Saturday wasn't Avon Cobourne's best day.
The West Virginia senior tailback rushed for only 79 yards in the Mountaineers' 34-17 loss to the Badgers, far short of his usual performance. Like Wisconsin sophomore running back Anthony Davis, Cobourne is one of the top running backs in the nation and averages more than 100 yards per game. At halftime, Cobourne, who is aiming to surpass Amos Zereoue's West Virginia career record of 4,086 yards, had only 19 rushing yards.
Cobourne regarded his performance, as well as the team's, as subpar to usual standards.
\I should have made more plays today,"" he said, as he wore a dejected look on his face. ""We weren't as physical as we should have been. I think that's one of the things that hurt us.""
Although the second half improved for Cobourne, as he had a six-yard run for a touchdown and a 39-yard gain with a minute left in the fourth quarter, the usually prolific back could not make his way around the Wisconsin defense and had difficulties executing plays. Cobourne, usually a big play-maker who has become West Virginia's primary offensive weapon, could not produce, and West Virginia didn't produce the long drives they needed to win.
""Our first half, we couldn't get into rhythm at all,"" said sophomore quarterback Rasheed Marshall, who rushed for 76 yards. ""We had a few three-and-outs. ... If you can get into a rhythm, that's the key.""
Cobourne never quite established that vital rhythm to the game, and his lackluster performance demonstrated that.
""We just messed up,"" Cobourne said. ""They're a good team but we had opportunities and we just didn't do it when we had the chance to.""
West Virginia Head Coach Rich Rodriguez was disappointed in his team's performance on Saturday.
""Offensively we didn't execute on certain plays and thought maybe we had some big plays coming up, but we didn't execute or hit on those and we got beat by a good football team at their place,"" Rodriguez said.
Wisconsin's defense, which has been looking sharper than in previous seasons, is one reason for the Mountaineers' sluggish running game. Wisconsin held its opponents to less than 400 total yards. Including Cobourne's effort, West Virginia rushed for only 180 yards, compared with the 332 yards gained from rushing in the team's 56-7 trouncing of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Containing Cobourne was especially crucial in UW's win.
""He is a smaller, elusive back and he is very strong,"" Wisconsin junior middle linebacker Jeff Mack said. ""It was important that we closed him off and contained him so he could only run between the tackles.""
The Badgers' solid defense held the Mountaineers' running game and put pressure on Marshall, one reason for the win.
""The fact that they had a lot of guys that were right there around the ball was the biggest factor,"" Rodriguez said.
Wisconsin's persistent defense did not surprise Cobourne.
""We knew everything they were going to do,"" Cobourne said. ""We just didn't execute at all.\
