Fiesta Bowl Defensive Notes
December 14, 2007 11:16 AM | General
December 12, 2007
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| Jeff Casteel |
DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS
In the final regular season game against Pitt, the West Virginia linebackers were outstanding as Marc Magro led the way with 17 tackles in his final home performance. Reed Williams added 11 tackles and Mortty Ivy 10. The unit held the Panthers to just 13 points, and 67 yards passing. Against Connecticut, West Virginia held the Huskies to just 14 points before UConn scored again in the game’s final minute. At one point, WVU scored 42 unanswered points on the Huskies, who were held scoreless on 12 of 15 possessions. Leading the way was linebacker Mortty Ivy, who turned in a career high 11 tackles to go along with three TFL, two sacks and one forced fumble.
In the road win at Cincinnati, the West Virginia defense held the Bearcats to just 84 yards rushing and 13 points under their season scoring average. Cincinnati was just 4 of 13 on third down conversions. Leading the way was linebacker Marc Magro with eight tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble.
In the BIG EAST home win over Louisville, the Mountaineer defense held the Cardinals to just three of 13 on third down conversions, and just 37 yards rushing in the victory. Leading the way in the victory were linebackers Mortty Ivy and Reed Williams with 14 combined tackles. Lineman Scooter Berry added six tackles in the effort, and safety Eric Wicks had a big night with a 44-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, an interception, one pass break up and three tackles.
A strong defense effort at Rutgers helped West Virginia to its second BIG EAST road victory of the season. The Mountaineers held the Scarlet Knights to their fewest points since 2002 and without a touchdown. Coming into the game, Rutgers was averaging nearly 300 yards passing, but the Mountaineer defense contained the Knights to just 131 yards in the air. Linebackers Reed Williams led the charge with 13 tackles, followed by Mortty Ivy with 10 and Marc Magro with 9. West Virginia came up with its first two stops of an opponent in the red zone on the year, and recorded two interceptions in holding the Scarlet Knights scoreless on nine of its 10 possessions.
A very balanced effort led the Mountaineer defense in the final non-conference win of the regular season against Mississippi State. Reed Williams, Eric Wicks, John Holmes and Ridwan Malik all contributed seven tackles in the victory. The Bulldogs managed just 45 yards rushing on the WVU defense and 169 passing to total 214 yards of total offense. The Mountaineers held the Bulldogs scoreless on 12 of their 14 possessions, forced three fumbles and recorded five pass deflections.
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| Keilen Dykes |
West Virginia turned in another strong defensive outing in the BIG EAST road win at Syracuse. The Mountaineers held the Orange to 94 yards rushing and 108 passing in giving up only 202 yards of total offense. Linebacker Marc Magro led the way with seven tackles and one sack, followed by lineman Keilen Dykes with a 19-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was the first touchdown scored by a WVU defensive lineman since 2000, and fellow lineman Johnny Dingle came up big again with 1 TFL, 2 forced fumbles and 2 pass deflections.
At USF, the West Virginia defense had to overcome six turnovers by the Mountaineer offense, and still held the Bulls to just 21 points, 139 yards rushing and 135 yards passing. Quinton Andrews led the way with eight tackles and a pass deflection, while Reed Williams contributed seven tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PBU. Overall, the unit collected 6 TFL, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 interceptions, and held USF quarterback Matt Grothe to just 135 yards passing and only 38 yards rushing.
The West Virginia defense was outstanding against East Carolina and turned in its best performance of the season. The Mountaineers held East Carolina to just 160 yards of total offense (54 passing/106 rushing). The WVU defense held the Pirates scoreless on nine-straight possessions, and until the final minute of the game when ECU scored its first points with just 59 seconds left. Mortty Ivy recorded his first career interception in the contest and along with Eric Wicks, led the team in tackles with six.
Against Maryland, the defense recovered a fumble on the game’s opening play to set up a score for the offense, and then went on to hold the Terrapins scoreless on eight straight possessions from midway through the first quarter until the 5:50 mark of the fourth quarter. Williams led the unit with nine tackles, Eric Wicks recorded two interceptions, Magro collected six tackles and two sacks, while lineman Johnny Dingle had six tackles, a fumble recovery and two TFL in the victory.
Against Marshall, the Mountaineers defense was once again led by Reed Williams with 15 tackles, 2 TFL and one forced fumble. Safety Ryan Mundy turned in his best game of his young Mountaineer career with eight stops and one fumble recovery.
Leading the way for the West Virginia defense against Western Michigan was the linebackers as the top five tacklers for the Mountaineers in the game came from that unit. Mortty Ivy was impressive with 10 tackles followed by Marc Magro with nine. Reed Williams turned in eight stops to go along with the first interception of his career while John Holmes and Anthony Leonard combined for 10 stops. Overall, WVU’s top five tacklers against WMU contributed 37 tackles, three sacks, 2 TFL, one interception and one pass deflection.
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| Johnny Dingle |
NEGATIVE YARDS
Every defensive unit loves to talk negative -- as in negative yards. In the latest NCAA rankings, the Mountaineer defense stands 34th nationally in tackles for loss with 82 on the year and 14th in sacks with 37 after 12 games. Mountaineer opponents have lost 352 yards against the defense as the unit has totaled 37 sacks and a total of 82 TFL. Lineman Johnny Dingle leads the team with eight sacks, which ranks him 32nd nationally. Dingle ranks 12th nationally in tackles for loss with 18 on the season. Linebacker Marc Magro has eight sacks on the year, placing him 32nd nationally with Dingle, while teammate Mortty Ivy has recorded six sacks in 12 games, which ranks him 77th nationally.
In the final regular season game against Pitt, the Mountaineers recorded six tackles for a loss of 15 yards. The lone sack went to defensive back Quinton Andrews.
Against Connecticut, the Mountaineer defense came up with an impressive 10 tackles for a loss 46 yards. WVU collected five sacks and five more TFLs in the victory. Leading the way was linebacker Mortty Ivy with two sacks for -17 yards, and another TFL for -2 yards to total 19 negative yards against the Huskies.
At Cincinnati, the Mountaineer defense recorded nine tackles for a loss of 39 yards. Included in that negative yardage were five sacks of Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk. Magro had two sacks for -7 yards while lineman Johnny Dingle led the way with four TFL and one sack for a total of -28 yards against the Bearcats.
Against Louisville, the Mountaineer defense recorded seven tackles for a loss of 34 yards with seven different players recording a TFL. The Mountaineers held the Cardinals to just 37 yards rushing and three of 13 on third down conversions, while sacking Brian Brohm four times.
In the second BIG EAST road win of the season at Rutgers, West Virginia recorded only two tackles for a loss. While it was the lowest TFL output of the season, the Mountaineer defense still held the Scarlet Knights to their lowest point total since 2002. West Virginia’s two interceptions in the game were returned for 42 yards to help keep the Scarlet Knights in check.
In the final non-conference game of the regular season, West Virginia held the Bulldogs to just 45 yards rushing and collected eight tackles for a loss of 40 yards. Leading the way was defensive lineman Johnny Dingle with 2 TFL for -9 yards and safety Eric Wicks with 2 TFL for -18 yards. Included in the eight TFL against MSU was three sacks that totaled -23 yards
In the BIG EAST road win at Syracuse, the Mountaineers held the Orange to just 202 yards of total offense, and collected four TFL for a loss of 23 yards to go along with a 19-yard interception return for a touchdown. In the loss at USF, the Mountaineer defense held the Bulls to 274 total yards and collected 6 TFL for a loss of 25 yards. Leading the way was lineman Johnny Dingle with 2 TFL for -18 yards.
West Virginia’s defense turned in its strongest performance of the season to date against East Carolina by holding the Pirates to just 54 passing yards and 160 total yards. The Mountaineers recorded four sacks for -30 yards and two more TFL for a total of -36 yards collected against the Pirate attack.
Against Maryland, the Mountaineer defense collected -30 yards with four sacks for -22 yards and another four TFL for -8 yards. Leading the way was linebacker Marc Magro with two quarterback sacks for -17 yards. Against Marshall, the West Virginia defense accounted for -33 yards with four sacks (-15) and five additional TFLs (-18). Leading the way was Reed Williams and Johnny Dingle each with two TFLs.
Against Western Michigan, the Mountaineer defense got down right negative turning in 10 total stops (three sacks/seven TFL) for loss yardage. Three sacks totaled -16 yards while seven TFLs totaled -29 yards giving the Mountaineer defensive a total of -45 yards against the Western Michigan offense.
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| Reed Williams |
LEADING LINEBACKERS
Reed Williams leads the team in tackles with 98 after 12 games. Williams is averaging 8.2 tackles per game, which ranks him sixth in the BIG EAST and 96th nationally. Fellow linebackers Mortty Ivy and Marc Magro are second and third on the team in tackles meaning that the team’s linebacking corps is holding down the top three defensive tackle leader positions. Ivy and Magro rank 14th and 16th in the BIG EAST respectively in tackles on the season. The trio of Williams, Magro and Ivy have combined for 263 tackles.
LEAVE THE RUNNING TO US
This year, the West Virginia defense prefers for all the running to be done by its offense.
The Mountaineers are allowing only 107.6 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per rush. While the West Virginia offense has rushed for 3,515 yards on the season, the Mountaineer opponents have rushed for just 1,291 yards against the WVU defense. West Virginia is currently ranked 16th nationally in rushing defense and second in the BIG EAST. The last 100-yard rusher on the WVU defense was LaSean McCoy of Pitt.
In the final regular season game against Pitt, The Panthers were held to just 13 points. Totaling 158 yards rushing on 52 attempts, the Panthers finished with a 3.0 yards per carry average against the WVU defense.
In the win against Connecticut, the Huskies rushed for an opponent season-high 203 yards against the Mountaineer defense. Still, the unit held UConn to just 14 points until the game’s final minute and forced punts on 12 of 15 possessions.
At Cincinnati, the West Virginia defense held the Bearcats to 84 yards rushing and only 2.8 yards per carry. The Bearcats were held 13 points under their season average against the Mountaineers.
Against Louisville, the West Virginia defense held the Cardinals to just 37 yards rushing. Coming into the game, Louisville was averaging 150 yards rushing per game.
In the second BIG EAST road win of the season at No. 25 Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights managed 183 yards rushing against the WVU defense, but only came away with three points in the contest for their lowest point total since 2002.
In the final non-conference game of the regular season, the West Virginia defense held Mississippi State to just 45 yards on the ground for an average of 1.4 yards per rush.
In the BIG EAST road win at Syracuse, the Orange managed only 94 yards rushing and averaged just 2.5 yards per rush.
At USF, the Bulls finished with 139 total rushing yards, and explosive quarterback Matt Grothe was held to just 38 yards on the ground.
In the East Carolina game, the Pirates rushed 33 times for only 106 yards and a 3.2 yards per carry average. Adding in only 54 yards passing, and the Pirates finished with just 160 yards of total offense.
At Maryland, the Terps finished with only 89 yards rushing for an average of 2.3 yards per rush in the game.
In game two at Marshall, the Herd gained only 121 yards on the ground. Against Western Michigan in the season opener, the Broncos managed just 32 yards rushing.
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| Marc Magro |
SACK ATTACK
West Virginia has collected 37 sacks through 12 games this season. WVU is No. 2 in the BIG EAST Conference in sacks and tied for No. 14 in the nation.
Defensive lineman Johnny Dingle and linebacker Marc Magro lead the team with eight sacks, followed by Mortty Ivy with six.
Dingle and Magro are tied for No. 5 and Ivy is No. 10 in the BIG EAST. Nationally, Dingle and Magro are tied for No. 32 and Ivy is tied for No. 62.
WICKS' PICKS FOR SIX
Senior safety Eric Wicks seems to always be in the right place at the right time since arriving at WVU. Against Louisville, Wicks picked up a Brian Brohm fumble and returned it 44 yards for a score to help WVU top Louisville 38-31 in Morgantown. It was the third career defensive touchdown for the Pittsburgh, Pa., native.
In the 2005 Louisville game, it was Wicks who picked up on Brohm trying to scramble for the game-tying 2-point conversion in triple overtime. But Wicks made the game-ending tackle at the 2-yard line to give WVU a 46-44 triple-overtime victory over the Cards.
Earlier in the year, Wicks scored WVU’s first touchdown of the season at Syracuse, taking a Perry Patterson pass 31 yards to the house in the Carrier Dome. Despite seeing just spot action in 2004, Wicks intercepted Virginia Tech’s Bryan Randall in and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown in Blacksburg. It was the first interception of his young career.
For his four-year career, he has eight interceptions, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
DEFENSIVE RANKINGS
West Virginia’s offense is high powered, and its defense deserves some praise too. The blue-collared unit has quietly gone about its business in 2007, and has put together some solid numbers that has it ranked nationally in the following categories –tied for 1st in fumbles recovered, tied for 4th in turnovers gained, 4th in total defense, 7th in scoring defense, 14th in sacks, 16th in rushing defense, 12th in passing defense, 16th in pass efficiency defense, 34th in tackles for loss, 34th in interceptions and 44th in Defenive third-down efficiency. Not bad for a unit that just minds its own business.
TURNOVER BATTLE
West Virginia has collected more turnovers in each game this season than it has given away except for the USF, Cincinnati and Pitt contests. When WVU wins the turnover battle, they have been 42-1 since 2002.
WVU is tied for No. 1 in the nation in fumbles recovered, tied for No. 34 in interceptions and tied for No. 4 in turnovers gained.
For the season, the Mountaineers have accumulated 33 turnovers (15 interceptions/18 fumbles) and have given away 15 fumbles and thrown six interceptions to hold a 33-21 advantage.
The Mountaineers defense collected a season-high four turnovers at USF, at Rutgers and against Louisville and forced three or more turnovers in eight games.
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| Eric Wicks |
NON-OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS
The Mountaineers struck for their third non-offensive touchdown this season when Reed Williams recovered a fumble in the end zone against UConn.
Eric Wicks’ 44-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Louisville on Nov. 8 marks the second defensive score for the Mountaineers this season. The first came at Syracuse when Keilen Dykes made an interception and rumbled 19 yards for a touchdown.
Since 2001, West Virginia has scored 13 defensive and 10 special teams touchdowns for a total of 23 non-offensive touchdowns during his tenure.
LESS IS MORE
Through 12 games in 2007, West Virginia has been penalized 63 times for 576 yards for an average of 5.3 penalties per game. The 576 penalty yards ranks West Virginia 33rd nationally and second in the BIG EAST among teams with fewest penalty yards per game. West Virginia’s 63 penalties on the year ranks first in the conference and 14th nationally in fewest penalties per game. Against USF, the Mountaineers were penalized a season low one time for 11 yards. Against Louisville, West Virginia was penalized a season high 11 times for 116 yards.
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| Vaughn Rivers |
RIVERS RANKED NO. 1 IN BIG EAST
Vaughn Rivers is ranked No. 1 in the BIG EAST Conference and No. 29 in the nation in punt return average, returning 39 punts for 422 yards, an average of 10.8 yards a return and had a long return of 35 yards against Mississippi State. He has had at least one return of 10 yards or more in 11 of 12 games this season.
Last season, Rivers finished with 18 returns for 195 yards, an average of 10.8 yards a return and scored a 50-yard touchdown at Mississippi State.
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| Pat McAfee |
KICKING DUTIES
Pat McAfee handles all of the Mountaineer kicking duties, serving as the field goal kicker, extra point kicker, punter and handles the kickoffs.
This season, he has connected on 11-of-15 field goal attempts this season (73.3 percent), hit 11 in a row at one point, hit multiple field goals in three-straight games and hit a long of 49 yards at Syracuse.
He has punted for a 41.1-yard average this season, placing 15 inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, two resulting in touchbacks and nine ending with a fair catch. McAfee hit nine punts of 50 yards or more, including a 62-yarder against Connecticut and a 71-yard punt at Cincinnati.
He has been outstanding the last half of the year, averaging 43.8 yards per punt on 25 attempts, landing 10 of them inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, one in the end zone and five that resulted in a fair catch. He also had seven punts of 50 yards or more.
He missed an extra point in the first game of the season, but has been perfect since, hitting 50 straight.
This season, he has scored in double figures three times, hitting 12 points against East Carolina and at Syracuse and having 11 points against Connecticut. He hit a season-high eight extra points made against Western Michigan and against Uconn.
In BIG EAST statistics, McAfee is tied for No. 4 in field goal percentage and PAT kicking percentage, No. 6 in field goals made per game, No. 5 in kick scoring and No. 7 in overall scoring.
His career point total stands at 285, which includes 39 field goals and 168 extra points, fourth on the WVU career kick scoring list; Paul Woodside (1981-84) is the WVU career leader with 323. He is fourth on the field goals made list with 39 and is the all-time career extra points made leader with 168.
Last season, McAfee’s 51-yard field goal in the second quarter at Pitt marked a career long and was the longest field goal in Heinz Field history by either a professional or collegian. It also was the fifth-longest in school history; WVU’s career long was a 55-yarder by Paul Woodside against Louisville in 1984.
Ten times in his career, McAfee has made multiple field goals in a game.
