Saturday's game between West Virginia and Texas Tech will be the third time TTU head coach Joey McGuire has coached against the Mountaineers.
Two seasons ago, McGuire's group put together a 48-10 win, while last year, the Mountaineers topped the Red Raiders 20-13.
McGuire, who is now somewhat familiar with West Virginia, knows what to expect and isn't shying away from his plan of attack.
"It’s a very good West Virginia team. They do a great job of running the football. You’re talking about two really good running backs, and they’ve got a really good quarterback that’s going to run the football. We’ve got to do a really good job stopping the run. I think that's the key to the game on the defensive side of the ball," McGuire said.
Last year, WVU ran the ball 42 times on 64 total plays on offense when they played Texas Tech, and through 11 games, WVU has the third-most rushing attempts of any team in the Big 12.
For West Virginia, though, their identity on offense won't change, but there is an understanding the game will be won or lost on defense. The Mountaineers have struggled to get lined up or in position at times this year, something Texas Tech thrives on as an offense with their fast-paced system.
McGuire said they are going to continue that tempo this weekend.
"We’re going to really try to come out and really attack them. They do a really good job of controlling the ball, and they’re pretty high as far as time of possession. So, every possession is going to count, but we’re going to try to tempo and get the ball to our playmakers," McGuire said.
McGuire went into detail on what he sees from the West Virginia defense, noting their recent stretch of turnovers, including a pick-six and fumble recovery for a touchdown against Cincinnati, as well as a fumble recovery against UCF last weekend.
"They play extremely hard, and they got bowl eligible, they did a really good job of stopping UCF, who's been able to run the football. So they’ve done a good job against the run. We’ve still got to be able to run the football," McGuire said.
Defensively, WVU has struggled against the pass this season, giving up 261 yards through the air on defense. McGuire knows this about West Virginia and said that's where they are going to have to have success on offense.
"We’re going to have to attack them in the passing game. I think they play with a lot of energy. I think the change gave them some extra juice, and the other thing they’ve done, they caused a turnover against [UCF] that I think led to seven points. But if you go back to the Cincinnati game, 14 points of that game, and I think it was a 10-point game, but 14 points of that game off of defensive turnovers. I think there was a pick-six, and I think there was a strip sack fumble, return for a touchdown," Mcguire said.
Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday, with the game set to be televised on FS1.
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