MORGANTOWN — Think West Virginia soccer and of what do you assume?
If you have been round for any size of time there actually is just one factor and it is toughness.
It’s pressure and it is ache to make a achieve.
It’s teeth-rattling hits. It’s working up Law School Hill within the warmth of summer season.
What’s West Virginia soccer?
Here’s what it’s. It’s Owen Schmitt strolling off the sphere, beating his head with helmet till it bleeds. It’s Schmitt breaking his face masks making a run.
That’s West Virginia soccer.
Throw the names on the market. Canute Curtis and Gary Stills. Karl Joseph. Grant Wiley. Brian Jozwiak.
Sam Huff performed at West Virginia. Need something extra be mentioned?
What is West Virginia offensive soccer?
It’s Amos Zereoue working over folks. It’s Major and Hoss and Pat White. It’s Will Grier diving for the Texas finish zone. It’s Skyler Howard helicoptering by way of the air leaping over a tackler attempting to get into the top zone.
It’s draw performs and display screen passes. It’s Quincy Wilson working by way of and over a roster of NFL gamers at Miami … No. 1 Miami.
Did they lose video games? Of course, they did, however when you beat them you knew you’d been in a soccer sport.
So what is going on on right here?
Texas Tech 48, West Virginia 10.
“That’s probably as disappointed as I’ve ever been as a football coach in my career,” Coach Neal Brown mentioned.
That’s embarrassing, simply seeing the rating, however seeing the sport was so distasteful.
Midway by way of the third quarter there was a Tweet that is price mentioning.
“Getting hard to watch,” it mentioned.
It got here from the account named @Steve23Slaton.
Yes, that Steve Slaton.
There was no fireplace. Often you level to the leaders to mild a fireplace beneath a crew however Brown understands that his leaders aren’t constructed that method.
“Our leaders, that’s not their personality,” Brown mentioned. “JT (Daniels) and Zach (Frazier) are our leaders. You don’t want to ask someone not to do things out of character.”
If that is the case, another person has to fill that void.
It is not that West Virginia misplaced, we stress once more. It was the best way they have been taking part in, the second time in three video games being overwhelmed up bodily, simply as they have been at Texas.
Did they not give sufficient effort?
Brown mentioned he could not say till he appeared at the movies, however he made a promise.
“If people didn’t play hard, I won’t play their butt next week,” he vowed.
Forget the statistics. They have been ugly sufficient to be shortly forgotten — outgained 594 complete yards to 282; outrushed 239 yards to 73 by Texas Tech, a crew identified for its passing assault.
West Virginia may do no proper, 4 turnovers to none for the Red Raiders, who got here into the sport main the Big 12 in turning the ball over.
But you possibly can’t trigger a fumble if you cannot make a deal with and WVU had Tech ball carriers working round them, by way of them, leaping over them and dragging them — sure, dragging them down the sphere.
Football is meant to be a bodily sport. To be bodily you must follow however guidelines have restricted the quantity of contact you possibly can have.
It’s like every thing else right this moment, they’re altering the foundations to show this sport into two-hand contact simply as they’ve outlawed collisions at house plate and takeouts at second base in baseball.
WVU has not but discovered a method to elevate their sport to a bodily stage.
And so it’s that WVU has to make some drastic modifications to their strategy.
Sorry about this, however chuck the salad and produce again the purple meat strategy is the place they need to discover a method to get to. You need to play indignant, play robust.
This is not about going again to the nice outdated days, it is about bringing the nice outdated days again into right this moment’s Mountaineer soccer.
Follow @bhertzel on Twitter
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