I Got Five On It: Cincinnati
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, West Virginia bounced back and took control from the start over Cincinnati, dominating on the ground for over 600 total yards in an offensive clinic, defeating the Bearcats 42-21. Here's what I saw from watching the Mountaineers get their seventh win of the season.
1 -- Garrett Greene has made West Virginia history and for some reason, Cincinnati wasn't accounting for him
On Saturday, quarterback Garrett Greene flashed the true impact of his play style and what it can do for the Mountaineers' offense and he made history. Greene became only the second player in school history with 150 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in the same game, joining a WVU legend Pat White. Obviously, he's flashed his ability so many times throughout his career and especially this season, so this is just a culmination of what he can do for the Mountaineers with his legs and he's a special runner. Greene made great decisions in the win over the Bearcats as well and it seems like he gained some wisdom from the Oklahoma loss on how to make better decisions. Greene was perfect in choosing when to run or when to pass, but once he took over he was nearly unstoppable scrambling with the football and his speed and elusiveness are huge for the Neal Brown offensive scheme. His dual-threat ability makes him so dangerous and you would think, another Power Five program would game plan for an elite runner like him.
2 -- We saw Jahiem White finally get his shot as the starter and he blew up for a huge game
On Saturday, we finally saw Jahiem White get his true first chance to take the WVU workload in the backfield and lead the team in carries, and he sure did explode for a huge game. Since regular starter CJ Donaldson was limited against the Bearcats due to an injury he sustained against Oklahoma, White took the starting role for the first time in his career and didn't look back at all. Not only did White record a personal career-high in carries, rushing yards and receiving yards, he also totaled the best rushing yardage game for any Mountaineer this season. As a team, WVU had 424 yards on the ground and White accounted for 204 of those yards, including a rushing touchdown and a 75-yard receiving touchdown. White did it all against the Bearcats and he's finally shown his role as the lightning on the WVU offense. White has been known for having a strong lower body, great feet, great awareness at reading blocks and also the ability to make one cut and fly, and if you watched Saturday's win he did all of those things and more. White was also strong after contact, and for a guy standing 5-foot-7, this is an impressive feat as well. White was a chunk runner on Saturday as well, breaking off nearly every run for double-digit yards for a 9.7 yard per carry average. This is one of the best West Virginia rushing performances I've witnessed in the Neal Brown era and it proves that White is ready to play at this level. He has proven that his skillset is special and unique from every other playing in the running back room because of all of these aforementioned special qualities and I hope that he's continued to be utilized in a more "running back by committee" for the Mountaineers, because the one-two punch with Donaldson could be very deadly.
Related: Greene and White's massive days lead WVU to win over Cincinnati
3 -- West Virginia's defensive performance to finish the game is concerning and Brown wasn't pleased
Following the game, Neal Brown said he wasn't pleased with his defense's finish to the game and I couldn't agree more. In a game West Virginia was leading by as much as 42-7, there was certainly some lackadaisical play on the defensive side of the ball in the final 17 or so minutes and it's a concern to see. When you're dominating a team, it's important to remain aggressive and push the issue but the Mountaineers defense didn't take care of business late in the game. Brown said on multiple occasions after the game that he wasn't pleased with the defensive performance and Cincinnati gashed the Mountaineers for a few strong scoring drives and especially some big plays early in possessions and this is something you don't want to see from a winning program. Cincinnati broke off multiple chunk plays on the ground and even scored in only two plays in the third quarter, one play going for 55 yards and another for 30; these are just unacceptable late into a game when you've played strong defensively. Especially late in the season, every point in every situation could matter and a bowl game could come down to a much closer margin than Saturday. Many may argue that there is not much more than a bowl game worth playing for if you're a West Virginia player but that's simply not true. There is plenty more to play for, including experience for next season as well as the chance to win nine games and a bowl, something never done under Brown. There's also a lot to gain in terms of conference respect and fan base respect, so these athletes should have plenty to focus on to finish out the season strong. Of course, when you're leading big in a game like this, it can be easy to play with less intensity but giving up 14 points late in the contest should not be acceptable against a team you dominated.
4 -- Saturday's yards per play is an impressive mark and something that some of the most prolific WVU offenses have done
West Virginia averaged an astounding 9.8 yards per play and it was some of the team's best efficiency in nearly a decade. Many teams under former head coach Dana Holgorsen averaged near nine yards per play but Saturday's mark is the highest per play yardage since before 2013 and that's crazy to see how well the offense was working on Saturday. The Mountaineers recorded 634 yards of offense and 31 first downs in the win over Cincinnati and this was the first time on the season that we saw explosive chunk plays lead the Mountaineers offensively, both with Greene and White. These big plays led to a historic amount of efficiency for the offense and this is a sign of games past. The offense has shown big flashes of what it can do but it'll be important to finish out the season on the same pace, which will be almost impossible. However, there's reason to believe this offense can be good and even better next season with the offensive pieces.
5 -- Eight wins are a big possibility and regardless of the season outcome, it's still an important season for Brown
Now with the Cincinnati game in the rearview mirror, head coach Neal Brown has accomplished his best regular season record at West Virginia, not including bowl game victories, and he has a chance to get to eight wins and a strong year for the Mountaineers. Although he may be benefiting from an easier Big 12 schedule than expected, a team can only play who they're given and Brown has mostly taken advantage of the lesser teams on their schedule, excluding a freak loss to Houston. Now only one week away from a chance to get to eight wins and then a chance for nine wins after a bowl game, there's a lot to play for at WVU. Brown has a chance to accomplish a lot this season, regardless of preseason and midseason expectations as well, and a season like this one is important to build on for the program.
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