The West Virginia football bounced back with a 49-14 win over Albany.
The Mountaineers moved to 1-1 on the season and WVSports.com takes a look back at what unfolded in our weekly feature The Day After.
HOT:
The offense. After West Virginia was all out of sorts against Penn State, the Mountaineers rolled up 49 points, 553 yards and averaged 9.5 yards per play. West Virginia had two running backs go over the 100-yard mark and overall just looked like a much more efficient and cleaner unit than the week before. Now, granted you expect that against an FCS team but the Mountaineers scored touchdowns on seven of nine drives and looked the part in this one.
The red zone. After speaking this week about showing improvement in that department, West Virginia answered the call turning all five of their trips into the red zone into a total of five touchdowns. Finding a way to score seven instead of kicking field goals is key and the Mountaineers did exactly that albeit against an FCS team.
Critical downs. On both offense and defense, West Virginia was effective when it came to those end-of-possession downs. The offense was only 1-5 on third down but converted all three of their fourth down attempts and the defense held Albany to 7-16 on third down but more importantly 2-5 on fourth with one of those coming late.
NOT:
Winning in the secondary down the field. West Virginia admittedly played more man than usual, but the Mountaineers struggled to win in those situations down the field. Albany threw for over 300 yards in the game and was able to make some splash plays in critical situations at times. That is one area that must improve as the schedule is only going to get tougher moving forward.
The second quarter. After building a 21-0 lead at the start of the quarter, the Mountaineers gave up 14 points and also had the only two drives of the game that didn't result in a touchdown to make the game 21-14. Now, credit to the offense for putting the ball in the end zone and then recording a stop before the half but it was the only sequence of the game where the Mountaineers seemed to struggle.
DEFINING MOMENTS:
4th and 1 from UA 17. After some struggles in short yardage a week ago, CJ Donaldson would convert and keep the drive alive with a three-yard run in the red zone. White would score on a 14-yard run just two plays later to give the Mountaineers an early lead.
3rd and 12 from UA 33. The Mountaineers forced an off-target throw by Myles Burkett led to a three and out to give the offense the football back.
2nd and 7 from UA 12. Greene would fire a ball into the left side of the end zone to Justin Robinson to give the Mountaineers an early 14-0 lead with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter.
3rd and 13 from UA 19. On the second drive of the game, Albany would record one first down but the Mountaineers defense would hold from there and force an incompletion to get the ball back.
2nd and 10 from UA 39. Greene would fire a pass into Kole Taylor who would go up and get it and then use the jets to race into the end zone and put the Mountaineers ahead 21-0.
3rd and 1 from UA 47. West Virginia again would hold up in a third down situation when Reid Carrico would get into the backfield and make a tackle for a two-yard loss to force a punt.
3rd and 16 from WVU 40. Albany had put together their best drive of the game to date and facing a third and long situation, Burkett fired a 19-yard pass to Seven McGee for a first down to extend the drive and set them up right outside the red zone. Albany would score two plays later.
1st and 10 from WVU 29. White would rip off a 39-yard run on the first West Virginia offensive play of the next drive but would fumble the ball at the tail end giving it back to Albany.
2nd and 16 from WVU 33. After a false start, West Virginia had the Great Danes backed up but they could connect on a 33-yard touchdown toss down the middle of the field to cut the score to 21-14.
2nd and 4 from UA 40. The Mountaineers would respond in short order with Greene turning a scramble into a 40-yard touchdown to put West Virginia back ahead 28-14.
4th and 1 from WVU 1. The Mountaineers defense held on three plays from the two-yard line after a 49-yard pass on the opening drive set up Albany at the 2. So the Great Danes elected to roll the dice and go for it. They threw a fade but the ball fell incomplete and kept Albany off the scoreboard.
4th and 1 from 1 from UA 29. After a 14-yard draw by Greene, West Virginia lined up to go for it and Donaldson would net three yards to keep the drive alive. The Mountaineers would cap it off with a touchdown toss to Hudson Clement four plays later.
4th and 1 from WVU 13. Albany elected to go for it trailing 42-14 and threw a fade pattern to the end zone which fell incomplete and gave the ball to the Mountaineers.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
0. Points allowed by the West Virginia defense in the second half.
1.9 - Yards per rush for Albany, the lowest since Duquesne managed just 0.1.
2 - Number of running backs that rushed for 100+ yards in the same game. It was the first time that occurred since BYU last season.
3-3 - Successful fourth down conversions for West Virginia.
5-5. Red zone percentage for West Virginia all of which were touchdowns.
9.5 - Yards per play, the second highest for West Virginia under Neal Brown.
10 - Yards per carry for Jahiem White on 10 attempts.
10.2 - Average gain on first downs for West Virginia.
22 - Wins over teams that play at the FCS level. The Mountaineers have never lost.
74 - Completion percentage for quarterback Garrett Greene.
50,073 - Attendance for the game.
GAME BALL:
Garrett Greene. I could have gone a lot of different directions for this one on the offensive side of the ball but I'll go easy and take the quarterback. Greene completed 17-23 passes for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns to go along with 68 yards and a score on the ground. It wasn't a perfect effort, but Greene looked much improved over the first game and completed 74-percent of his passes. The senior quarterback was in control of the offense and the results were a much better offensive performance.
BIGGEST QUESTION/CONCERN MOVING FORWARD:
How does West Virginia address the issues in the secondary? The Mountaineers struggled to make plays on the ball down the field in this game and the numbers certainly reflect that. Albany threw for 306 yards and was able to win in man coverage situations down the field. That's a concern and moving forward if the defensive coaches aren't able to sure things up back there it's going to be a major issue.
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown felt that the pieces back there did a solid job when it comes to alignment, but simply didn't play fast at times and struggled in those situations in coverage where they could make plays on the ball. That is going to get much more challenging in the short term beginning this week and while the defensive line can help with pressure, the Mountaineers need better play back there.
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