Welcome to the sixth edition of my weekly analysis named "I Got Five On It," where I will give you five of my biggest takeaways and thoughts following every WVU football game this season and give you insight into what I saw from watching the Mountaineers. This week, WVU crushed BYU in the most dominant game against an FBS opponent during head coach Neal Brown's tenure at WVU. With the 37-7 win over the Cougars to welcome them to the Big 12 and to Morgantown, West Virginia was strong on the ground and efficient on offense to get the job done and earn bowl eligibility.
1 -- First half domination in all three phases set the tone and WVU ran with it
Domination in the first half is not something we've seen from West Virginia much this season but it's evident that head coach Neal Brown has addressed early-game play scripts and has found a combination that works both on offense and defense. There's not much to say for a clear cut domination instead of looking at important stats that made this game so dominant. Despite WVU dominating time of possession like they love to do, the Mountaineers also rushed for a season-high 336 yards and averaged 8.2 yards per play, which is outstanding for this Brown-led offense that has its philosophy wrapped within the run game. The cherry on top comes with two 100-yard rushers on the night, sophomore CJ Donaldson and freshman Jahiem White breaking out for a huge game, which to me signals that this West Virginia running back room will be special. On Saturday in the 37-7 victory, WVU dominated on all three phases in the first half and it was evident how strong the Mountaineers offense was going to be against BYU when the first two drives were opened with scores and then it became a runaway from there. Domination has not been a word used much for the Mountaineers this season, but even if it's a brand new Big 12 school, there's a lot of confidence to take away from crushing another FBS opponent like this.
Related: PFF: Grades from West Virginia vs. BYU
2 -- A concern to note is five first-half false start penalties, since this this WVU squad is usually disciplined with procedural penalties
This fact is not something that we've seen from this Mountaineers squad and it's definitely concerning. In any part of football, once you master a play, skill, or scheme you never want to end up taking a step backward and there are signs of that here. Of course, this game is in a vacuum in terms of penalties since it hasn't been prevalent before and Coach Brown mentioned how BYU's defensive front may have been utilizing some shifts that caused some early movement around the West Virginia offensive line, so this could be one explanation for the penalties. Regardless of what caused these penalties, WVU had mastered and focused on not getting procedural penalties across the entire season and Brown has made this a huge priority from what he's said to the media. Brown mentioned after the game how it was wacky and not something he expected from his group and I sure was caught off guard by these flags, including two coming on the same drive in back-to-back snaps. Certainly is a concerning aspect of WVU's dominant win, but you could say that it simply comes down to the opponent doing some 'wacky' things on their own side.
3 -- Although regular running back CJ Donaldson got banged up versus BYU, he's made a tangible change in his running game and it's visible
Sophomore running back CJ Donaldson was still a great runner in Saturday's win over BYU but he ended up not leading the team in snaps and carries at the running back position due to a minor injury sustained during the matchup with the Cougars. Firstly, to preface this moment, Donaldson was seen limping off the field in the second quarter and then fell to his knees before being assisted off the field. Although this did not keep him out of the game and also didn't prevent him from recording 14 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns, it's concerning to see for a player who had his season cut short by injury a year ago. While this provided an opportunity for freshman Jahiem White to lead the team with 146 yards and a score on 16 rushes, this is not a negative takeaway about Donaldson. I must credit how he has bounced back from a few small injuries and a stretch of games where he struggled to find consistency. Despite all of my talk on potential injuries and others getting an opportunity, Donaldson has most definitely found a new spark as a runner and it's visible to see on this field. It's hard to tell and point out if this comes down to new coaching cues, better practice and preparation or a new-found level of motivation and confidence like Coach Brown noted on Saturday, but it's tangible to see how well Donaldson has rejuvenated his running style for WVU. Now, Donaldson is strong in hitting gaps and has been decisive in the last two games for West Virginia, with two-straight 100-yard performances. Donaldson seems to run with a lower pad level and with strength by searching for contact and creating more yardage. But he has also been quick to his own landmarks and has regained his well-acclaimed vision of the blockers alongside some quick feet and a focus on running downhill again. Donaldson has found something to fire up his play recently and it's impressive to see the visible differences in his game.
4 -- Freshman running back Jahiem White will be a special player for WVU
Speaking of White above, it's clear to see the lighting and thunder combination developing for West Virginia and it's exciting to see young playmakers like this making an impact on games together, not just individually. Donaldson got his fair share of work against the Cougars on Saturday and was still efficient and strong in his performance, White showed multiple times why he could be a special talent for WVU in the near future. With this era of college football, it'll be up for the Mountaineers to keep White around and give him a good reason to stay, i.e. winning, growing and putting running backs in the pros, but this kid has been extremely impressive across two straight games. After the BYU win, Coach Brown had a quote to describe White and stated that he could be special at WVU someday:
"This game is really hard to play as a true freshman. There is a reason we don’t see a whole lot. The guys we’ve had, they’re usually pretty special. He has a chance to be pretty special," Brown said. "If he continues to do the things that continue to be great, he's going to be a great one. He’s learned how to practice and prepare and he's earned these opportunities."
Last week against UCF, the freshman tailback ran for 85 yards and a score on only nine carries and backed that up with 146 yards on 16 carries. And in these two impressive statlines, White completes his performances in a much different way since he chunks out yardage and uses his speed on the second level. To quote WVSports.com managing editor Keenan, White just runs differently than the rest of the guys in the running back room and it shows. His speed is unmatched when he's given the ball at full speed and when he hits the second level he's shown that burst to break off big plays, including two 32-yard carries against BYU. Just only as a freshman, White still has plenty to learn and grow in but he's shown impressive flashes when given that opportunity.
5 -- The largest margin of victory in Brown’s tenure against an FBS opponent shows offensive growth and holistic team growth
30 points is the largest margin of victory against an FBS opponent in the last four seasons under Brown and it really has been indicative of offensive growth this season. I must admit, watching the WVU offense against a strong Penn State defense in Game One of the season was painful, the offense has come a very long way since then and it comes down to scheme development, confidence and experience for all of the players involved. I've talked in my previous 'I Got Five on It' stories about how the scheme has grown for WVU and this is true, but holistic offensive growth in terms of experience, comfort, and strength is unmatched up to this point in the season and it's clear the West Virginia offense is red hot. If you split the season in half thus far for the Mountaineers' offense, you would see two very different football teams. One that lacked confidence and only scored 76 points across four games before the bye week, excluding a dominant performance against FCS Duquesne. Now after the bye week following a win at TCU, the Mountaineers have scored double that amount with 151 points across four games and this shows just how far the offense has come. When you go into detail, you also have seen the shift to a more balanced passing versus rushing attack and this just shows the maturation of a team with a lot of pieces working together in different ways. With a veteran offensive line leading a whole new group of players behind them at the skill positions, there were sure to be growing pains but the offensive unit has seemed to have found its stride like Brown stated after the 37-7 win over the Cougars. We'll have to see if this offensive firepower is sustainable, but it's been really unique to see this clear of a growth from one half of a season to the next and it shows the hard work that group has put in to improve.
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