West Virginia needed a spark on the defensive side of the ball so head coach Neal Brown made the change at the top, putting Jeff Koonz in control of the unit.
That proved to be an advantageous move against Cincinnati where the Mountaineers won 31-24 on the road and forced a total of three turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns. But things were much more difficult against Baylor as the Bears scored 49 points and rolled up 512 yards.
West Virginia also was unable to force a turnover as the defense struggled and gave up 35 points in the first half before settling in and playing better in the second.
“I thought we had a solid week of practice. I thought we did develop the plan as the week went on. And I felt pretty good about our understanding of that execution. But at the end of the day, it's about the performance on Saturday,” Koonz said.
The difference in the performances can be explained by simply looking at how the Mountaineers were able to challenge the Bearcats and put the players in match or man situations. That wasn’t the case against the Bears in large part because of the down and distance.
Baylor was able to average over seven yards per play on first down and that made it second and third and short which took away the opportunity to go to some of those coverages. The Bears had a total of six instances in the game where it was third and two or less.
“Our third down percentage wasn't near good enough, but almost half of those were all by one or two yards. And when you're living in third and one or two, it's really hard to sit there and bring the farm on third and one when they're backed up on their own 35-yard line. And if one gap gets through, which is what happened on the very last touchdown, one piece is out, it's going to be a touchdown,” Koonz said.
That’s actually what happened at the end of the game where the Mountaineers were trying to get a stop to get the ball back but Baylor was able to squeeze through for a touchdown.
The performance was a setback for the unit, but not one that can’t be addressed. Koonz believes that if the unit can continue to play to the standard of getting lined up, playing hard and limiting explosive plays all while controlling the run game there are opportunities for this group to take a step forward.
Against Baylor, the Mountaineers allowed five explosive plays to turn into touchdowns and those occurred in both man and zone looks. But the major emphasis is simply understanding the why to the coverages and having all the pieces work in unison.
“Not every single one of those was a corner, was a safety. You know, there's underneath parts to this too that all tie in, and it's very important that they understand that moving forward,” Koonz said.
There’s no magic answer or formula to fix the unit and at the end of the day, it’s about executing. And the self-scout shows that and what needs to improve moving forward.
“At the end of the day, it's about going to work and understanding that I've got to do my part better as a coach. They've got to do their part better as a player because we're all in this thing together,” Koonz said.
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