The WVU Football offense put together their best performance, by far, in a road game this season in the upset win over 22nd ranked Houston.
The Mountaineers racked up 403 yards of total offense in the victory, besting their previous season high for a road game by 80 yards (323 vs. Kansas). Additionally, 246 of those total yards were attributed to the West Virginia rushing attack, marking the first time the team has ran for over 200 yards in a game away from home this season as well.
Here are just some of the individual players that helped contribute to such an impressive offensive performance, according to their offensive grades (min. 20 snaps) provided by Pro Football Focus:
- RB Diore Hubbard (74.9 Offensive Grade)
No surprise here. From Hubbard’s opening carry of the game against Houston, you could tell that he was running with determination. That would continue throughout the entirety of the contest. Despite dealing with some apparent lower body pain, Hubbard made multiple people miss en route to the exclamation point touchdown for the Mountaineers that capped off their scoring explosion. Hubbard finished the day with a career high in both carries (29) and rushing yards (108).
2. TE Jacob Barrick (71.1 Offensive Grade)
You don’t get over 200 yards rushing on the day and have such a breakout performance for a running back without, not only the offensive line stepping up and moving defenders, but the tight ends play a huge role in making that happen as well, especially in this Rich Rodriguez scheme, where multiple tight ends can be on the field together at any given moment. That was the case multiple times against Houston, and Barrick who has been regarded as the best blocker in the WVU tight end room proved why that is the case. His 74.0 run blocking grade is a big reason why he graded out so well offensively.
3. QB Scotty Fox Jr. (70.1 Offensive Grade)
In the close loss against TCU the week prior, it appeared as if the game was beginning to slow-down for the true freshman signal caller. The question coming out of that game was; could he replicate that performance against a better defense and on the road? Emphatically, the young quarterback showed that he indeed could. As perhaps most importantly, it was the second consecutive game that he did not register a turnover. He also kept the offensive moving and made several clutch plays at times when WVU really needed them, as evidenced by the 34-yard touchdown scamper on a fourth and four in the second half. His legs kept the defense honest as he ran for 65 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw for 157 yards and another touchdown, continuing to look like a potential key piece that the WVU Â football program can build around moving forward.
Check out more WVU Football coverage here at Blue Gold Sports.
