Rich Rodriguez Credits the Offensive Line and the Offense's Fast Start

The West Virginia Mountaineers (3-6, 1-6) upset the No. 22 Houston Cougars (7-2, 4-2) Saturday afternoon 45-35.

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez met with the media and credited the offensive line for the Mountaineers 246 rushing yards, discussed freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr.’s efficient afternoon and starting fast on offense.

Opening statement

“Really proud of the guys. Played hard. Just kept working it. I was like, where’s this been? It’s been there it’s just we had to put it all together. Great win against a ranked team on the road. We’re going to enjoy the heck out of it for 24 hours and move on. But really proud of the guys.”

The offensive line paving the way for 246 rushing yards against Houston

“We talked all week about coming off the ball and know they’re capable of doing it and they did it. To end the game getting a key first down when everybody knows you’re going to run it kind of embodies what we want up front. We could have done some different stuff, but I wanted to see if we can do it. Can we make a first down when we have to make a first down when everybody knows we’re going to run it and they did and sealed the game.

“Our freshman quarterback is growing up. He’s really poised, seeing things out there. Proud of the way he played.

“Diore Hubbard ran his tail off. I challenged him. I said, ‘we got to run hard. Make them tackle you,’ and he ran possessed today.”

The offense’s fast start

“It’s been frustrating because we’ve started off so slowly and it was surprising because I’ve been doing this a long time, I thought our practices were better and thought they would come out better. And sometimes it’s just confidence or what have you, but they came out with confidence today and there were a couple of new things we did but for the most part, they just executed better.

“Our defense made some big turnovers, created some point for us. Its just a good team win.”

Scotty Fox Jr.’s 222 total yards and three total touchdowns

“Took care of the ball. Didn’t throw into harms way. He was seeing the field. There was a couple things. Our quarterbacks make so many decisions in our offense in the run game and the pass game that you’re not going to be a 100 percent, but for a young guy, he was pretty solid. He’s got next level arm talent - I think you can see that. There’s not a throw that he cant make and made some phenomenal ones today.”

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