Scouting WVU: Offense

Geno Smith is putting up video game numbers, hope the Bulls defense is ready for him.

This is one of the most high powered offenses USF will face all season long and the Bulls secondary better find itself quickly or it could be an ugly night for them. WVU loves to throw all over the field, but have found a running game and will look to spread the field all day against USF.

OffensiveLine

The key to the game will be getting some pressure on Geno Smith and not allowing him to sit in the pocket and pick the Bulls secondary apart. Senior left tackle Don Barclay (6-4 310-pounds), junior left guard Jeff Braun (6-4 322-pounds), junior center Joe Madsen (6-4 301-pounds), senior right guard Tyler Rader (6-3 296-pounds), and sophomore right tackle Pat Eger (6-6 301-pounds) anchor the offense line. Ryne Giddins, Patrick Hampton, and the defensive line will have to attack but they cannot be too aggressive. Some of the problems of the line is over-pursuing the opposing quarterbacks, allowing them to move up in the pocket and find targets down the field. Smith does not like to run, so they have to get to him and bring him down.

Quarterback

Junior Geno Smith is the big time passer for Holgorsen's spread system. The 6-3 200-pound signal caller has completed 291 passes out of 448 attempts (told you his passes a lot) for 3741 yards, including 25 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He has rushed for just 46 yards on the season, so expect him to sit back and sling the ball all over the field. Freshman Paul Millard (6-2 200-pounds) is the back-up. He has completed 7 of 12 passes for 124 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Running Backs

WVU has found a running game in freshman Dustin Garrison (5-8 165-pounds). He has carried the ball 120 times for 655 yards including 5 touchdowns. He has also caught 23 passes for 190 yards, so look for him to sneak out of the backfield at times. Junior Shawne Alston (5-11 221-pounds) is the power back for the Mountaineers. He has carried the ball 72 times for 343 yards and 10 touchdowns, getting the tough yardage when WVU needs it.

Wide Receivers

This is a dangerous unit for WVU and the USF secondary is going to be in a fight the entire game. The starting wide receivers start with sophomore Ivan McCartney 96-3 183-pounds) who has 40 receptions for 561 yards and 3 touchdowns. His back-up is junior Ryan Nehlen (6-2 198-pounds) who has 5 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. The other big time receiver is sophomore Stedman Bailey (5-10 195-pounds) who has 60 receptions for 1117 yards and 11 touchdowns. His back-up, junior J.D. Woods (6-0 192-pounds) has 2 for 14.

The inside receivers are dangerous because of their speed. Senior Tyler Urban (6-5 249-pounds) has 19 receptions for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns. His back-up senior Devon Brown (5-9 185-pounds) has 23 receptions for 306 yards and a touchdown. The big time playmaker is junior Tavon Austin (5-9 173-pounds) who has 82 receptions for 1009 yards and 4 touchdowns. His back-up is senior Willie Milhouse (6-1 202-pounds) has 10 receptions for 149 yards. The Bulls secondary better figure out how to protect the zone and get better coverage on receivers or this could be bad.