What Dana Holgorsen Said About West Virginia

Holgorsen discusses facing his former team and what the Mountaineers do well.

What Houston must improve on ahead of playing WVU

"Let's start with good old-fashioned blocking and tackling. I mean, our tackling was horrendous. I think it was over 20 some missed tackles. It's as bad as it's been since I've been here. That was a focus. This team that we're playing, West Virginia, they're really really good at blocking and tackling. You turn the video on, you can see it. They just don't miss a whole lot of tackles and offensively, it's all about the run game and blocking people up front. It's a huge challenge for us and where we're at."

What to expect from West Virginia

"Four quarters is going to be a focus. I mean, West Virginia is going to shorten the game. They're going to try to control the clock. They're one of the nation's leaders in time of possession. They try to limit possessions, that's how they play. They're really good on defense and most of their games have been low-scoring games and shorter football games."

What it will be like facing WVU for the first time

"It's a question I'm going to get all week this week, obviously. This is the first-ever meeting between West Virginia and Houston. At the end of the day, I've been in this situation a lot where you leave a place and you play them and all that. So the best way I've figured out how to approach it is turn the phone off and go to work. This is for the fans. The fans get into that. I mean, I enjoyed my time at West Virginia, there's no question. A lot of really, really, really good people and I know a lot of them are coming. It should make for an exciting game. But at the end of the day, it's about me doing my job and getting my team ready to play."

If he asked not to go to Morgantown this year

"I didn't. I'm shocked that didn't happen. My prediction was Week 3, year one, that was going to happen. We'll see them next year up there. They're going to travel. They got a great fan base. Mountaineer Nation is alive and well. They're playing well. They got tremendous support. They're coming."

Thoughts on Garrett Greene

"He's their starting quarterback. He was hurt two games ago and then they played the freshman. They won't change what they do regardless of who's playing, but this is Garrett Greene's team. He played well against TCU. They played well against TCU in all phases. The two teams that have beat us, they beat those guys."

Thoughts on CJ Donaldson

"Donaldson is a tremendous player. He's big. We got to stop the run. We didn't do that against Texas Tech. We got our work cut out for us."

If he'll talk to guys on his roster who transferred from WVU

"I will talk to those guys. And it's no different than me coaching against somebody I've known for a long time. When you get into the game, it's just about the game."

The passing of Dale Wolfley

"My condolences go out to Dale Wolfley's family. Wolfman was on my staff. He was a great player there. He worked there forever. He was very important to a lot of people and to Mountaineer Nation, so my condolences go out to his family. He's going to be missed. I coached two of his kids. He meant a lot to me. I'm sure he was going to be here. But I just wanted to send my condolences to Mountaineer Nation."

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Publisher of Mountaineers Now on FanNation/Sports Illustrated. Lead recruiting expert and co-host of Between the Eers, Walk Thru GameDay Show, Mountaineers Now Postgame Show, and In the Gun Podcast.