Photo by: Caleb Saunders
United Bank Playbook – Recovery Time
November 18, 2020 11:59 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia's open weekend this Saturday affords the Mountaineers an opportunity to rest and recover, says coach Neal Brown during his weekly United Bank Playbook segment with Tony Caridi taped Tuesday afternoon.
"After the (TCU) game - which was a quick game, we got done at 3:30 – we gave them off all day Sunday, all day Monday and really only meetings on Tuesday," Brown said. "(The time off) was really important for them mentally as much as anything physically. You go through five weeks of game preparation, the COVID precautions and all that kind of stuff it was wearing on them and you could tell.
"We tried to be careful in practice last week, and it paid off because we played one of our better football games, and now we've got to use this week to recover because we're going to need a lot of energy to finish up this season," Brown explained.
West Virginia (5-3) played perhaps its most complete football game of the season last Saturday in defeating the Horned Frogs 24-6.
In all three phases of play, the Mountaineers were clearly the superior football team.
"I thought that our staff had really good plans in all three phases," Brown noted. "If you look at special teams, I thought our coverage plan versus their return game - which was among the tops in the Big 12 - was outstanding getting multiple hats to the ball. I thought we did a really good job in our kickoff return scheme.
"Defensively, I thought we kept them off balance. We took away the RPO game, which is something they've hit on several times. Offensively, I thought we kept their defense a little bit off rhythm by using huddles and some shifts and creating some explosive plays," Brown said. "I thought our staff did a really nice job, so I'm proud of them, and I thought our players just competed really hard.
"That's what I said after the game, that brand of football we played … we want that to be West Virginia football in the future."
Sensing his team was running on fumes after four straight weeks of conference games, Brown asked his guys to dedicate last Saturday's game to someone important to them in their lives.
He said it was something he started doing when he coached at Troy as a way to give his players extra incentive to help push them through the most difficult moments in a long football season.
He felt it was necessary last Saturday considering West Virginia was the only team in the Big 12 required to play five consecutive weeks during this year's pandemic-shortened season.
"I think one of the things we try to emphasize with our players is how you play the game matters," Brown explained. "When you really emphasize how you play there has to be a reason why you play. It's kind of old school, 'What's your why?' In this instance, what we asked them to do is not only dedicate your performance, but also your preparation.
"How are you going to prepare all week for this person? A lot of times, the people they are dedicating to are tied into why they're playing football … maybe a person who helped them get to practice. It's an incentive to help them keep going and playing at this level," Brown concluded.
West Virginia will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 28 at Milan Puskar Stadium against 18th-ranked Oklahoma. Earlier this week, the Big 12 Conference announced that ESPN and FOX will utilize a six-day window before determining a broadcast network and timeslot for the game.
Oklahoma is playing host to Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in the annual Bedlam Series. That contest will be televised nationally on ABC.
Tickets still remain for West Virginia's home finale against the Sooners and can be purchased by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
The Mountaineers will conclude their abbreviated 2020 regular season in Ames, Iowa on Saturday, Dec. 5, against 17th-ranked Iowa State.
The Cyclones, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas all remain in contention for the Big 12 Championship game to be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 19.
This year's championship game will be played between the two teams with the highest winning percentage in conference play.
"After the (TCU) game - which was a quick game, we got done at 3:30 – we gave them off all day Sunday, all day Monday and really only meetings on Tuesday," Brown said. "(The time off) was really important for them mentally as much as anything physically. You go through five weeks of game preparation, the COVID precautions and all that kind of stuff it was wearing on them and you could tell.
"We tried to be careful in practice last week, and it paid off because we played one of our better football games, and now we've got to use this week to recover because we're going to need a lot of energy to finish up this season," Brown explained.
West Virginia (5-3) played perhaps its most complete football game of the season last Saturday in defeating the Horned Frogs 24-6.
In all three phases of play, the Mountaineers were clearly the superior football team.
"I thought that our staff had really good plans in all three phases," Brown noted. "If you look at special teams, I thought our coverage plan versus their return game - which was among the tops in the Big 12 - was outstanding getting multiple hats to the ball. I thought we did a really good job in our kickoff return scheme.
"Defensively, I thought we kept them off balance. We took away the RPO game, which is something they've hit on several times. Offensively, I thought we kept their defense a little bit off rhythm by using huddles and some shifts and creating some explosive plays," Brown said. "I thought our staff did a really nice job, so I'm proud of them, and I thought our players just competed really hard.
"That's what I said after the game, that brand of football we played … we want that to be West Virginia football in the future."
Sensing his team was running on fumes after four straight weeks of conference games, Brown asked his guys to dedicate last Saturday's game to someone important to them in their lives.
He said it was something he started doing when he coached at Troy as a way to give his players extra incentive to help push them through the most difficult moments in a long football season.
He felt it was necessary last Saturday considering West Virginia was the only team in the Big 12 required to play five consecutive weeks during this year's pandemic-shortened season.
"I think one of the things we try to emphasize with our players is how you play the game matters," Brown explained. "When you really emphasize how you play there has to be a reason why you play. It's kind of old school, 'What's your why?' In this instance, what we asked them to do is not only dedicate your performance, but also your preparation.
"How are you going to prepare all week for this person? A lot of times, the people they are dedicating to are tied into why they're playing football … maybe a person who helped them get to practice. It's an incentive to help them keep going and playing at this level," Brown concluded.
West Virginia will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 28 at Milan Puskar Stadium against 18th-ranked Oklahoma. Earlier this week, the Big 12 Conference announced that ESPN and FOX will utilize a six-day window before determining a broadcast network and timeslot for the game.
Oklahoma is playing host to Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in the annual Bedlam Series. That contest will be televised nationally on ABC.
Tickets still remain for West Virginia's home finale against the Sooners and can be purchased by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
The Mountaineers will conclude their abbreviated 2020 regular season in Ames, Iowa on Saturday, Dec. 5, against 17th-ranked Iowa State.
The Cyclones, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas all remain in contention for the Big 12 Championship game to be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 19.
This year's championship game will be played between the two teams with the highest winning percentage in conference play.
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