WVU goes on the road and gets a huge win against TCU to bring our record to 5-3 on the season. We enter the bye week with more wins than we had all of last year and some momentum heading into the final 4 games of the season. How did the Mountaineers pull out the first true road win of the year? Let’s get into it…
Defense
Nobody is going to mistake the WVU defense we saw against TCU with the Steel Curtain, but the fact is that they played a bigger role in getting that win than our offense did. TCU racked up 484 total yards, 29 first downs, and over 37 minutes of possession which is a familiar storyline for our much maligned defense. What was the difference today?
- We played solid against the run holding TCU to 112 yards rushing 49 of which come on 2 plays. By the time the 4th quarter came along TCU felt pretty one dimensional.
- Our defense forced TCU to execute on long drives instead of frustrating 2 or 3 play TD drives we have given up over the past 4 games. We still gave up far to many big plays, especially on 3rd down, but we kept everything in front of us, and made TCU prove they could execute consistently on 10 or even 15 play drives, and TCU couldn’t do that consistently without turning the ball over.
- We forced 3 turnovers, including a strip sack on the final drive that iced the game.
As bad as the defense has been this year this is the 2nd week in a row where they got a stop when they had to. Hopefully they can build off this through the bye week.
Offense
If I had written this immediately following the game, I would have had a hard time saying anything positive about our offense following that game. I felt the play calling was extremely conservative and the offense just simply refused to step on TCU’s throat by taking a 2 score lead anytime our defense got a stop or turnover. Excluding the final defensive stop of the game, the WVU defense forced a punt, missed field goal, or turnover on 5 TCU possessions throughout the game. The WVU offense did not score a single point when they got the ball after those stops.
Watching our offense fail to execute our defense did their job time and time again was extremely frustrating, so how can we consider the offense a positive? We still found a way to put up 24 points on the best defense in the Big 12. The TCU hadn’t given up more than 21 points in any game this season. The offense did not have their best day for sure, but they did enough. 24 points against the best defense in the Big 12 is what a bad day for our offense looks like and that says something.
Michael Hawkins Jr. & Cam Cook
Neither Michael Hawkins or Cam Cook put up crazy numbers today, but they both entered this game with a storyline and made plays that ended up being the difference in the game. Cam Cook was returning to TCU where he started his college career before transferring. Michael Hawkins Jr. played his High School football in the Fort Worth area.
Cam Cook had a couple of his signature tough runs that turned what looked like negative plays into positive gains. Michael Hawkins Jr. had a 36 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter that really put us in control of the game. The two hooked up on a 13 yard touchdown pass in the 4th quarter. That score got us to 24 points which proved to be enough for the win.
This team is showing some toughness
Things were pretty dark during that 3 game losing steak and even for 59 minutes and 38 seconds of the Cincinnati game. To enter this bye week on a 2 game win streak feels like, a huge win and gives us a reason to believe that anything is possible for the final 4 games of the season.
What were your keys to victory? How are you feeling about the rest of the season? Let me know in the comments!
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