Texas Tech Heads To West Virginia To Face The Mountaineers
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has seen for himself over the past few weeks how Baylor's Corey Coleman and TCU's Trevon Boykin can wreck a defense.
Now comes the potential for more trouble Saturday for West Virginia from Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes and all-purpose playmaker Jakeem Grant.
They are reasons why Texas Tech has the nation's fourth-highest scoring offense at 47 points per game.
Mahomes threw for 480 yards and four touchdowns in a 70-53 loss to No. 12 Oklahoma State last week, while Grant had 178 receiving yards and his school-record fourth career kickoff return for a TD.
Mahomes "really does a great job of extending the play and running around and keeping his eyes downfield and throwing it downfield to create plays," Holgorsen said. "The biggest thing that we've got to do is play to the whistle defensively. They will keep it alive and sling that thing all over the place."
Holgorsen wants to give Grant plenty of opportunities, especially on kickoff returns, because he hopes it means West Virginia is having its own success.
"If you score, you kick off," Holgorsen said. "If that's the case, let's see if we can contain him. We've contained guys this year and we expect to do the same thing with him."
Both defenses will have work to do.
West Virginia (3-4, 0-4 Big 12) has lost four straight and allowed 40 and 62 points in losses to No. 5 TCU and No. 2 Baylor.
Texas Tech (5-4, 2-4) has scored 50 points five times this season but, in addition to the Oklahoma State loss, surrendered 63 points the previous game to No. 14 Oklahoma.
"More than anything I think it's how the league is set up," said Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury. "I always look at it from the offensive side, should have scored here, should have scored there.
The defense on Saturday in the third quarter gave us, I think, three times in a row the ball back to go up 17, and we didn't go do it."
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