MORGANTOWN - There are occasions, even after five seasons and a sixth preseason with this West Virginia offense, when you have to rub your eyes. Did you see that right? We think we know Dana Holgorsen, but every now and then you put a finger to an ear. Did I just hear that?
The offense ran the ball almost 60 percent of the time last season. That was a sensible necessity due to some issues with pass protection and the timing between the quarterback and his receivers, but you wouldn't have predicted it. Next thing you know, Holgorsen will be seen sipping on a soothing cup of chamomile during the first quarter.
His quarterback isn't the tall type with a big arm, a look Holgorsen tended to favor at his prior stops. Skyler Howard is instead a bit shorter but much more mobile, capable of running the ball on the days a defense won't let him throw it. And by now, his third season with the offense, there's no denying Howard knows what Holgorsen wants, no matter that this looks different than it did before.
But even the things that seem familiar are subject to a twist - and that's quite likely good news for WVU.
Holgorsen stresses simplicity and efficiency, and one helps the other. He wants his receivers to master one position before they bother experimenting with others. He treats game plans similarly. They're not complicated. He and his coaches circle some plays they trust to work against the upcoming opponent, and they practice only those during the week. Why waste time on some tactic that won't work or won't be used in a game?
The Mountaineers instead rehearse those plays again and again so they're sharp on Saturday. They keep defenses honest by disguising the same calls inside of various formations and personnel packages.
But during this preamble to the 2016 season, we've seen and heard some interesting contradictions.
Holgorsen wants to throw the ball more often and more effectively, not because of ego but because of logic. The Mountaineers will still threaten teams with their offensive line and their running backs, but they'll inflict damage if they can pass through and over defenses determined to deal with the run. And if WVU develops a reputation for what it does through the air, the ground game gets going, too.
Simple stuff, really.
But a few receivers are playing the inside and outside positions. It's not an experiment. It's the role for Gary Jennings and Devonte Mathis. We've seen Holgorsen not only use four-receiver sets but move Jovon Durante, an outside receiver, to the inside just so the offense has that additional armament.
It's not all about the pass, though. Get ready to see WVU use two of its running backs in the same backfield. The offense used to do that, but it was short at least one running back last season. Now, with Rushel Shell's resume and confidence in newcomers Justin Crawford and Kennedy McKoy, Holgorsen can return to using two at a time and making defenses keep eyes on both, which is obviously different than tracking just the running back and assuming the fullback is a blocker.
If WVU can use two running backs, the return of Elijah Wellman and the development of fellow fullback Michael Ferns suggests that Holgorsen can again use some combination of three backs in the diamond formation that was also more popular years back than it was a year ago.
Three receivers. Four receivers. Two running backs. Three backs. A quarterback who can run but who also needs to pass better. An offense that mixes zone and power running plays with deep throws and quick routes. A coach who wants to play fast but also change tempos to make a defense uncomfortable.
That's a lot, and if it seems ambitious, that's because it is. But it's within reason, too.
"Being multiple," Holgorsen said, "is what you need to do."
Just not all at once, and that's not what the Mountaineers will do. They won't abandon the tradition and the benefits of a simple and efficient approach.
"I'd like to be able to get into a whole bunch of different sets and do the same stuff over and over again and be really good at it," Holgorsen said.
What they will do is look at their strengths and the opposition's vulnerabilities and they'll know they have more tactics at their disposal now. What's prescribed for one game might not be needed in the next. What's set off to the side for one week could succeed in another.
The Mountaineers have more players, more formations and more ways to go after defenses.
"They can change their defenses to dictate what you feel like you need to do," Holgorsen said. "The key to being good offensively is if you have to up and throw the ball 85 percent of the time, like we did against Arizona State, then you need to be effective and be able to do it. If you need to be able to run the ball 85 percent of the time based on coverages and [defenses] having a lid on it, then you need to be able to do it. I think we're there."
Contact Mike Casazza at 304-319-1142 or mikec@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikecasazza and read his blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/wvu/.