West Virginia's Keys to the Game vs Army

The final game of the 2020 season is here for West Virginia as they look to close out the year with a bowl win over Army. For the Mountaineers to win the Liberty bowl, here is what needs to happen:

Execute on offense at a high level

The way Army operates offensively, they're not going to give you many opportunities with the football. In their final game of the season, Air Force only had 45 offensive plays vs the Black Knights in the entire game. That really limits your chances to move the ball and score. When West Virginia has it, they need to find ways to convert on 3rd downs and come away with touchdowns, not field goals. If the Mountaineers can put the ball in the end zone early, it will put Army in a tough spot. Dropped passes have been a season-long issue for West Virginia, that issue must be non-existent in this bowl game.

Stay home on defense

Defending the triple-option is very tricky. You think you have everything figured out then boom, you're turning your head around and chasing down a back that broke loose into the open field. Army uses a lot of movement in the backfield which keeps the defense guessing as to what is about to happen and if you try to anticipate something too much, you could overplay it and get beat. West Virginia just has to do their best to not get out of their gaps and leave open rushing lanes. For the secondary, they can't fall asleep and think every play is going to be a run. Army will throw the football, albeit not much, but when they put it in the air, it usually hits or has big gains.

Play disciplined football

Army head coach Jeff Monken isn't afraid of going for it on 4th downs and if West Virginia jumps offsides or has any sort of penalty that could make it 3rd and medium, he will give thought to going for it on 4th down if they don't convert. When you keep the ball on the ground as much as they do, they feel confident that their big guys up front can get enough push to get 10 yards on four downs. You have to force Army to be in 3rd and long, especially when they have the ball in plus territory.

Playing disciplined could also tie into the 2nd key listed which is staying home defensively.

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