WVU Must Put Backyard Brawl in Rearview Mirror With Texas Tech Looming

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Good teams put good wins to bed quickly.

West Virginia, coming off its 17-6 Backyard Brawl victory in front a boisterous crowd of 61,106 last Saturday night at Milan Puskar Stadium, must do just that this weekend in its Big 12 opener against 1-2 Texas Tech, a 41-3 winner last Saturday against Tarleton State.

Coach believes having the Red Raiders immediately following the Panthers is good for his football team because Tech has clearly had West Virginia's number the last four years.

"The Backyard Brawl is a huge deal for our fan base and our state, but our players don't necessarily understand all of that," he said Monday afternoon. "I try and educate them on the historical reference of the Backyard Brawl and what it means, but I wouldn't say they understand it like a 20-year season ticket holder or someone who grew up in the state of West Virginia."

Most of them do understand Texas Tech and what the Red Raiders have managed to do against them during their Mountaineer careers though. It's going on five years since the last time WVU tasted victory against Tech, Sept. 29, 2018, in Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock to be exact.

The only player on the team to celebrate a win against Texas Tech is senior cornerback , who was a walk-on freshman defensive back in 2018.

Texas Tech's last two trips to Morgantown have resulted in 38-17 and 23-20 victories. Last year, the Red Raiders routed West Virginia 48-10 in Lubbock in one of the poorest performances the Mountaineers have had under Brown.

"They've had our number. That hits them right in the face," Brown said. "They are the only team in the league that we have not beaten. They've won the last two times here, which doesn't happen very often. If you watch that film, it wouldn't take you very long to get ready for this one, because that was bad ball last year."

Brown listed some of the common themes he's observed in the Red Raiders' four-game winning streak against the Mountaineers.

"They've moved the ball on us pretty well, and we haven't run the football as well as we've needed to run the football versus those guys," Brown said. "Their tempo has been an issue, and we've spent a lot of time in the offseason on these guys, so hopefully it will show up on Saturday."

Senior right tackle admits Tech's two big guys up front, Jaylon Hutchings and Tony Bradford, controlled the line of scrimmage in last year's game. Defensive end Tyree Wilson, the seventh overall pick in last spring's NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, was also a big factor for the Red Raiders.

"Last year, the offensive line didn't play up to our standards, so I think it's a big challenge for us," he said. "We have to come in and produce the way we have these first three games. They put a big challenge on us to go out there and produce.
"They have two really talented guys who played a lot of football, and they were big and long on the edges, and we have to go out there and play better," Nester admitted.

Defensive end was playing at Kentucky last season, but he already understands the importance of this weekend's Big 12 opener.

"The goal is never just to beat Pitt," he said. "Obviously, it was a big game, and it was for the state, but I feel like for the Texas Tech game, they've had our number for the last four years."

The media picked West Virginia to finish last in this year's preseason Big 12 poll, below newcomers BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston, and Durojaiye is aware that those covering the Red Raiders were part of that process.

He views Saturday's game as an opportunity to prove them wrong.

"This is something where we have to go out and show the Big 12 what we're about. The media put us at 14, and that's not who we are," he explained. "I want to be known by the media, and I want to put my name out there for myself and for the team, so we want to go out there and show everybody what we're about."

"Our season goals are not to just beat Pitt, or to play well against whoever it is," defensive coordinator added. "That's not what we're striving to do. It's good that we did it, obviously, but we've got bigger things to take care of, and our whole thing during the entire offseason and into the season is to simply get better. If we continue to do it that's all we want to do tomorrow, and this weekend ,and then we'll worry about the rest of it later."

Safety experienced a big win at Georgia Southern last year when he was a part of the Eagles' upset victory at Nebraska. He said the team just let the momentum of the win carry over into the next week.

"We celebrated the win that night and then the next day we moved on to the next opponent," he said. Wilson did such a great job of putting the Nebraska triumph in his rearview mirror that he forgot what happened the following week. He thought Georgia Southern won again after beating Nebraska, but the Eagles actually lost by two touchdowns to UAB.

Durojaiye is aware that West Virginia is the underdog this Saturday, despite playing the Red Raiders at home – the third consecutive week the Mountaineers are at Milan Puskar Stadium.

"We know what we're capable of as a defense, and everybody has to build trust," he said. "Texas Tech is a tempo team, so the biggest thing is we've got to practice hard and can't take days off in practice."

"They really got after us last year and really controlled the line of scrimmage," Brown noted. "They were one of the few teams the last few years to do that. Their interior guys really got after our interior pieces."

Offensive coordinator said he doesn't have to remind the offensive line of last year's performance.

"They know it," he said.

Brown said another electric environment this weekend can really help his football team.

"Hopefully, we can have the same type of crowd and the same type of atmosphere we had a week ago," Brown concluded.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased by logging on to or by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU GAME.

Saturday's game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+.