WVU vs. Norfolk St. Grades: A Unit-By-Unit Look At The Mountaineers Victory Over The Spartans

by WVUIE97 on Sep 14, 2011 3:38 PM EDT in Mountaineer Football

If only we had to watch and grade the second half of this past week, the grades should have been outstanding. But, there was that pesky first half that brought out the boo birds and consequently the overall grades this week. I find it somewhat strange that I find myself being more critical than I have been in the past and agreeing with Coach Holgorsen in his displeasure. He frequently voiced his disappointment over the performance, when our former head coach would not likely have done so, at least in public.

Offense: C-
I can't believe I'm giving an offense that rolled up over 500 yards and 55 points a C-. That's how bad the first half looked. There were multiple cases of lameassery. Case in point: 6 consecutive shots inside the 10 yard line and only 3 points came of it. If this were based solely on the second half of the game, it would easily be an A+++. The tempo was there and FAR fewer dropped passes.

Running Game: D
Still only averaging 3.1 yards per carry. I frequently saw the RB's cutting back straight into their blockers.

Quarterbacks: B
The 5 TD passes between Geno and Millard saves this grade. Lack of tempo in the first half brings it down.

Receivers: B-
9 different receivers (including RB's) caught passes in this game and Devon Brown and Ivan McCartney had big games to go along with the expected one from Tavon.

Defense: B
Again, solid, yet not spectacular. Tandy was beaten deep once early, but was able to save the touchdown. The defense has kept the opposition out of the end-zone for a second straight week.

Special Teams: A-
Several nice returns and no coverage breakdowns of note to report here. Bitancurt did miss one FG attempt

Discipline: C+
The Mountaineers have yet to turn the ball over in 2011, but they were flagged 7 times for 85 yards.

Crowd: B
The student section was well under capacity this week and the overall attendance was down by almost 9000 in nice weather. There were several instances, especially early where the noise was a big factor in the Spartans getting several delay of game penalties.

Disagree with any of these? Let us know below.

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i'm going to disagree with...

the discipline grade. i have no idea how many flags were thrown on Norfolk St., but i remember looking at the difference in flags and thinking, “WOW, it’s like 15 penalties to 0”. and a few of those penalties on Norfolk St. were complete phantom penalties.

here’s what i really think:
the referees were calling bullsh#t penalties on Norfolk St. the entire first half. it looked like they were doing their best to help us win. at least 3 of the penalties i thought were horrid calls. THEN, at some point, the refs thought, “wait a second, this is looking extremely obvious and we need to even it back out. WVU has the game in the bag right now and we don’t want to look like we gave them all the calls. let’s call some stuff against them.” i think our discipline was probably better than the numbers show.

i’m never right on here, so let me know why i’m wrong.

by WVUDDS08 on Sep 14, 2011 5:30 PM EDT reply actions

We're not Notre Dame...

…God is on there side, but perhaps the Devil made them do it. I’ll take god calls anyway we get them. WVU has been on the other side Too many times.

by OG&B on Sep 15, 2011 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions

Running backs - A+

30 fumbles last year, Freshman backs this year and no fumbles at least warrants an A+ in comparison, despite their other flaws.

by OG&B on Sep 15, 2011 12:55 AM EDT reply actions

Sorry, I can't agree with that....

I can’t remember which one it was, but I watched a running back run straight into a defender who had a Mountaineer O-lineman still blocking him. The defender grabbed the back with one hand and brought him down.

There are a number of mechanical devices which increase sexual arousal, particularly in women.
Chief among these is the Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible. ~ P. J. O'Rourke

by MtnEer_in_SC on Sep 15, 2011 6:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Our young RBs seem to lack the vision to get to the next level

every time there is a replay, they are running into their O Line and missing the holes. They need to be a little more patient instead of sprinting as soon as they touch the ball. I expect them to make adjustments though so I’m not worried yettttt.

by Dwalk1217 on Sep 15, 2011 8:43 AM EDT reply actions

My thoughts exactly

They’re running into people, instead of running through holes. Granted, the holes aren’t as big as you’d like to see, or open for as long as they could be, but there have been some holes. Seems like every play they run into a blocker or defender unnecessarily, when they could be waiting on holes.

by MountaineerMojo on Sep 15, 2011 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions