MORGANTOWN – When asked what his offense needed to do to combat UCF this weekend, West Virginia University offensive coordinator Chad Scott quickly ticked off three goals – establish the run, play with tempo and take shots downfield.
As it happened, quarterback Garrett Greene was able to help provide all three of those goals in last Saturday’s loss to Baylor.
Greene made his return to the starting lineup last Saturday for the first time since getting knocked out of the Mountaineers’ loss to Kansas State at the end of the first half. He’ll try to lead West Virginia (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) against the Knights (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday (ESPNU).
Against Baylor, Greene finished with 237 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 19-of-39 passing, and added a season-high 129 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 22 carries, the most he has carried the ball in a game in his WVU career.
Some quarterbacks might play with hesitance in their first game back from a head injury, but there were no nerves for Greene against Baylor. Scott said that bold play trickles down to the rest of the offensive roster.
“That’s huge,” Scott said. “He affects the other 10 guys who are playing around him. When they see him playing the way he plays … we did a phenomenal job continuing to fight all the way up until the last play of the game.
“When he plays, the energy and confidence he plays with inspires the other guys around him to play with the same level of confidence,” Scott added.
WVU head coach Neal Brown said Greene’s playmaking skills were needed to stay within striking distance of Baylor, but there were still some mistakes that contributed to the Mountaineers’ 49-35 loss at Milan Puskar Stadium. Among them were a late interception on a pass that Brown said after the game should not have been thrown. There also were a couple of opportunities for Greene to pick up a first down or more with his feet where he tried to pass instead. And with a 48.7% completion rate against the Bears, it was Greene’s second straight game under 50%.
“The best way I can say this is he gave us an opportunity to win,” Brown said. “I don’t know offhand how many explosive plays he had, but there were several, and he threw some big-time balls in the seams. … But there are a few critical plays that he’d like back.”
Carrico wins Big 12 honors
Despite WVU’s defense allowing 49 points to Baylor on Saturday, linebacker Reid Carrico shared Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday.
Carrico’s 16 total tackles against the Bears were the most recorded by any player in the Football Bowl Subdivision this past week. They were also the third most by a Big 12 player this season and eclipsed his career best by 12 tackles.
Carrico shared the honor with Colorado’s Amari McNeill and Arizona’s Genesis Smith. Other award winners were Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson (offensive) and Sam Leavitt (newcomer) and Colorado’s LaJohntay Wester (special teams).
Ray has surgery
Brown reiterated Monday that wide receiver Traylon Ray will make a full recovery from the severe leg injury he suffered in the second half of the Baylor loss. He was carted off the field and was in surgery Sunday morning.
“I think by the time Traylon’s career is done here, he’s going to be a really high-level player,” Brown said. “I really think the NFL is in his future.”
His immediate future, though, is on the injured list and the Mountaineers must find a way to make up for his production. He was second on the team with 28 catches and 426 receiving yards and led the Mountaineers with four touchdowns.
Brown said it likely won’t be just one person who steps in to fill Ray’s shoes.
“We’ll miss him, but we also have some guys that can plug and play,” Brown said. “Preston (Fox) will take a bigger role. Jarel Williams will come in and play a little bit more on offense. Justin Robinson needs to play more like he did against Cincinnati, not like he did against Baylor, and I believe he will.
“It’ll be a committee approach,” Brown said.
TV time announced
The Big 12 announced Monday that ESPN and Fox will exercise a six-day window option for WVU’s regular-season finale at Texas Tech on Nov. 30. Due to the complexity of multiple Big 12 Championship game scenarios, the conference said it agreed to grant its TV partners an additional six-day window. Game time and network for that Nov. 30 game will be decided following this weekend’s contests.
— Story by Derek Redd
