MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Dana Holgorsen isn't shy about voicing his opinion on how the rest of the Big 12 makes its football schedules. And he wants everyone to know his Mountaineers don't shy away from good competition.
"We're going to play power five schools," Holgorsen told media members during the second day of the Big 12 Media Days at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas. "At West Virginia, we play 11 power five schools — NC State and Tennessee along with the nine Big 12 opponents. I wish everybody would do that."
Along with West Virginia, Texas will also play 11 Power 5 schools as the Longhorns will square off with Maryland and USC during the non-conference portion of their schedule.
"It's not quite fair that we have to play that schedule and then you have schools in other respective conferences that play nine," Holgorsen continued. "It's uneven, but we're going to keep doing it."
West Virginia typically features at least one other Power 5 school in its non-conference schedule and played against two such teams back in 2014. The Mountaineers have Missouri and NC State on the 2019 schedule and Florida State and Maryland slated for 2020. And don't forget the renewal of the Backyard Brawl in 2022.
"We're going to play 10 or 11 Power 5 schools every year," Holgorsen said. "I wish the other teams would do that as well. It's good for the fan base, good for TV. It's good for everything."
With tough schedules comes tough expectations. And every year, it seems, West Virginia's fan base places lofty expectations on a team that ultimately under-performs by season's end. This year is no different, and it's actually welcomed by Holgorsen.
"Heck, you want 'em to talk about you," Holgorsen said. "We want you guys to talk about us. Handling the expectations aspect of it, that's what you want."
West Virginia was picked to finish second behind Oklahoma in this year's Big 12 preseason poll, a slot that puts the Mountaineers the highest they've been picked since 2012, when many thought they could compete for a national championship.
Even with the acceptance of high expectations, Holgorsen said it's still business as usual for his team.
"I don't care where you're picked, doesn't matter," he said. "There's pressure everywhere. Pressure to live up to the expectations or pressure to create expectations."
West Virginia's teams in recent years start out strong and then seem to fade as the season rolls on into the Big 12 schedule with teams like Texas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma typically at the back end of things.
With that, a media member questioned West Virginia's depth, citing recent struggles with players becoming burnt out toward the end of the season. Holgorsen gave an optimistic answer.
"The depth has been better and better every year," Holgorsen said, citing a new recruiting strategy that he and his staff put into place four years ago that has been "able to fill holes."
"We've recruited better, we worked with our freshmen and junior college kids all summer. In June, we worked with them, and those guys look different than the guys we've brought in."
Holgorsen said the strategy has been to work to develop young players while finding ready-to-play transfers more frequently. Overall, he said both are coming along finally after added emphasis has been placed on the new strategy.
"I do think depth is the only way you can win this league," he said. "You're going to have guys go down, and you've got to fill those spots with guys that can play at a very high level."
Depth is key, but growth is also critical in a Power 5 conference. For Holgorsen, growth begins with the coaching staff and coaching duties. A little over a year ago, Holgorsen made the move to give play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, a sign of his own personal growth.
The move, Holgorsen said Tuesday, was made out of trust for Spavital, but it also gave Holgorsen a chance to focus on areas he thought were taking big hits and contributing to losses, like special teams.
Meanwhile, the offensive game plan wasn't running "incredibly efficient" last year, Holgorsen said.
"That's been the sole topic of discussion from January 1 until where we're currently at," he said. "I think just watching Jake and (quarterback Will Grier) interact … they've got as good of a relationship that exists from a play caller and quarterback that I've ever seen."
Still, Holgorsen said he's been able to sit back and watch that relationship grow and then work to manage how it will effect the offense.
A few years back, Holgorsen worked exclusively with wide receivers when the team didn't have a coach in place for that position. Before that, he made himself the quarterback coach. And anyone else touch the playbook? Forget about it.
Now, as expectations grow heavy?
"My job is to manage people, whether it's coaches, players, the game," he said. "I spend as much time with the defense as I do offense."