West Virginia expects to see a heavy dose of the run-pass-option against Oklahoma State.
And that means finding a way for each piece of the defense to do their part to play as a unit.
“Everybody doing their 1-11. That’s the biggest part. If you’ve got a pass coverage responsibility or you’ve got a run fit just do it on that play,” linebacker Trey Lathan said.
As part of the RPO, the quarterback has the option to run or throw the ball depending on what the read-man on the defense does on any particular play. It requires the opposing quarterback to either hand the ball off or pull it and throw the football off a play-action type of look.
“You’ve got to have good eyes. The quarterbacks reading a lot of different things, reading linebackers, the end and the corners,” Lathan said.
Stopping running back Ollie Gordon is the first focus for the Mountaineers and the Cowboys will utilize the run to fit whoever the seventh or eighth fitter on the defense is going to be depending on the formation.
“We've got to figure out a way to contain him. And I think everything in the game plan then feeds off that,” head coach Neal Brown said.
Still, due to the nature of the offense, it opens up the possibility of explosive pass plays.
“And a lot of their explosive passes have come off that. You know, they've thrown the glance. Again, it kind of, regardless of who the coordinator has been there, you can go back for a really long time, they've been throwing those glances to the field and to the boundary, and kind of those deep slants,” West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said.
Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman is getting the football out quickly this season and has only been sacked once over the first five games of the season. He has shown the ability to make good decisions in those instances which makes it difficult to attempt to entice him to throw the ball.
The Cowboys also feature a talented group of wide receivers who are equipped with the speed to make things happen after the catch.
Still, the challenge is to try to affect the quarterback even if you can’t get back there to sack him.
“It's not like they're not, they're not gaining, you know, they're not making plays. They are. So extremely explosive, you know, they've given up one sack and then the whole season for a reason,” coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “And the ball’s coming out.”
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