The No. 5 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers will roll into
Texas for the second time in less than a week after their thrilling 48-45
victory at Daryl K. Royal Memorial Stadium down in Austin last Saturday night.
With a home date against Kansas State looming, the
Mountaineers trip to Lubbock poses as a typical Big 12 trap game.
“There will be 60,000 that care about their football; I
would assume that will be pretty rowdy as well,” Mountaineer head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “That’s the beauty with being in the Big 12
- every game is like that. Now was Texas a little bit above and beyond based on
101,000? Yes. Coach (Mack) Brown even said it was the greatest crowd ever. That
environment exists, and we need to get used to being in those types of environments
and having those types of games.”
Anyone who has followed Tech over the years,
knows that the Red Raiders are very dangerous at home on any given Saturday.
Holgorsen
certainly understands how hostile Jones AT&T Stadium can get
as he was an assistant coach at Texas Tech from 2000-2007.
After last week, he is well aware what kind of challenges
these hostile Big 12 crowds pose for opposing road teams.
“That’s why we wanted to be in the Big 12,” he said. “If
they thought that was fun, we have another one this week. I can’t wait; I’m
looking forward to it. I had fun, our players had fun and our 10,000 fans had
fun. If they all thought that was fun and Baylor was fun, then they will
probably have a good time this weekend.”
Fatigue and jet lag could play a small factor for West
Virginia and could possibly have a direct outcome on the game. A
fast start will be key for the Mountaineers if they want to
escape Lubbock with a win.