I think it's going to be a close game up to the half. The second half, WVU's offense will be going well. This is a Kansas defense that Holgorsen has a lot of respect for. He says both the corners are seniors for the Jayhawks, which is a lot of the reason for the single-coverage on the outside, they've got a lot of trust in those guys, but I think the way Trickett is throwing the ball around the field, and the way Kevin White is catching the ball, he has at least 100 yards in each game this season, all four games, and he has gone against two of the best defenses in the country, Oklahoma and Alabama. If they are going to play him man-to-man, the recipe is there for White to have a big game. I think WVU will pull away. I think it will be a second-half explosion for the Mountaineers. They should win this one 48-24.
CSLPlasma.com
Edited by Drew Parks