⚡ CFB Dashboard

- West Virginia has allowed 5.54 yards per play through two games and a gain of at least 10 yards roughly once every three snaps, according to the report. Those figures quantify the explosive-play problem associated with Zac Alley's concerns about defensive communication and assignment execution.

- LB: Back when he was a player, Mike Vick had a way of getting a head coach's attention.

- Rich Rodriguez said West Virginia's largely new offensive line has generally played well and is moving toward having 10 or 11 players the staff trusts, above his preferred minimum of eight. He described no fixed rotation plan, so the comments indicate developing depth rather than a settled substitution schedule. - Rodriguez said Chris Talley remains out and might need another week or two. He is hopeful receiver Prince Strachan can play if practice goes well, valuing his size outside. Those are tentative recovery and participation expectations, not clearance for either player. - JaCorey Thomas had a hearing scheduled for Thursday, with Rodriguez saying the team might learn more then. The Tuesday interview provides no ruling or confirmed availability change. - Despite shutting out UT Martin, Rodriguez said West Virginia's defense fell short of its capability and allowed some big plays through containment errors. Block shedding and tackling are priorities against Virginia's downhill rushing approach and physical running quarterback Beau Pribula. - Rodriguez expressed confidence in Michael Hawkins' passing decisions and said West Virginia practices concepts it has not yet called. The staff can expand the offense as Hawkins gains experience, but Rodriguez stressed limiting the plan to plays the team can execute rather than overloading it.

- West Virginia has run on 112 of its first 138 offensive plays, producing 597 rushing yards at 5.3 per carry with seven touchdowns. The offense averages 6.8 yards per play and 41.5 points per game, but the preview identifies Virginia as its strongest opponent so far. The early production is heavily run-driven, not evidence of a balanced pass-heavy attack. - West Virginia's roster has 34 returning players and 88 newcomers, and 20 players have made their first WVU starts this season. That group includes quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., running back Cam Cook, four offensive linemen and multiple defensive starters. The preview also reports 21 freshmen appearing, underscoring the amount of early-season integration rather than announcing new promotions.

- West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley identified communication as a recurring problem against UT Martin: only a handful of players were talking. He wants defenders anticipating formation changes and motion, explicitly communicating their adjustments instead of assuming a teammate knows the assignment. - West Virginia's defense repeatedly failed to execute the calls it had practiced, according to Alley. He attributed some improvised assignments to players being young in the system and made call consistency a practice emphasis this week. His assessment was that players now have a clearer plan, not that the execution problems have already been solved. - West Virginia has shut out opponents in two halves, but Alley emphasized down-to-down consistency rather than isolated stops or turnovers. The communication and assignment issues remain a concern despite those strong stretches; the article does not announce a lineup change.

- West Virginia has rushed for 597 yards through two games, led by dual-threat quarterback Michael Hawkins and running back Cam Cook. Cook has 194 yards and three touchdowns on 40 carries; Hawkins is 16-of-21 passing for 287 yards and three touchdowns. The line, including true freshman left tackle Kevin Brown, has allowed one sack and seven tackles for loss. - West Virginia's defense has allowed 200 rushing yards while producing 18 tackles for loss and seven sacks through two games. Pass defense has been less convincing: 543 yards allowed at 7.8 per pass. The preview cautions that Coastal Carolina and UT Martin were playing from behind, but identifies passing as a potential way to attack a strong defensive front.

- Injury: On Rich- What I remember about Coach Coach Rich Rod is intense, very.

- OL/DL: If I remember right, Nehlen said UVA OL was chop blocking our DL and hurting our guys.

- QB/OL: Position Most important traits Why QB Decision speed, legitimate running ability, toughness, ball handling, short/intermediate accuracy He is simultaneously passer, runner and post-snap decision maker RB Vision, patience, one-cut acceleration, lateral agility, balance Zone...

- LB: Mike, you keep mentioning people on kickoff being scared of Jason Halls.

- Andrew Corbett identifies Troy transfer DJ Epps as Michael Hawkins' emerging go-to receiver: through two games, Epps caught all five targets for 148 yards and a touchdown. Corbett highlights his zone awareness, reliable hands and yards after the catch, while treating the early role as evidence to watch rather than an established high-volume passing attack. - Hawkins leads WVU with 206 rushing yards, 7.6 per carry and three rushing touchdowns; the report credits him with 10 forced missed tackles. His passing has been accurate but limited to 21 attempts against lesser opposition and simple reads. Handling pressure against Virginia remains an untested part of the quarterback evaluation. - Corbett describes Rich Rodriguez's offense as a fast, predominantly zone-based rushing attack built around Hawkins and Cam Cook. Inside zone, split zone with an H-back crossing the formation, attached read options, designed quarterback counters and quick RPOs are the central concepts; the opening-game calls have remained fairly basic. - Corbett warns that UT Martin's zero offensive points masked successful drives, explosives and red-zone access spoiled by turnovers and a missed field goal. Coastal Carolina also passed for nearly 400 yards in the opener. He identifies secondary communication and overly complicated defensive calls as concerns, rather than treating the shutout as proof of strong defense.

- After the 52-7 UT Martin win, Rich Rodriguez was dissatisfied with West Virginia's defense despite the margin. He thought the unit looked uncomfortable at times and allowed too many chunk plays. He wanted film review before identifying whether unfamiliar looks caused the problems and warned that the same breakdowns would be costly against Virginia. - Rodriguez praised Michael Hawkins' field vision, ability to create with his feet and timing on seam throws. Scotty Fox and Jyron Hughley also received work as West Virginia used younger players. The comments support Hawkins' execution and a chance to evaluate the backups, not a change at starting quarterback. - Rodriguez said Lawrence Autry is healthy and praised Martavious Boswell's practice work and runs against UT Martin. He expects to need the entire backfield during eight straight weeks without an open date. That is a depth and availability update, not a promise of a particular carry split. - West Virginia's first-half offense was efficient, but Rodriguez wanted more explosive runs even while praising the overall big-play production. He prefers to repeat the same formations and schemes when the run game is working. He also emphasized that UT Martin was a game WVU should win and the schedule now becomes much harder.

- WR/DB: If you’re engaged with wr physically, you have to at least look like you’re going to try to make a play on the ball.

- Pick/market: They replaced their QB before half.

- West Virginia beat UT Martin 52-7 after scoring touchdowns on its opening drives in both games this season. WVU already has five first-quarter touchdowns, but that improvement has come against a G6 opponent and an FCS opponent rather than a Power 4 defense. - WVU created clean explosive passing opportunities for Michael Hawkins: DJ Epps beat the safety on a third-and-10 vertical from the slot, and a toss-sweep fake following pulling-line action left Ryan Ward uncovered for a 34-yard touchdown to open the second half. - The 28-0 halftime lead masked defensive problems: UT Martin ran 46 plays to WVU's 23, held possession 22:13 to 7:47 and completed 14 of 20 passes. A red-zone fumble and missed field goal helped keep the visitors scoreless, limiting what the margin says about defensive control. - UT Martin produced pass gains of 24 and 25 yards and a 48-yard run early against WVU. A separate 54-yard touchdown pass was erased by an illegal chop block, so it should not be counted as an allowed score; the report still flags vulnerability to explosive plays ahead of Virginia. - WVU used its second offense with a 42-0 lead, including quarterbacks Scotty Fox and then Jyron Hughley. Hughley finished a later drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kedrick Triplett; an earlier red-zone drive settled for a field goal after center Josh Aisosa snapped before officials were ready. These were reserve reps, not a reported starting-QB change.