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DALLAS, TEXAS - It has been a big month of December for seventh-year West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen and his Mountaineers - and that doesn't include Tuesday's 1:30 p.m. kickoff against Pac-12 member Utah in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl.
"It is great for the program in general that they want to be at West Virginia," Holgorsen explained when asked about the return of seniors-to-be Will Grier and Davis Sills V. "The 2018 team is going to be exciting for us, but we are focused on this game and finishing up 2017. We have a great group of seniors we are playing to play one last game with, but it is setting us up for a great year and they are wanting to finish up with what they started."
A sentiment used early and often by Holgorsen, his staff, and the players when talking about the decisions of Grier, Sills and starting left tackle Yodney Cajuste to forego the NFL draft for one more run at a Big 12 title.
"Unfinished business," added Holgorsen during his final press conference in Morgantown before departing to Dallas. "I think all of them just believe that there is unfinished business. I know Will (Grier) came here with the hopes of winning a Big 12 title."
Grier, however, will not be available for the Old Gold and Blue when they take on the Utes for the first time since a 32-6 thumping in the 1964 Liberty Bowl.
"We have all of about eight practices, in all honesty it has been good for us," continued the coach. "Our quarterback (Chris Chugunov) has been here for three years, so he knows the offense. The biggest thing is understanding he is the starting quarterback and he has used the practices to develop timing with his wide receivers. It takes time and you can't just flip a switch like the game at Texas in the second quarter. We are at a better place than we were a few weeks ago."
A problem veteran Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham faced until the team arrived in Dallas.
"He (Tyler Huntley) is 100 percent, but we have to get him a little bit bigger in the offseason," said Whittingham. "We think he is a tremendous player, he was second in the Pac 12 in offense as a true sophomore, his future is bright, but he also has to put some meat on that body. It is a physical conference and that is his biggest challenge in the offseason to get bigger."
In fact both offenses will be facing defenses that are aggressive, run to the football and are physical.
"Coach Holgorsen is one of the best offensive minds in the country," continued Whittingham, who is 10-1 in bowl games at Utah. "They have a whole stable of wide receivers to try to cover. They have three to four go-to guys, and it is a big problem for our secondary. Hopefully, we can try to get a little pressure on the quarterback and hopefully, with the change, it will be a little bit of a different approach, they are difficult to defend."
A task made somewhat easier for the Utes as leading rusher Justin Crawford (190-1061, 7 TDs) will not be in the backfield for the Old Gold and Blue.
"You can't go through a season with just one running back," explained WVU's head coach. "You have to have three or four of those guys. It is brutal to be in that position this day and age. You have a couple of guys that can carry the load when one leaves for the bowl, I feel like we are in good shape in that position."
Taking over for Crawford will be sophomores Kennedy McKoy (111-565, 7 TDs) and Martell Pettaway (41-145, 2 TDs) and true freshman Tevin Bush (20-81). Senior fullback Elijah Wellman could also see some action.
"It (winning a bowl game) means everything to me," said Wellman. "It's my last game as a Mountaineer. There wouldn't be anything better than getting a win for your last football game."
Contact Jim Butta via email at mountaineersman@outlook.com