WVU Welcomes Baylor
Mountaineers are striving to fix mistakes
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MORGANTOWN -- There were plenty of lessons to be learned from last week's film session for the West Virginia football team.
The Mountaineers dropped their Big 12 opener on the road to Oklahoma State by a 27-13 score -- a game that included several key self-inflicted wounds.
For starters, 12 penalties for 106 yards haunted WVU on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, the Mountaineers allowed five sacks and quarterback Jarret Doege fumbled in the first quarter, which was returned 56 yards for a touchdown.
Then, after cutting it to a one possession game (20-13) with 9:01 to play, the WVU defense surrendered a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took up 7:44 of the clock and put the game on ice.
The defense also forced a pair of fumbles but missed the opportunity to pounce on the loose ball both times.
"It was a disappointing loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday," WVU coach Neal Brown said. "We made too many mistakes to beat a quality opponent on the road but you've got to learn from it and move on. It's time to turn the page to Baylor."
Baylor first-year coach Dave Aranda -- fresh off a national championship as defensive coordinator at LSU -- pocketed his first victory last week with a 47-14 drubbing of Kansas and will bring his Bears into Morgantown Saturday afternoon.
Quarterback Charlie Brewer threw for 142 yards and a touchdown, while completing 15 of 23 passes.
On the ground, the Bears turned in 203 yards, paced by John Lovett's 78 and Craig Williams' 61.
Brewer also ran eight times for 23 yards.
"They play really fast," Brown said of the Baylor offense. "I think their offensive line, after one game, looked much improved. Charlie Brewer is a winner. That's about as good of a compliment as I can give. He comes from a winning family and he's won at every level.
"They have a special talent at running back and they can really run on the outside. I expect them to try to get those guys involved early in the game."
The Mountaineers will also look to get the ball in the hands of their tailback, as well.
Leddie Brown had his second straight strong outing of the campaign last week, racking up 104 yards rushing to bring his season total 227, only 140 yards shy of last year's total which led the team.
"We ran the ball effectively and I thought Leddie really played well," Brown said. "I thought Leddie really did a good job after contact."
However, aside from Brown, Alec Sinkfield was the only other running back to touch the ball. He ran for 11 yards on seven carries.
Despite his fumble, Doege completed 20 of 37 passes for 285 yards and a 70-yard TD to Winston Wright Jr., who caught four balls for a team-high 103 yards.
Brown and the Mountaineers will have to be on their A-game against Aranda and the Baylor defense.
"I have a lot of respect for Coach Aranda," Brown said. "I think he's one of the top defensive minds in all of college football and over a long period of time.
"They are aggressive (defensively). They played a lot of guys up front and that caused problems for Kansas last week. Their linebacker (Terrel) Bernard made about every play against us last year. He really runs well. (Safety/linebacker, Jalen Pitre), I thought he played really well in the opener, too. They have a group in the secondary that has played a lot of football, especially at corner."
The Mountaineers have a linebacker who can also hold his own in senior Tony Fields II. Last week, Fields was not only tied for the team lead in tackles with nine but supplied a momentum boost with an interception.
Kickoff Saturday is slated for noon and will be televised on ABC.
NOTE
West Virginia will allow the general public to attend football games starting on Oct. 17 when Kansas comes to town.
Attendance will be limited to about 15,000 fans, or 25% capacity. Fans entering the stadium will be required to wear masks.