Holgorsen Expects Toughest Challenge yet with Texas Tech

Morgantown, WV – Another Tuesday press conference is in the books as the Mountaineers have officially turned their attention to No. 25 Texas Tech.

The Mountaineers are preparing for its stiffest challenge yet, with a high octane offense powered by true freshman quarterback Alan Bowman.

“It will be a challenge for us defensively, one I know we will be ready for. Their offense is something that we haven’t seen yet this year, but we will be ready for it.” Coach Holgorsen said.

Texas Tech comes into this week as the nations top ranked offense averaging 623.5 yards per game. “Hopefully we can pressure the quarterback. They like to get the ball out quick. We have to take the easy stuff away from them. We will see if we are as good as we think and get to the quarterback.” Holgorsen said.

Last week Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury admitted that he needed to run the ball more in order to be more efficient and successful. Holgorsen sees a similarity between the two offenses, “They kind of have a revolving door at running back, much like us. They have good backs and are able to keep them fresh.”

Lubbock is certainly a daunting place for highly ranked opponents to come into. The Red Raiders seem to play at their highest level for these games at home and they have one of the most underrated home field advantages in all of college football. I’m sure all of you remember the game in 2012 when West Virginia came in rolling with a 5-0 record and ranked 5th in the country with a Heisman contending quarterback, Geno Smith. The season was derailed with a 49-14 loss.

Holgorsen spoke on the rowdiness of the crowd down in Lubbock, “We’re well aware of the environment down there. I’ve seen it up close in person for many, many years. We will be ready for it.”

Holgorsen was also asked if he would try to play ball control more in this game to keep it out of Texas Tech’s hands. He responded, “That’s something we will have to gauge as the game goes along. It could be high scoring or low scoring, we don’t know how it will go. Believe it or not, we want something positive on each play. Whether it’s a first down or a touchdown. We may score on two plays like we did against Kansas State, but if we are efficient and win time of possession, I won’t complain about it.”

The overall feeling is that Holgorsen feels pretty comfortable with a veteran group heading into Lubbock. High scoring or low scoring the teams compusure will be key in hopes of not getting tripped up on the road this Saturday.