Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Tony’s Take – Run Game to Decide Oklahoma State Game
November 05, 2021 07:00 PM | Football, Tony's Take
Radio play-by-play announcer Tony Caridi provides periodic commentary on the Mountaineer football program for WVUsports.com. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @TonyCaridi. Tony's Take is presented by Encova.MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Three letters will decide Saturday's game between the Mountaineers and visiting Cowboys of Oklahoma State.
R-U-N
That's it, three letters, one word.
Run!
Whichever team does it better wins the game. Thanks very much for reading. Have a great weekend.
All right you're not getting rid of me that fast, but in all seriousness, the team that's able to consistently run the ball will walk off the field with the victory.
Here's the proof.
In West Virginia's four losses this season, Neal Brown's squad was unable to crack the century mark on the ground. In the season opener at Maryland, the Mountaineers could muster just 48 yards rushing. At Oklahoma, they finished with 47 yards. They fell just short of the century mark with 94 against Texas Tech and 90 in the loss at Baylor.
Now for the good numbers.
In each of WVU's four wins, the Mountaineers have rushed for more than 100 yards. That includes 198 against Long Island and 173 against Virginia Tech.
The last two games have produced legitimate reasons to celebrate. The Mountaineers roared back from their open date on the schedule to rush for a season-high 229 yards at TCU before pounding out 122 in last Saturday's victory over Iowa State.
No need for a forensic accountant; the truth is quite literally jumping off the stat sheet.
In their four wins, the Mountaineers average just over 180 rushing yards. In the four losses, WVU has managed just under 70 yards per game.
That's a net difference of 110 run yards in wins and losses.
Now the big question, can the Mountaineers eclipse the magic 100-yard mark against an Oklahoma State defense that's currently the stingiest in the Big 12? OSU is allowing JUST 18 points per game and 95 yards on the ground, which is ninth-best nationally.
The ultimate test has arrived for an evolving Mountaineer offensive line. We may have several weeks left in the semester, but this is the final exam for an offensive front that is slowly and methodically improving.
Since Major Harris' number will be retired this weekend, I wanted to share a story that WVU's John Antonik alluded to earlier this week. Of all the great plays Major made on the field, one off the field sticks with me. I was in the entrance of the Puskar Center when a family came into the building with a child who was receiving care at Ruby Memorial Hospital. They were hoping to get a glimpse and maybe a picture of the Maj'. At that time, Harris' popularity was rock-star-like, but you would never know it by the way Major handled himself.
After chatting with the family and taking a few pictures, Harris asked if they could hang around for a little bit because he needed to get something. They complied and Harris ran across the street into the trailer park where he lived. A few minutes later, Major reappeared with the jacket that had been sent to him by the Heisman Trophy committee at the Downtown Athletic Club. He presented the jacket to the family and went on his way.
It wasn't a choreographed move of generosity that today would have been professionally produced and pumped into every possible social media platform. It was just Major being Major and for that, we should all be proud that his No. 9 will not only be recognized for his play but for his humility and character.
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