Between The Eers: How WVU Beats Cincinnati
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 Hello everybody and welcome into Between the Ears.
00:13 I'm Skylar Callen, that's Christopher Hall and it is time to dive into this
00:17 week's matchup with the Cincinnati Bearcats, the old Big East.
00:21 So I guess I don't want to call them rival.
00:24 I know Neil- >> It's not a rival.
00:26 It's not a rival.
00:26 It'll never be a rival.
00:27 >> No, Neil talked about it earlier in the week saying that this could grow into
00:31 a rivalry.
00:32 Scott Satterfield said the same thing.
00:34 And look, it's just not gonna happen.
00:38 I understand where they're coming from, the proximity, but
00:41 that's literally all there is to it.
00:44 West Virginia dominates this series 16-3-1.
00:48 And it's been one-sided all along.
00:51 There's real no true history other than a few matchups in the Big East.
00:57 And we all know how this conference realignment thing works, right?
01:01 I mean, who knows, the Big 12 may not even exist in five years.
01:05 Or if it does,
01:06 it may look completely different from what it looks like right now.
01:08 So there's no guarantee about anything.
01:11 They're not even gonna be playing each other every year.
01:14 I think next year they take a year off, right?
01:16 And then they resume.
01:17 >> Something like that.
01:18 >> So- >> Yeah, the next four years.
01:20 I mean, rivalries take decades.
01:22 So if they're still in the conference 40 years from now and
01:24 there's been some meaningful gains and some robberies at last second score.
01:30 >> Maybe.
01:31 >> You need something there other than just proxy.
01:34 It's still almost a six hour drive from here.
01:37 So it's not proximity, yeah, compared to the rest of the Big 12.
01:43 But nothing's gonna replace Pitt.
01:45 Nothing, I mean, you could say Penn State's more rivalry at this point in
01:49 Cincinnati, there's at least some old history there.
01:53 There's just nothing with Cincinnati.
01:54 They were terrible for a long time.
01:56 And they got to the Big E's, they became a better program, got some wins.
02:02 But other than that, they're down bad this year.
02:07 >> And for it to be a robbery, you need both to kinda win a few games, right?
02:11 Or- >> Right,
02:12 there's gotta be some bad blood in there somewhere.
02:16 >> Or just- >> Something for
02:17 a conference championship.
02:19 They've gotta have meaningful games for there to be bad blood.
02:22 So there just really hasn't been meaningful games, so it doesn't really matter.
02:26 >> And that's why the whole West Virginia Marshall thing is what it is.
02:29 It's not a robbery, they've never won against West Virginia.
02:31 And this is kind of a similar situation, but
02:34 I mean, Cincinnati's got a couple of wins.
02:36 But it's almost like, I wouldn't even say that because I was gonna say
02:41 Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, but Oklahoma State's won some games.
02:45 But it's been clearly dominant, but they've been playing for so long.
02:49 And it's an in-state game.
02:51 There's a little bit of difference there.
02:52 But it just doesn't seem like it'll grow into anything.
02:56 But anyways, back to what actually matters, and that's the game this weekend.
03:00 Cincinnati rides into this game with their first Big 12 win under their belt.
03:04 I guess you could call it their first Big 12 win.
03:06 It really wasn't a original Big 12 member.
03:09 It's essentially an extension of an American Conference game from last year.
03:13 So anyways, it still counts.
03:17 They feel good about themselves coming.
03:18 And I just told you before coming on the show, when you look at this team on paper,
03:23 it just doesn't look like a three-win team.
03:26 But there's some certain areas as to why they have struggled so much.
03:32 What are some of those areas that you see being the biggest areas of trouble for
03:35 that?
03:37 >> Scoring, [LAUGH] scoring is definitely- >> Sometimes it's that simple.
03:42 >> Yeah, and that's where the red zone's been a struggle for them.
03:46 >> Yeah, 13th or something in the league?
03:49 >> 11th, actually, so they've moved up- >> 11th, okay.
03:52 >> With probably Houston from the week prior.
03:54 So yeah, points have obviously been the biggest issue for them.
03:59 Defensively, they've struggled.
04:01 They get a bunch of yards.
04:03 They do move the ball, but they're just not punching in the end zone.
04:08 It is a program that they started 11 new offensive players to start the season.
04:16 They had one returning starter, it was the center that came in.
04:20 I think he started the last seven games, if I'm not mistaken.
04:26 So start the season with 11 new offensive starters.
04:28 Obviously, it's gonna take Tom, Chris Attifield,
04:31 obviously picked up that win last week.
04:33 They don't have that legacy win under their belt.
04:36 You can kinda look at it like they got that kinda monkey off their back, right?
04:41 Like hunting that first Big 12 win.
04:43 So now they can probably play a little bit more loose, probably coming with a little
04:47 more confidence than they would have if they lost that game.
04:49 You start to feel the pressure as the season goes down.
04:52 We need to grab that win, we need to grab that win.
04:54 That kinda pressure is off, so maybe they play a little bit more loose this week.
04:58 So they've obviously struggled.
05:00 They've been in a bunch of other games throughout the season.
05:03 They haven't been totally crushed.
05:04 I mean, they played Oklahoma tough at home.
05:07 So they've obviously struggled on the road.
05:10 I mean, they've struggled all season, but getting away from Cincinnati,
05:14 away from Nippert Stadium, they haven't played well.
05:19 [LAUGH] It's really just for this game, this is about West Virginia.
05:26 They should be able to dictate what they want, get back to the ground game,
05:30 pick their spots in the passing game.
05:33 Defensively, obviously, it's still a concern in Oklahoma,
05:37 but they defended, exposed them in the secondary.
05:40 It was a thin secondary coming in to the season with injuries.
05:44 They took advantage of the matchups at linebacker, rather thin.
05:47 And that's what good teams do.
05:48 Oklahoma's definitely a good team, and that's what they did.
05:51 Good offensive coordinator, saw it, understood it, picked it apart.
05:55 And West Virginia could just never adjust with that.
05:58 When you don't have the talent, like Beanie's been great.
06:01 He was actually good in that game as well, but
06:03 you have three other defensive backs.
06:05 When they put four or five wide, they've gotta do something.
06:09 They couldn't go light, they tried to go light in the box, they ran it.
06:11 So that was just good game plan.
06:14 I think Cincinnati is not gonna be able to do that.
06:16 Emory can definitely stretch the field, and
06:19 he's gonna be a problem with his legs as well.
06:22 So defense is gonna be a challenge.
06:26 I don't know where you go from last week when you get that overly exposed.
06:31 But I don't know what the, Cincinnati and Baylor,
06:35 obviously probably not gonna be able to take advantage.
06:40 They probably just don't have the same advantages on the outside.
06:46 So I think defensively right now, it's their confidence.
06:50 Just make simple adjustments and probably just,
06:53 they started with a base look all season.
06:55 Just keep the ball in front of you.
06:57 And last week the offense couldn't keep up, kinda make them force some throws.
07:03 It was easy pitching catches.
07:06 Talked about before, the offense can be your best defense at times.
07:09 Put the pressure on them, force them to make the half to score.
07:12 That's what West Virginia had to do last week and what happened with Garrett.
07:15 Made some bad throws to carry the ball, but made some bad throws early.
07:18 As soon as that pressure got on, the Hey,
07:20 Oakland was gonna score probably at ease.
07:22 What happened second possession, overthrew, two jacked up.
07:25 So do the same thing to Cincinnati this week and you should win with ease.
07:29 >> Yeah, I mean, I think last week too, I mean,
07:32 part of it was because of how good Dylan Gabriel is.
07:36 I mean, he just, he knew everything that was coming.
07:38 And every time you tried to switch up your look,
07:41 he still knew what you were gonna do.
07:43 And I think that's a tough thing for a defensive coordinator to try to slow
07:48 an offense like that down that has a quarterback that can process that quickly.
07:53 And just understand where he needs to go with the football.
07:54 And not to say that Emory Jones can't do that too, because he can.
07:58 But I think this week you can probably sit more in your base defense more this
08:04 week and just kind of quote unquote dumb it down a little bit.
08:09 And not have to play 58 different coverages and
08:12 all these different odd looks and fronts.
08:15 And I just think you can kind of go to what you have played well in all.
08:20 >> The defensive backs can probably hang with these receivers a lot better than
08:24 Oklahoma.
08:25 >> That was a good receiver last week.
08:26 >> Than Oklahoma, yeah, same thing with Houston.
08:29 They were really talented on the outside.
08:31 They were young.
08:32 They've shown in spurts of season when they're on, they're on.
08:37 One of those games we caught Oklahoma at the wrong time.
08:41 They were ready, they wanted revenge for getting that loss last year.
08:46 And they were definitely hungry after losing on the road twice.
08:48 And it's all it schemed it up.
08:50 Drake Stoops had a big game.
08:52 AB got picked on a lot.
08:54 He's a safety trying to make plays over there.
08:56 So picked on Ben Cutter quite a bit as well.
08:59 There's a freshman.
09:01 So, kinda is what it is and those games I know it gets ugly.
09:06 Sometimes the final score doesn't really dictate how good a team is.
09:11 It just kind of snowballs and there's not and look that again,
09:14 that's just good scheme.
09:16 They saw me just, we're gonna keep doing it until you stop it.
09:21 That's the best philosophy and that's all Oklahoma did.
09:24 They just kept doing the same thing over and over and over because Washington
09:27 couldn't stop it.
09:28 Why overthink it?
09:30 Some coaches overthink it, they did not.
09:32 They just kept attacking the same areas.
09:35 Emery Jones and you mentioned it a little bit earlier.
09:37 I mean, he's gonna run the football.
09:39 They have no issues whatsoever with him using his legs.
09:43 I think he's got over 100 carries this season.
09:45 So you factor in him plus Corey Conner, former LSU transfer,
09:51 Miles Montgomery is a guy I think has been banged up a little bit here and there.
09:55 I'm not exactly sure what his status is.
09:57 I think they believe he's good to go.
09:59 But this is a team that knows how to run the football.
10:02 They don't pass it a whole lot.
10:03 They don't pass it very much or with much success.
10:07 They only really throw the ball to three different guys.
10:10 They got two receivers, Smith and Henderson, and then their tight end
10:13 that they get involved a little bit.
10:15 But this is a team that wants to establish the run game and part of it
10:20 is probably because they know they have to.
10:21 That's their only chance to really stay in these games in the Big 12.
10:26 And by running the football with success,
10:28 they are able to be one of the top teams in the Big 12 in time of possession.
10:32 So you got two kind of similar teams here
10:35 in terms of the offensive approach, running the football, playing clock control.
10:40 That's what Cincinnati wants to do.
10:43 How difficult do you feel like this will be for WVU's defense
10:47 to kind of contain Emory Jones?
10:49 And first of all, it seems like Emory Jones has been in college for 18 years
10:54 because I'm pretty sure he was being recruited when Will Greer was in college.
10:59 I could be wrong on that, but I remember West Virginia was in the mix for Emory
11:05 at one point and then Ohio State got involved, Florida got involved,
11:09 and then West Virginia was an afterthought.
11:11 But how difficult of a challenge is this going to be to face a mobile quarterback
11:16 as mobile as Emory is?
11:19 They've seen it before.
11:20 I think the biggest test for West Virginia is just be physical.
11:25 Actually beat up the offense, seen them do it quite a few times.
11:27 I think that's really the difference between West Virginia's offense and tonight.
11:30 They are similar, very similar.
11:33 The difference is West Virginia's offensive line, they're more physical.
11:36 They've been able to control line scrimmage for the defense.
11:39 I mean, it goes back, especially in November, it goes back to the same things,
11:43 take care of the ball, win the line, and scrimmage.
11:44 And that's really what this game is about.
11:47 Don't let them dictate the line scrimmage with the running game.
11:51 And just some of the issues last week, too,
11:54 was just that's all to get in the fourth quarter
11:57 against Oklahoma State is just stay disciplined.
11:59 Don't get out of your area to try to make a play.
12:03 Yeah, you make the play, it might be a loss,
12:04 but what do we see more often than not, they're big runs and big plays.
12:08 So just no missed assignments.
12:11 Stay under control to where you're at, be in the right spot, and they'll be fine.
12:16 Because defense, yes, it's thin, yes, it's young.
12:20 But when they do things the right way
12:23 and not try to revert back to what they did in high school,
12:25 where they could just go make a play, they've played well.
12:30 So I think with Cincinnati, their leading receiver, he's a playmaker.
12:35 They've got a couple playmakers on the outside,
12:38 but you don't have a bunch, right?
12:39 Like Stoops is generally the third option.
12:42 West Virginia don't really have a true nickel corner.
12:45 So Beanie should be able to not necessarily lock them up,
12:49 but he should be able to kind of keep it under control on the outside.
12:53 So it's all about the linebackers,
12:55 fitting in the gaps, defensive lines, same thing.
12:58 Just don't run uphill, stay in your spot, and they should do well.
13:03 So flipping over to the other side, West Virginia, when they have the ball,
13:08 this is, I think, a really good opportunity for Garrett
13:10 to kind of use his legs and be creative, extend plays with his feet,
13:15 because Cincinnati, the last two weeks,
13:17 has given up some yardage to the quarterbacks on the ground.
13:20 Donovan Smith was the leading rusher for Houston last week.
13:24 Outside of him, they had absolutely no running game at all.
13:27 And then the week before,
13:29 I can't remember who they played off the top of my head,
13:31 but they gave up some rushing yards there, too.
13:33 I want to say it was like 50 or 60 yards on the ground.
13:35 So this is, I think, an opportunity for Garrett
13:38 to make some plays with his feet.
13:40 And he's probably going to have to, honestly,
13:41 because this is a very, very underrated defensive front,
13:46 spearheaded by maybe one of the best defensive linemen
13:50 in the Big 12 in Dante Corleone.
13:53 Yeah, for Garrett, obviously coming off his worst game of the year by far last week,
13:59 and it's just about him, same thing as Steve,
14:02 same thing as everybody else, do your job.
14:05 Don't try to overextend yourself and just hit those easy ones.
14:12 I think we talked about last week, those aren't necessarily easy passes,
14:15 but he's got to hit those swing passes, the quick outs,
14:19 the short ones over the middle, get some touch on it.
14:22 Obviously, jacked up playing at Oklahoma last week.
14:24 That first drive was great.
14:26 Yeah. Absolutely great.
14:28 After that, again, felt the pressure.
14:31 You can kind of see it in his play.
14:32 So I think he just needs to stay within himself, read it.
14:36 They're probably going to sell out on Jaheim White, I'm sure.
14:40 They'd probably rather stop him than Garrett.
14:43 But, yeah, he's going to have to make some plays.
14:45 He's going to have to make some guys miss.
14:46 But I think more importantly, they're probably going to,
14:49 like everybody else, make him beat you with his own.
14:52 So I'm sure they're going to do a little box and say,
14:54 "I think our guys can cover your guys."
14:57 So he's going to have to make some throws
14:59 at the end of the day and just extend it.
15:03 I think everyone would rather see kind of --
15:05 especially on the staff would rather see him extend the play
15:08 than take off downfield.
15:10 But, of course, pick your spots.
15:11 I mean, if there's 20 yards in front of you, run.
15:15 Right.
15:16 But that's just part of his process right now.
15:18 That's where he's gotten better at that.
15:20 Just let your guys make plays downfield.
15:22 We'd like to see the tight end more involved.
15:24 Oklahoma kind of took Cole Taylor out a little bit,
15:26 but, of course, Garrett was seeing ghosts.
15:29 He admitted it after the game.
15:31 So I think for him, just stay calm.
15:33 Don't worry about -- you know, yeah, you've seen quarterbacks
15:37 get yards on the ground, but at the end of the day,
15:40 you got to make the right reads
15:42 or you're not going to get yards.
15:43 So for him, just make the right decisions.
15:45 Pull it when you can.
15:47 But most of the time, just let Jaheim do his thing this week.
15:50 I'd like to see Jaylon -- you know,
15:52 Donaldson probably not going to be in.
15:53 I'd like to see Justin Johnson, if he's healthy,
15:57 get in there and get some tough runs.
15:59 So if you can get those two in the mix
16:00 where they're both downhill running fast,
16:04 kind of neutralizes that defensive line a little bit
16:07 when you get the hole quickly and not let them work so much.
16:10 So that's really it for the offense.
16:13 I think it's really Garrett Green.
16:15 Just be steady.
16:17 Be calm, cool, collective.
16:18 Go through your progressions.
16:21 It's not there. See if you can extend it.
16:23 And let your receivers make play if not take off.
16:27 That's a good point there.
16:28 I was going to ask you about CJ.
16:30 I mean, him in his status, if he's not able to go,
16:35 you like to think that you're okay there running back
16:37 because you've got production from Jaheim, Justin Johnson.
16:40 Jaylon hasn't played in a while,
16:43 but maybe this is an opportunity for him to get some touches.
16:47 But when you have this defensive front that Cincinnati has,
16:51 again, speaking with Corleone,
16:53 that's going to be a fun matchup
16:54 between him and Zach Frazier, by the way.
16:55 A lot of NFL scouts, I guarantee,
16:57 will be in Morgantown this weekend to watch that.
16:59 But how do you go about losing a guy like CJ if, indeed,
17:05 he is out? How do you replace that?
17:07 How do you counter that?
17:09 I think you just keep running your offense.
17:12 Short yardage, obviously, you know,
17:14 if you go back and look at it,
17:16 he hasn't been that successful in short yardage.
17:18 Obviously, everyone kind of knows it's coming.
17:21 They're just sending more guys than they can block.
17:24 So I think with Jaheim,
17:26 that kind of takes it away a little bit, right?
17:29 Because he can bounce it outside.
17:30 It's not so much just crashing in because CJ's a load.
17:34 You got to get two or three guys on him.
17:36 Where Jaheim, he's twitchy, obviously.
17:39 He's twitchy. He can bounce it outside
17:40 and take it to the house.
17:41 I think, in a sense, I won't say it neutralizes,
17:44 but it makes them have to be more disciplined
17:47 up front in their gap control.
17:50 So I think if you match that
17:51 and if you put in Justin Johnson, he hits so quick.
17:54 So, again, that can be kind of devastating
17:57 for the defensive line as soon as you get up
17:59 and all of a sudden you look to your left
18:00 and running back, running by,
18:02 you don't have enough time to get your hand out there
18:04 to try to knock them down.
18:06 So, you know, you don't want to lose a guy like CJ.
18:10 6'4", what? 6'4" or 6'2", 240, something of that nature.
18:15 He beats up on the defense,
18:16 but Jaheim can kind of wear out a defense
18:18 because they're running, you know,
18:20 50 yards to the sidelines every other play,
18:22 chasing them around as he zinks to the defense.
18:25 So I think for him, he's just got to continue to just run.
18:29 You know, some of the things CJ's had to do this year
18:32 where he's learning how to play running back more,
18:34 he's just been in his head thinking about it too much,
18:36 where Jaheim's just running.
18:38 For him, just keep running.
18:39 Don't overthink the process.
18:41 He's probably more likely will get more snaps.
18:44 He just needs to run. Just take the ball and run.
18:47 My keys for this one, offensively,
18:49 I think you've got to get this team going sideways.
18:52 We saw how Neil kind of used that game plan against Houston
18:55 where it was just so much pre-snap motion,
18:58 so much window dressing.
19:00 They'd run it to the left. They'd go to the right.
19:02 They'd throw it to the left. They'd throw it to the right.
19:04 It was just back and forth, back and forth,
19:06 really kind of wearing down that Houston defense.
19:08 And I think it's going to be the same approach here
19:11 because it's kind of a similar defense
19:13 when you look at it and how they're built
19:14 and where their best players are.
19:16 They're up front.
19:17 Cincinnati, if you can get those guys up front,
19:20 exhausted by the third quarter,
19:23 you're going to be able to do whatever you want.
19:24 So I think with this offensive line,
19:27 how they played last week, they're going to be hungry,
19:28 ready to come out and play.
19:30 I don't know necessarily if you need to go
19:32 just straight in between attackers.
19:33 Like, I really do think that if you get this team
19:36 going sideways, get them tired,
19:39 that's probably your best recipe for success in this one.
19:41 And plus, you're not just running everything
19:46 right into Corlea. You're getting away from him.
19:48 That's where you want to be most effective,
19:51 is keeping him out of the game plan.
19:54 And defensively, I think it just comes down to a fast start.
19:56 We talk about fast starts, about offense all the time,
19:59 but after the way you played last week,
20:01 and you could even say parts of that UCF game
20:04 a couple of weeks ago,
20:06 you didn't really feel really good about how you started.
20:09 So I think if you come out,
20:11 it doesn't have to be a three and out,
20:12 but if you get two or three stops
20:14 in that first or second quarter,
20:16 that's going to build some of that confidence back up
20:18 to where you're not second-guessing everything
20:20 and everything that's being called.
20:22 You're not guessing where you're going to be,
20:23 where your teammates are going to be.
20:26 Fast start defensively, I think,
20:28 is a key in this one for me, too.
20:30 Yeah, like to keep a hold of some of those balls as well.
20:35 Defense gets our hands on.
20:36 That was -- you look back at the Oakland game.
20:38 Beanie had another pick last week.
20:40 Then all of a sudden, Dylan, you know,
20:43 Dylan Gabriel throws another serve,
20:44 so maybe he starts hesitating on his serves a little bit,
20:47 and maybe they're a little bit far behind.
20:49 Like, stuff like that has a huge effect
20:51 on the psyche of quarterbacks.
20:53 So, yeah, get an early turnover.
20:55 Again, put pressure on them offensively.
21:00 Feel like they have to match scores,
21:02 and next thing you know, they force one in there,
21:04 turn over, and it can get out of hand real quick,
21:07 like Oklahoma kind of did with West Virginia.
21:09 One turnover, but, man, they could just not pick up first
21:13 downs, could not move the ball, and they just snowball quickly.
21:15 So you can pretty much have the reverse kind of game this week
21:20 if you just go out there focused offensively
21:22 and just start putting points on the board.
21:24 Cincinnati's up, and you want to start feeling it.
21:27 Maybe kind of like a BYU feel a little bit.
21:29 Get off to a hot start offensively and defensively,
21:32 and I think get out of hand quickly.
21:34 So, West Virginia, Cincinnati, it's senior day.
21:38 It's Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
21:41 Believe it's streaming on ESPN+.
21:44 I hate the 2:30 start.
21:45 I don't understand it, but it is what it is.
21:48 Love it. Love it. I know you love it,
21:49 but me personally, no.
21:52 Those evening games are great now.
21:54 So I'm not going to miss the evening game
21:56 in a packed 12 after dark.
21:59 I'm just selfishly mad because it takes me away
22:02 from being able to go cover the Hornets game,
22:05 which, I don't know, maybe that's a good thing.
22:07 I mean, they're not playing well either, but --
22:09 I mean, are you missing anything with the Hornets?
22:11 No, not really. They're 3-7,
22:13 so that's typically what happens with the teams I cover.
22:17 They're just not very good, but anyway --
22:20 Can I put a bid in to cover when they play the Lakers?
22:24 Go for it. Or the Warriors.
22:26 Or the Warriors. One of them. One of them.
22:28 Hey, if you want to go watch the Hornets play, have at it.
22:32 Hey, I'd rather drive six hours to Charlotte
22:36 than six hours to Cincinnati, so...
22:39 Now you're -- Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
22:42 You got to point that.
22:43 So that'll do it for us here today on "Between the Years."
22:46 Make sure you hit that subscribe button at Mountaineers Now.
22:49 Check out our game-day preview show as Eugene and I
22:53 break down the matchup further.
22:54 We'll talk a little bit about Don Nealon
22:56 and a whole bunch of other stuff there on the game-day show,
22:58 breaking down what's between Cincinnati,
23:00 and then we'll be back Saturday evening to break down --
23:03 or to recap the game between the Bearcats and the Mountaineers.
23:07 So thank you guys for watching, and we'll see you back here
23:10 tomorrow on the "Walkthrough" game-day show.
23:12 Take care.
23:14 ♪♪
23:22 (upbeat music)