West Virginia’s 332 rushing yards was one of the key components that lead them to a 48-17 victory against Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Red Raiders came into Saturday’s contest with with a defense that ranked just 63rd in the nation against the run and allowed 179.4 rushing yards per game.
The Mountaineers went to the ground early and often as junior running back Justin Crawford scored on a 10 yard run for the game’s first score.
The rushing attack was led by Rushel Shell, who took the majority of the carries after Crawford left the game in the second quarter with an ankle sprain. Shell rushed for 104 yards on 21 carries for two touchdowns. Crawford carried the ball 7 times for 42 yards and a touchdown before suffering his sprained ankle.
Crawford and Shell were not the only ones getting in on the action. Quarterback Skyler Howard rushed for 89 and two touchdowns himself, averaging 7.4 yards a carry, as the Red Raiders left him free over and over on zone reads.
Freshman Kennedy McKoy rushed for 99 yards on only four carries before injuring his shoulder in the fourth quarter and redshirt junior fullback and tight end Elijah Wellman had negative two yards on two attempts.
Howard’s 89 rushing yards are the most he’s rushed for since running for over 100 yards against Kansas last season. Incorporating a now 100-percent healthy Skyler Howard into the run game was part of Holgorsen’s game plan against Texas Tech.
West Virginia’s running game has been a solid part of their offense all season and have rushed for over 100 yards in each of their five games this season. The rushing attack made a jump as West Virginia rushed for more yards in Saturday’s victory against Texas Tech than in their previous two games combined.
The unsung heroes of West Virginia’s rushing attack are the offensive linemen, led by redshirt senior center Tyler Orlosky. The unit consisting of Orlosky, tackles Adam Pankey and Marcell Lazard and guards Tony Matteo and Kyle Bosch have paved the way for over 1,000 rushing yards this season. Saturday’s 332 yards on the ground are the most by the Mountaineers all season.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will take on TCU next Saturday in Morgantown. TCU is coming off of a bye week and barely escaped an upset bid from Kansas last week.
TCU’s defense has allowed 904 yards rushing this season and 150.7 yards per game but the Horned Frogs will be looking to make a statement and keep their Big 12 title hopes alive on the road especially after almost falling to a Kansas team that hasn’t beaten an FBS team in almost two years.
The TCU defense is lead up front by preseason All Big 12 defensive linemen James McFarland and Josh Carraway who have combined for 42 tackles and 5.5 sacks on the season.
West Virginia managed to rush for 160 yards in last season’s matchup against TCU despite getting blown out 40-10. Look for the Mountaineers to take a similar approach as they did in Saturday’s victory against Texas Tech by incorporating more than one ball carrier now that they know they have solid runners in Howard, Shell, Crawford and McKoy.
Both Crawford and McKoy will be re-evaluated this week but Holgorsen expects that they will be fine and ready to play.
The Mountaineers will look to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2006 and stay on top of the Big 12 standings next Saturday against TCU. The game is set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m.
