WVU Fans Can Officially Sound the Alarm on One Huge Offensive Issue

If West Virginia had just beaten Ohio on Saturday, they would have likely had Pat McAfee and College GameDay coming to Morgantown for the Backyard Brawl against Pitt. Instead, Rich Rodriguez and his team lost 17-10 in Athens, Ohio.

Obviously, the injury late in the first half to star running back Jahiem White didn’t help the offense, but Rich Rodriguez will not be using his injury as an excuse. One massive issue that was noticeable from the start was the WVU offensive line. 

Jack Bicknell Jr.’s unit was flat-out horrible against Ohio. The Bobcats' front seven had their way against WVU and stopped the run, as well as the offense as a whole. White left the game in the first half with six carries for 40 rushing yards and finished as the leading rusher by 22 yards. That’s enough evidence for this offensive line not having a good day.  Almost everything failed for this WVU offense when it mattered most.

Rich Rod tried to use the legs of quarterback Nicco Marchiol, and when that didn’t work, he turned to Jaylen Henderson. Both options were futile for WVU, and now they must make do without White for the foreseeable future. 

Rodriguez prides himself on his Hard Edge mantra, but the big guys up front didn't play with that mentality on Saturday. That group failing to get a push directly led to the Mountaineers playing behind the sticks for much of the day. WVU's defense forced three turnovers, but the offense was unable to capitalize.

If Rich Rod wants to get a bounce-back win in Week 3 against bitter rival Pitt, improving this offensive line quickly is a must. Through just two games, it's fair to say this offensive line has underperformed. It is a group that lost all five starters from last year, so it's going to take time for that bunch to gel, but still, it has to be much better than what they've put on tape so far.

Losing to Ohio wasn't ideal, but it's not the end of the season. A win over Pitt would get the momentum back for Rodriguez, but that starts with improved offensive line play.