Vic Koenning could look at a list of things that had gone wrong for his defense in the first half against Missouri but pinpointed one above all others.
In fact, in his mind it was likely a record setting performance – just not the kind of one you want.
“If you start counting the number of missed tackles we probably set a school record today,” the veteran defensive coordinator said. “I’d be shocked if that wasn’t a school record for missed tackles. We obviously have to learn how to tackle better.”
When it comes down to it no matter how much the game evolves, it still boils down to blocking and tackling – something West Virginia did very little of either against Missouri. The Mountaineers were charted with 21 missed tackles by Pro Football Focus and even that could be generous.
After a solid start, forcing a punt and then a field goal on the first two drives, the Mountaineers allowed touchdowns on four consecutive drives before halftime to put them ahead on the scoreboard 31-0. In the process, the Tigers rolled up 274 yards and 20 first downs.
“We were doing fine early and all the sudden we missed a tackle in the flanks on that third drive,” Koenning said.
That was all it took as the Tigers were able to essentially get rolling and use the tempo to their advantage to tire out the West Virginia defensive linemen. Once that occurred, West Virginia was getting out-gapped as the linemen weren’t able to get off blocks leading to chunks on the ground.
The Missouri offense also was able to catch West Virginia misaligned due to their tempo and took advantage of players not being in the right spot even before the snap. It’s not as if they weren’t in the right spots at all times though as Koenning counted a number of examples where his unit was in a position to make a play on the football but simply didn’t.
Turning the corner there will be the key.
There are small victories to be had however, as the Mountaineers did shut Missouri out in the second half albeit some of that came with their backups in the game. But any experience, is good experience for a defense that is forced to play multiple young or inexperienced players in key spots.
“There’s always a silver lining in everything you do,” said senior defensive end Reese Donahue.
For their part, the defense did communicate better in that second frame and was able to keep the Tigers from generating any momentum to put more distance between them. It’s a minor win, but one that those on the defense will take moving forward. The message from the sideline was take it one play at a time – because the deficit was already there and now it was about showing resolve.
The defense certainly didn’t quit which is certainly a positive.
“We just got to execute better and work harder next week,” lineman Darius Stills said.
Anytime you can get more on the field experience it’s a good thing and perhaps even could be looked back on as a turning point down the road – although that’s admittedly hard to grasp at this stage.
But that’s looking ahead, for now the defense still has a lot of work left to do. Perhaps most unsettling to Koenning was that many of the issues that are consistently taught became the biggest glaring weaknesses during the game.
For example, on two of the touchdown passes, one was a safety with his eyes caught in the backfield and the other a safety backed up in the end zone, something they are instructed consistently not to do. Both mistakes resulted in points and those things can’t continue to happen.
“We’ve got to keep coaching all the details, we’ve got to keep coaching toughness, pad level, hands, doing things right,” Koenning said.
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