West Virginia needed to find a way to generate some positive momentum on the defensive side of the ball down the stretch run of the season.
The Mountaineers first elected to make a change at coordinator with Jordan Lesley giving way to Jeff Koonz after Brown elected to relieve the former leader of his duties.
Koonz inherited a unit that was perched toward the bottom of the NCAA rankings in several categories ranking 97th in scoring defense giving up 28.4 points per game and 84th in total defense at the time of the change.
The Mountaineers were perched at 114th in passing defense and had forced only six total turnovers.
Against Cincinnati, the defense did permit 436 yards but held the Bearcats to 24 points while forcing a total of three turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns. The 17 points off turnovers were critical in a game where the Mountaineers offense mustered just 248 yards and 9 first downs.
The first was a 79-yard interception return by Anthony Wilson where the defense forced quarterback Brendan Sorsby into a miscue by flipping the football forward as he was going down on pressure by Keke Tarnue. The Bearcats were leading 7-0 at the time and were driving to go up two scores, but that return completely flipped the game in the early going.
“We needed a play, and the D-line got a great pressure and great push up front, and the linebackers, everybody did their job, and I just made a routine play. So, you know, when I saw that ball in the area, I knew it was mine, so I had to go get it. So I did that, and I took it to the house,” Wilson said.
On the play, the back released late and the Mountaineers were able to adjust and defend him giving Sorsby nowhere to go with the football. But it’s the fact that West Virginia was in position to make a play that allowed the defense to make their mark early in the game.
“The whole defensive staff, you know, they did a great job of just keeping us together and not making things too complicated and changing too much, and so, yeah, they did a great job,” he said.
After another fumble forced on the ensuing drive when Sorsby took off looking to pick up a first down with his legs, the Bearcats had narrowed the edge ro 24-21 and had the football yet again when the defense was able to make another significant play.
The Mountaineers brought a regular four-man rush and a blitzer had come free which forced Sorsby out of the pocket and he was hit and the ball left his hand and landed backward. From there, edge rusher Tyrin Bradley picked up the football and returned it for a 14-yard return for a touchdown.
“Definitely very important. You know, we hadn't forced a lot of turnovers throughout the year, so just being able to come out here and help the offense, you know, getting them back on the field. We know if we get the ball back in, you know what I'm saying, those guys' hands, they're capable of making big plays and scoring points for us,” Bradley said.
Overall, the coaching staff did a strong job of putting the program in good positions while also disguising what they were doing on the backend.
“I wouldn't necessarily say a different mentality, but just a better understanding of what our job is across the ball,” he said.
That would effectively end the football game and give West Virginia a major road win. It’s just one game but it was a strong showing from a unit that has dealt with plenty of struggles this season. Now, it’s up to see if it can continue moving forward with a lot of football left.
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