WV VS TENN (Let's discuss & Poll inside)

[EricberryFAN]

I'm curious to see what the majority of Volnation thinks will win this game.

Will our defense shut down Will Grier and ruin his Heisman dreams?
I think Kirkland coming back for us is a big key in spying on WG.
Will our offense pick apart their defense with the return of Jennings helping?
Other than scoring more points, what's our key to winning this game?
What DB would you put on their best WR in Sills?

This is what their roster looks like from last year:

QB: Will Grier 3,500 yards, 64.4% completion rate, 34 TD, 12 INT's. Grier was hurt at the end of the season( He played in 11 games, having put up those numbers)

RB: They lose their 1,060 yard rusher in Justin Crawford 2017 stats: AVG 5.5 ypc, 191 rushes and 7 TD's.
Returning is:
6'0 198lb JR Kennedy McKoy 2017 stats: 565 yards on 111 carries, Avg 5.1 ypc and 7 TD's.
5'9 210lb JR Martell Pettaway 2017 stats: 145 yards on 41 carries, Avg 3.5 and 2 TD's

WR: They lose Ka'Rawn White who had 978 yards and 11 TD's last season
Returning is:
6'2 215lb SR Gary Jennings Jr 2017 stats: 94 rec, 1,030 yards and only 1 TD
6'4 204lb SR David Sills V 2017 stats: 60 rec, 980 yards with 18 TD's
Suspended for our game is:
6'0 194lb JR Marcus Simms 2017 stats: 32 rec, 630 yards with 5 TD's

How does Volnation think we stack up to last years 2nd leading scoring offense in West Virginia?

 

[zeppelin128]

I think we stand a good chance to win if we run the ball down their throat, I'm talking 9-10 minute drives. A shootout is the last thing we need. Three yards and a cloud of dust.

And run the ball on first and goal from the one yard line.

 

[VolEngineer]

Offensively we should run the play clock down each play with runs and short passes. Throw a few deep ones to let our talented recievers have a chance for a big play but only when its not expected. Rotate the running backs and get them each 15 or so touches. Heck, if your getting 2 to 3 yards a carry, go for it on fourth downs too just to shorten the game.
Defensively, id focus first on stopping the run with their backs and with Grier. Our run defense might not be that great, but we can at least make it hard for them. I think we have some good players on pass defense, and would focus all remaining resources on blitzing and run stopping. In my opinion we have a much better chance of stopping their passing game if thats all we have to worry with.

Realistically, if this sort of gameplan is used, and the defense shows up to play i say we win by 7-9 in a fairly low scoring game. Something like 27-20 or something like that.

If it turns into a shootout, i think we probably will lose unless whichever qb is playing can get the ball out to the recievers in which case we could win.

 

[Pruitt Will Do It]

Tennessee will win over West Virginia 28-24

 

[BigO95]

Vols 35 WV 21

Vols by 14! Chandler rushes for 224 yards on 15 carries and Grier gets sidelined in the 1st QTR by a terrific Paul Bain sack!!!

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

31-28 UT on a last second fg by Cimaglia

 

[BigO95]

31-28 UT on a last second fg by Cimaglia

That sounds good too!

 

[molsen81]

WVU has some serious offensive power........but plays against Big 12 defenses. We don't know how they will respond to a SEC defense. We're pretty much starting from scratch, so how will we respond? It's a toss up. I'll be at either Blue Light or Wild Hare in San Francisco watching the game. Come join us if you're in the area.

 

[SmokinBob]

I always believe we will win.

 

[Pruitt Will Do It]

WVU has some serious offensive power........but plays against Big 12 defenses. We don't know how they will respond to a SEC defense. We're pretty much starting from scratch, so how will we respond? It's a toss up. I'll be at either Blue Light or Wild Hare in San Francisco watching the game. Come join us if you're in the area.

It would be nice if the Tennessee D could KO WV QB Will Grier early in the game

 

[checkerboards09]

Run the ball down their throats sustaining 5+ minute drives and play good defense. If that happens, we win in a landslide.

 

[YankeeVol]

Too many unknowns for Tennessee for me to vote with confidence either way.

For now, I say WVU wins by 3-14

 

[zeppelin128]

Too many unknowns for Tennessee for me to vote with confidence either way.

For now, I say WVU wins by 3-14

If we can run the ball like I hope, and control the clock, I think we win by 3-7.

If it is a shootout, I'd say WV by 10-14.

 

[bigorangecrush89]

I'm curious to see what the majority of Volnation thinks will win this game.

Will our defense shut down Will Grier and ruin his Heisman dreams?
I think Kirkland coming back for us is a big key in spying on WG.
Will our offense pick apart their defense with the return of Jennings helping?
Other than scoring more points, what's our key to winning this game?
What DB would you put on their best WR in Sills?

This is what their roster looks like from last year:

QB: Will Grier 3,500 yards, 64.4% completion rate, 34 TD, 12 INT's. Grier was hurt at the end of the season( He played in 11 games, having put up those numbers)

RB: They lose their 1,060 yard rusher in Justin Crawford 2017 stats: AVG 5.5 ypc, 191 rushes and 7 TD's.
Returning is:
6'0 198lb JR Kennedy McKoy 2017 stats: 565 yards on 111 carries, Avg 5.1 ypc and 7 TD's.
5'9 210lb JR Martell Pettaway 2017 stats: 145 yards on 41 carries, Avg 3.5 and 2 TD's

WR: They lose Ka'Rawn White who had 978 yards and 11 TD's last season
Returning is:
6'2 215lb SR Gary Jennings Jr 2017 stats: 94 rec, 1,030 yards and only 1 TD
6'4 204lb SR David Sills V 2017 stats: 60 rec, 980 yards with 18 TD's
Suspended for our game is:
6'0 194lb JR Marcus Simms 2017 stats: 32 rec, 630 yards with 5 TD's

How does Volnation think we stack up to last years 2nd leading scoring offense in West Virginia?

Looking at the poll numbers, there's alot of Vol fans out there more ootimistic than I am, wow. I picked lose by 14+.

 

[k-town_king]

34-24 good guys

 

[Negan]

I think we have a shot if the Vols play 60 minutes of football. I believe Pruitt will have them prepared, and I am really hoping we surpass expectations this year.

 

[allenrikvik]

21-17 UT: UT keeps the WVU offense off the field. To accomplish, UT must establish the run and short passing game and control the clock (think GT) - best defense is a good offense. Defense needs to stop the run game and force WVU to one dimension. UT will need to execute and avoid penalties. Think QB (assumes JG), will have several designed rolls, passing to the TE and slots and opening quick hit running plays. WVU will want to blitz and press to force a fast game pace and mental errors.

 

[OneVolNation]

I'm pretty sure Coach Sherrer has studied Holgorsen's modified Air Raid offense and knows what Grier looks for from the LBs to determine if he'll hand off, keep, or pass( i.e. If he stays put or falls back with a coverage look, he'll hand off or keep to exploit that leverage but if he plays run or blitzes, he'll pass to the receiver left open to exploit the leverage of more players there. There is a film analysis that breaks it down from the WVU point of view last season floating around somewhere).

We know WVU offense doesn't run the MESH from the Air Raid and uses more verticals in Holgorsen's modified O. He also uses that diamond (and half-diamond) and runs a lot of plays from the same formation to try to fool the D. They also run a lot more than traditional Mumme and Leach Air Raids. WVU strives for balanced distribution to playmakers/skill positions to get the ball to speed in space. They could pass to the running backs as much as they do to their receivers and could run as much as 50-60% depending on what the defense gives them.

There is a way to know what Grier looks for that he uses to hand off instead of keep or pass. If we can show him that every play and then adjust as soon as he hands it off, we could force them to run much more than they intend and shut down their air attack while keeping the run game stuffed at the same time.

I saw someone here ask how Holgorsen and WVU scripts. WVU scripts for redzone, 3rd and short (1 or 2 yards) 90% run on 3rd and 1), 3rd and medium (3rd and 3 to 3rd and 6), 3rd and long(3rd and 7+ yards), as well as scripts presnap fake looks depending on how defenses respond to different players in motion before the snap and then changes it up to throw them off the scent. He also scripts plays for specific blitzes.

With that in mind, it would be great to see some zone blitz fakes and presnap looks to confuse Grier mixed in.

WVU does that fake hurry up huddle where they send their wideouts to line up first to try to keep the defense off balance but it's really a no huddle even though it looks like they're huddling. They're really just standing there for a few seconds and then sprint to the line of scrimmage to throw the defense off balance.

Here is a video of the coaching clinic coach Dana Holgorsen did where he explains in step by step detail how he scripts plays for each opponent starting the Monday before every game. It has only a little over 3100 views and was intended for his brand of Air Raid coaches, but in my opinion it couldn't hurt our coaches to see for some competitive intelligence purposes.




I believe the strategy for defeating Holgorsen and shutting down Grier has been exposed and that our coaches being among the very best in the country will have our players ready and prepared to win.

Vols by at least a touchdown.

 

[General Jack]

Unfortunately I think that WVUs continuity of coaching staff and QB gets them a 2 TD win. I think we keep it close for a half but they pull away in the second by exposing our weaknesses and hitting a couple big plays. They’ve had a pretty decent program and we’ve got OJT at HC and DC.

Hope I’m wrong.

 

[10acvols]

STATEMENT GAME.... 21-13 Good Guys.

 

[KnoxRealtorVOL]

I’m here for the “Pole inside” party

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Wish it could be different, but West Virginia's offense will be way too much for the bottom of the SEC Tennessee defense.

WV will run and pass at will against Tennessee.

West Virginia 47
Tennessee 20

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Grier is on the Heisman list. People like to crack jokes about him but the guy is a very good QB. One of the worst defenses in the nation last year isnt just going to turn into one of the best in a year. Same goes with our offense. So WV doesnt have a good defense? Do we even have what can be called a decent offense? Who knows? Whole new staff with position changes, new schemes, uncertainty at QB sets up for a UT loss.

WV- 49
UT- 28

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

It would be nice if the Tennessee D could KO WV QB Will Grier early in the game

That would be payback for that juicer not being suspended until after our game a few years back!

 

[HuntlandVolinColo]

Grier is on the Heisman list. People like to crack jokes about him but the guy is a very good QB. One of the worst defenses in the nation last year isnt just going to turn into one of the best in a year. Same goes with our offense. So WV doesnt have a good defense? Do we even have what can be called a decent offense? Who knows? Whole new staff with position changes, new schemes, uncertainty at QB sets up for a UT loss.

WV- 49
UT- 28

We have plenty of talent on offense. Last year we were beset by two major problems: injuries on the OL and predictability.

We can hang with them on offense because our defense will be better than theirs. Improved S&C pays off in game 1 verses non-SEC opponent!