West Virginia’s defense was under the direction of a new coordinator last week against Cincinnati as Jeff Koonz was calling plays.
That translated to two defensive touchdowns scored, as well as a win for WVU. For Koonz, though, determining whether his group played well on Saturday goes deeper than the numbers on that stat sheet.
Heading into the week, Koonz’s focus was simple. Get lined up, play fast, play physical, and make the team drive the ball. For the most part, the Mountaineers accomplished that task, pleasing Koonz.
“We've got a routine that we've been doing here for a long time on game day, and that's before we get to the stadium,” Koonz said. “That's how we meet, that's how we prepare in the last several hours leading up to the game, that hadn't changed. Once we got into the game itself, it's just a matter of, you know, really good communication during the day between coaches, really good communication between players and coaches on the sideline, and everybody has their role, and that really hadn't changed, so very few adjustments when it came to that.
“So I thought it was very smooth, and I thought the ebbs and flows of the game and just how our assistant coaches dealt with the players and interacted with the players and how they, you know, worked through things that, you know, games change. I talked about it last week, you can have a plan all you want, and in the game, the ball snapped, and it's different than it was. And I thought they did a really good job of managing that as the game went on.”
West Virginia started the game by letting the Bearcats take the ball 68 yards on 14 plays, capping it off with a touchdown. After that, though, WVU forced a turnover or a stop on each of their next eight possessions.
“There [were] very few instances where we weren't lined up and we weren't ready to roll with good pad level, good stance, good demeanor. And that gives you a chance. If you don't have that, then you're already catching up when the ball snapped,” Koonz said.
One thing Koonz liked about his unit was forcing Cincinnati to drive the length of the field, outside of the one explosive play that resulted in an 80-yard touchdown.
“Now, they scored on an 11-play, and I believe a 13-play drive, and a 14-play drive for a field goal, but you made them earn it. Now, the one was 10 plays, but we ended up getting a big-time stop that turned into points for us. You just have to keep playing,” Koonz said.
Koonz added how he was able to see how the message he’s been preaching come across in the play of his team on Saturday as well.
“I go back to, you know, we want to play very fast, we want to get lined up, and we want to play consistent to the standard on every single snap. And if you'll just do that, good things will happen,” Koonz said.
That standard Koonz referenced is something that is going to continue to be the point of emphasis as this group prepares for their final three games of the season.
“I mean, our standard of defense is to play violent, play fast, and play together, and with all parts in sync. So, when we say, are you playing to the standard, that's a big part of it, and having that attitude of, what did I say last week, we're up by 10, we're down by 10, it doesn't matter. You play to a standard of football right now. And you go back and look at that last touchdown that Tyrin Bradley had when Trey Lathan hits the quarterback, and the ball goes flying. We all know, I mean, that was after a score, it was like, oh, here we go again. No, it's not here we go again. Get lined up, go play football, and something good could happen. And all you can control is the next play. Don't be looking at the scoreboard, don't worry about all that stuff, it doesn't matter.
"You play to the standard of the game, of the defense, and what we've laid out, and exactly how they've worked, and the players have put the work in on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, period. End of story. And today, we practiced, and guess what, we practiced to a standard. And we're going to try to do the same thing tomorrow."
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
