MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Shuffled like a deck of cards throughout the season, West Virginia’s offensive line, as well as junior Chase Behrndt, just may have found some consistency in last week’s 24-20 win against Kansas State.
Behrndt, who began the season at center, before being moved to guard, was moved back to center against the Wildcats.
The difference?
“We were more physical,” WVU co-offensive coordinator Matt Moore said. “You could tell the difference of where we were struggling at the center spot and not having a big nose guard covering us up. That’s been a thing that’s hurt us the past several weeks is playing a big nose guard.”
Behrndt took over for redshirt freshman Briason Mays at center. Mays was thrust into the position when Josh Sills was lost for the season to a season-ending injury.
In the weeks Mays was at center, WVU faced talented and strong nose guards from Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma, which all play three-man fronts.
“It’s just the physical side,” Moore said. “He’s young. He’s a redshirt freshman. You’ve got to look at who he played against. The kid from Iowa State was a redshirt senior. The kid from Baylor, you saw him against an All-American center from Oklahoma, and they were battling. The nose tackle from Oklahoma is going to get drafted. He played a series of five weeks against an older guy who was a really good player. He struggled from the standpoint of not being strong enough yet. I hate that we had to point him in that situation.”
Kansas State played a four-man front, meaning Behrndt didn’t have to worry about blocking a guy lined up right in front of him.
“Chase is an older guy, so there is that confidence level that he has in his abilities,” WVU left tackle Colton McKivitz said. “That was the biggest key in our offensive line. We were more confident in our points.”
Oklahoma State will throw another three-man front against WVU, meaning Behrndt will likely go one-on-one with Oklahoma State junior Cameron Murray, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 290 pounds.
“We’re back to facing three big guys in the middle who want to eat up all the gaps and then drop everyone else back in coverage,” Moore said. “We’ve got to figure out what to do with them.”
Along with Behrndt, Moore said that guard Michael Brown had his best game against Kansas State.
“Mike actually graded out as our best lineman,” Moore said. “I’m looking forward to him continuing to grow in that spot and continuing to get better.”
West Virginia rushed for 85 yards against the Wildcats, the most since it finished with 96 against Texas on Oct. 5.
The Mountaineers’ run-game struggles have played a large part in WVU being last in the Big 12 in total offense and scoring.
“You can’t just keep putting the same thing out there and expect different results,” Moore said. “We had to change some things up. Hopefully we just continue to get better.”
