Seven games in and seven games of great production from the West Virginia offense. The defense? Well, there's certainly a lot going on over there that isn't working. But we'll get to that in a second.
I checked the Pro Football Focus grades this morning and was a little surprised at how low some of the grades were for the Mountaineers' offense despite putting up 45 points. Let's take a look.
QB Mike Hawkins Jr. - 80.2
RB Amari Latimer - 68.7RB Cam Cook - 57.3
WR DJ Epps - 81.3
WR Cyrus Traugh - 77.6
WR Prince Strachan - 69.3
WR John Neider - 60.2
WR TaRon Francis - 55.6
WR Jaden Bray - 52.3
TE Ryan Ward - 74.1
TE Josh Sapp - 67.5
TE Cam Ball - 45.7
OL Carsten Casady - 65.1
OL Wes King - 59.1
OL Amare Grayson - 58.7
OL Malik Agbo - 57.4
OL Kevin Brown - 56.1
OL Nick Krahe - 51.6
Hawkins, Epps, Ward, Strachan, and Traugh all check out, to some degree. Each of them had a major impact on the game.
I didn't think that the offensive line blocked things up particularly well in the run game and had some issues in pass pro, but mainly when Cincinnati brought numbers. Five of the six linemen finishing in the 50s seems a bit low. I would have had them in the mid-60s. Well, at least some of them.
You could probably make an argument that Strachan and Amari Latimer should have been in the 70s and Hawkins in the high 80s, maybe even 90s. I mean, the dude threw for 464 yards and rushed for 77 and did not have a single turnover-worthy play.
DL Zeke Durham-Campbell - 71.6
DL Will LeBlanc - 61.7
DL Taylor Brown - 60.3
DL K.J. Henson - 60.2
DL Emerson Joy - 58.7
DL Nate Gabriel - 51.7
DL Corey McIntyre Jr. - 49.6
DL Yendor Mack - 49.4
EDGE Harper Holloman - 65.8
EDGE Tobi Haastrup - 60.1EDGE David Afogho - 52.8
EDGE Jeremiah Johnson - 52.2
LB Jason Hall Jr. - 76.1
LB Cam Torbor - 58.5
LB Ben Cutter - 55.0
LB Ashton Woods - 49.7
LB Isaiah Patterson - 45.6
CB Andrew Powdrell - 66.2
CB Chams Diagne - 64.9
CB Jason Chambers - 63.6
CB Keyshawn Robinson - 60.0
N/S Geimere Latimer - 71.7
S JaCorey Thomas - 69.0
S Kameron Reddic - 62.1
S Kamari Wilson - 50.2
S Jacob Bradford - 50.0
S Matt Sieg - 41.7
Much of the same here for the defense, unfortunately for Zac Alley's sanity. The safeties just aren't getting it done, and the linebackers had a rough day in pass coverage. Jason Hall Jr. graded the highest at 76.1, but he only played nine defensive snaps on the afternoon. And lastly, the defensive line failed to get much push, but it didn't help that they lost Corey McIntyre Jr. and Nate Gabriel, two of their top and most consistent performers.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/westvirginia as WVU's Offense Lands Super Low PFF Grades Despite 45-Point Performance .
