Run game key for West Virginia in Baylor win

West Virginia knew that if they wanted to beat Baylor they had to run the football.

And that’s exactly what unfolded. The Bears had been holding teams to only 2.8 yards per carry and permitted only 97 yards per game heading into the matchup with the Mountaineers.

The Baylor defense had success with six-men in the box which made it difficult for teams to run the football with only Oklahoma State even eclipsing the 100-yard mark.

That made finding success on the ground paramount in order to try to force the Bears out of their comfort zone with two high safeties.

West Virginia rushed for 217 yards against the Bears, which is the most that Dave Aranda’s defense had permitted since the Oklahoma State matchup in early October last season.

That’s even more impressive when you consider that the Mountaineers were down leading rusher CJ Donaldson who was dealing a head injury that had him in the concussion protocol. But it was the most impressive performance to date considering the opponent.

“We were able to keep them off balance this week,” Brown said.

The Mountaineers kept the game within striking distance which allowed them to stay committed to the ground game and the coaching staff also was able to switch some things up. The offense struggled to get to the second level against Texas, but that wasn’t the case against the Bears.

“We switched how we were identifying some things and single blocked more in this game and didn’t worry about double teams as much and that was helpful,” Brown said.

West Virginia not only got there but forced 18 missed tackles led by redshirt junior running back Tony Mathis who forced a total of 13 as he rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

The decisive running style of Mathis was something that occurred at times last season, but had largely been absent at times this season. That simply wasn’t the case in this one as the Mountaineers rode the Georgia native.

“They helped me all bye week and they told me to be decisive and I’m a better runner when my shoulders are square,” Mathis said.

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