West Virginia is currently on a streak and a good one at that.
The Mountaineers have rushed for over 140 yards in eleven straight games and in 10 of those the offense has eclipsed the 150-yard mark.
The only performance that didn’t meet that 150-yard threshold was four yards short in the season opener against Penn State.
It’s a streak that has spanned almost a full calendar year, multiple quarterbacks, changes to the offensive line and a number of different running backs. The Mountaineers last rushed for under that mark against Iowa State in 2022 when the offense mustered just 76 on the ground.
“I think that proud if the right word, now we’ve got to keep it up. We know we’ve ran the ball; we’ve been one of the better rushing teams since we made a calculated decision last year that for us to be successful, we kind of needed to steer in that direction,” head coach Neal Brown said.
It’s a statistic that also is a sign of the progress that West Virginia has made over the course of Brown’s tenure atop the program. In 2019, the Mountaineers had a different kind of streak going rushing for 51-yards or fewer in seven of the 12 games on the schedule.
West Virginia had to invest in developing the offensive line, which meant taking some lumps early as the coaching staff played a young core that included Zach Frazier, Wyatt Milum, Doug Nester and others. Over time that group has matured and is now the engine of the offense.
“Complete team deal. Testament to Coach (Matt) Moore had the guys up front and those guys being able to plug and play. Credit to my guys for preparing and executing the plays they should,” offensive coordinator Chad Scott said. “Testament to Garrett (Greene) at the quarterback spot.”
The Mountaineers also have been able to do it this season despite injuries to a number of the starters which has forced the coaching staff to mix and match up front. But the unit has responded and is coming off their best performance under Brown on the ground against an FBS team rushing for 286 yards.
“It’s been a moving bunch up there. We’ve had a number of running backs be the leading rusher and we’ve played multiple quarterbacks,” Brown said. “It’s a start that sticks out that we’re proud of, but we’ve got to keep it up now that it’s out there.”
Frazier has been at the center, quite literally, of the current streak and the Mountaineers have made it a point to emphasize the run game and make it the primary weapon on offense. That streak is a direct result of that approach and is something that they want to keep going.
“It goes to show the guys up front to be able to do that is pretty special. We’ve had injuries, they stepped in and haven’t missed a beat. That’s the whole group. That’s all the seven or eight guys we have and running backs too that’s a testament to them too,” Frazier said.
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