Ground game success about more than just the ball carriers

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Neal Brown’s group of ball carriers had one of the best collective rushing performances by a West Virginia University football team in recent history against Oklahoma State last Saturday.

The Mountaineers ran the ball 65 times for 389 yards and four touchdowns. Jahiem White led the way with 158 yards, the second-most in a single game in his two-year career. Three other rushers, including both West Virginia quarterbacks, rushed for at least 53 yards.

WVU’s offense dominated the ground battle, outrushing preseason Heisman hopeful Ollie Gordon II and Oklahoma State by 353 yards.

“That’s the best we’ve played. And it’s really about execution,” Brown said Monday.

WVU’s 389 rushing yards Saturday were the third-most in any game since the program joined the Big 12. Even with the high volume of carries, the Mountaineers averaged 5.98 yards per carry.

With the ground-and-pound style to play working masterfully, West Virginia compiled the most rushing attempts in one game since Don Nehlen called 66 runs in a 38-24 win over Pitt in the 1990 Backyard Brawl. That game was also played on the road.

White, Garrett Greene and the other ball carriers appropriately received their verbal bouquets for the performance. But it’s more than just a well-rounded group of running backs and quarterbacks behind West Virginia’s ground assault.

“The o-line,” CJ Donaldson said with a chuckle when asked what worked so well. “Those guys are creating a lot of movement. It was easy for the (quarterbacks) and running backs to run through those lanes. And the receivers and the tight ends did a great job blocking downfield. Credit to those guys.”

Preseason All-American left tackle Wyatt Milum credited WVU’s impressive rushing performance to the unit’s preparation throughout the week. Specifically, he commended the offense’s film study, results in practice and the opposing looks they got from the scout team.

Brown noted that WVU’s offense was better, fundamentally, against OK State than it had been in previous weeks. He also saw better blocking on the outside from receivers and tight ends. Kole Taylor, specifically, had a standout game in a blocking role, according to the head coach and offensive coordinator Chad Scott.

“Our run game is an all-11 approach. Because we do so many things on the perimeter, we do so many things in the read game, we get receivers (involved), so, like, it’s an all-11 approach,” Brown added. “I thought the guys bought into that, and we blocked better on the perimeter, and versus man coverage, we did a better job of running them off and getting them out of there.”

Talking about White, individually, Scott saw the breakout performance coming.

In his mind, Week 6 in Stillwater was the best the offensive line has looked all season, too.

“The tight ends did a phenomenal job blocking, as well,” said Scott. “From left tackle to right tackle, including the tight ends, the best we’ve been, the most consistent we’ve been, across the board.”

No. 11 Iowa State, who WVU will face this Saturday, possesses a stingy defense. The Cyclones rank first in the Big 12 in scoring defense but are in the middle of the pack against the rush.

Three of ISU’s five opponents have rushed for at least 169 yards. However, Matt Campbell’s defense has given up just two rushing touchdowns this season.

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