MORGANTOWN - If you follow this column regularly, you know I like to cut to the chase, so here we go.
If WVU's defenders can chase down Texas' runners Saturday, the Mountaineers should win.
That's it. West Virginia should be able to pass on Texas. The Longhorns have no passing game at all. WVU's runners should fare well against the nation's No. 82 run defense.
Cue West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. He was asked in Tuesday's press conference what the Mountaineers need to do Saturday.
"Stop the run," he said.
That was the answer. He looked up at the media representative and blinked, hands folded.
He soon went on compliment the Texas players as physical. He said WVU players would have to be in the right spots.
Really, though, Gibson could have stopped at the three-word answer. Because, on paper anyway, WVU's effectiveness in stopping UT's runners is the ballgame.
"We know they run the ball pretty well," said Mountaineer defensive lineman Kyle Rose. "Our first emphasis as a defensive line is to stop the run and then we'll work from there. Right now the No. 1 concern is making sure we stop the run and get the ball in the quarterback's hands and see if we can create turnovers."
Get me? But while WVU has an odd stack, Texas is just plain odd. The Longhorns lost three straight games this year - and then defeated Oklahoma. After that, Texas beat Kansas State and seemed on a roll - and then was blanked by Iowa State.
And the weirdness extends to the Texas running game - sort of like at WVU. You know how the Mountaineers have one of the nation's former top recruits in its backfield? You know how that former top recruit - Rushel Shell - has become No. 2 in that backfield behind Wendell Smallwood?
Well, Texas has one of the most sought-after runners ever in Johnathan Gray. He's now a senior - and he's No. 3 among this season's Longhorn rushers.
Understand that Gray rushed for 10,889 yards in high school. He had 205 touchdowns. He was set to be the savior for Mack Brown.
But you might have noticed Mack Brown doesn't coach at Texas anymore. Part of the reason is the savior didn't save. He was injured against WVU as a sophomore with 780 yards on the season. He tore an Achilles. He limped through last season.
This season, Gray is back but quarterback Jerrod Heard is the leading rusher with 540 yards on 120 carries. Also, D'Onta Foreman, a former three-star recruit, is second on the team in rushing and had 157 of UT's 299 ground yards in last week's win over turnover-prone Kansas. Foreman was a second-team all-state selection in high school.
Maybe the setup is odd, but Texas is No. 31 nationally in rushing, averaging 206.9 yards.
"They're big backs that run hard," Gibson said. "They run with a nice pad level. They're strong kids. They're powerful. They understand the run schemes and keep getting stronger as the games go on. We haven't played big backs like this yet."
Texas runs two quarterbacks in Heard and Tyrone Swoopes, the latter of which specializes in the "18-wheeler" power run. (Heard is more of a zone read guy.) Foreman is a 6-foot, 241-pound sophomore. Gray is 5-11, 215 pounds.
"Jon Gray was a five-star [prospect] coming out of high school," Rose said. "He's a good back. We've just got to tackle well. It's something we have to work on this week: tackling well, shedding blocks and making plays."
As for the quarterbacks?
"We see a lot of versatility in both of those guys," Rose said. "We need to corral, just like we did last week [against Texas Tech]. Same game plan. Another athletic quarterback. Just another week in the Big 12, honestly."
Well, sort of. All Texas Tech was known for heading into last Saturday was its passing attack. This team is all about the run.
"It's the Big 12," Rose shrugged. "Every offense is different. Fast guys, strong guys, everybody is good. You have a quarterback that can throw the ball around and can run. It's the world we live in. As a defense we have to have short-term memory loss and forget last week's game plan."
Yep. New game plan. Stop the run.
"Anytime you can switch an offense from what it does well to something it's not comfortable with, it's a plus for us," Rose said. "Getting them out of their comfort zone and into something they aren't good at is what we try to do as an unorthodox defense."
It's an unorthodox defense against an odd Texas team. But in sum? Cutting to the chase?
If the Mountaineers can chase down the runners, they can cut down the Longhorns.