QB Michael Hawkins leads WVU football to game-winning field goal over Cincinnati for 1st Big 12 win
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MORGANTOWN – West Virginia football faced a third-and-9 from its own two-yard line. The Mountaineers needed just a field goal to win the game over Cincinnati. With his fit on his own colors, quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. snapped the ball and heaved a pass to receiver Prince Strachan, who caught the ball in heavy contact, for the first down. Hawkins hit Strachan again for a big gain, putting the Mountaineers in field goal range.
Kicker Jack Cassidy booted a 35-yard field goal to win the back-and-forth shootout over the Bearcats 45-42 as time expired. The Mountaineers picked up their first Big 12 win of the season and broke a three-game losing streak to move above .500 at 4-3 (1-3). Cincinnati fell to 4-2 and 1-2 in conference play.
"How about Mike Hawkins?" Rich Rodriguez said. "He was phenomenal. I didn’t know he rode through for 464, but he made some great throws."
Hawkins dazzled all game, being asked to do the impossible at some points, like trying to make a play in his own end zone, but he answered the call. The Oklahoma transfer showed off his athleticism multiple times, extending plays by rolling outside of the pocket, hurdling defenders like on his first rushing touchdown, or throwing jump passes for a score.
The first-year Mountaineers starter threw the ball the most he's had to this season, completing 25-of-33 passes and throwing for a career high and the fifth-most in program history, 464 yards. The most Hawkins threw before Saturday was his freshman year at Oklahoma, where he threw for 247 yards against Navy. He had the game-tying touchdown on a screen to running back Cam Cook, giving him three passing touchdowns on the afternoon.
Hawkins spread the ball out quite a bit. Receiver D.J. Epps led the team with eight catches, including a big 43-yard touchdown. The Mountaineers had nine different receivers catch a pass.
"Getting the quick game early in the game was the biggest thing," Hawkins said. "It's kind of something we focused on. Just gave me more rhythm early in the game, give my guys some touches, so I kind of think that opened up the passing game more throughout the game. That was like the biggest thing for us."
Hawkins helped out a lot on the ground, too. The rushing attack wasn't as successful as it’s been, so Hawkins created some of his own running lanes outside of the pocket. He carried the ball 26 times for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
The Mountaineers ran the ball for just 134 yards, averaging 2.9 yards per carry. Cook had 40 yards on the ground, and backup true freshman Amari Latimer had the other.
The offense totaled 598 yards and averaged 7.6 yards per play. The Mountaineers outgained Cincinnati 363 to 256 in the second half. WVU only led once, and that was after the field goal went through.
But the only way the game-winning drive was possible was because the defense created a stop in a pressure situation. All eyes were on defensive coordinator Zac Alley and West Virginia's defense. A defense that had been gashed by every Big 12 team that lined up opposite of them, and had Alley losing sleep.
Alley's defense stuffed Cincinnati's rushing attack and then forced a stop on third down. The Bearcats had to punt.
"They had to get a stop to win, and they got a stop," Rodriguez said. "We don’t have that chance to win right if our defense doesn’t make that key stop."
There’s still a lot to improve on.
Cincinnati quarterback J.C. French IV passed for a season-high 389 yards and three touchdowns. The Bearcats gained another 233 yards on the ground, with running back Cole Tab having 118 yards of that. The defense gave up 42 points, making it four straight with 40-plus points allowed, and 622 yards of total offense.
WVU still needs to fix a lot to get more wins in the second half of the season, but Rodriguez could finally breathe a sigh of relief after getting back into the win column. The Mountaineers head to TCU next weekend.
"It’s hard winning," Rodriguez said. "It’s just hard, and it’s very frustrating to know that we have some pieces in place, but we also have a lot of work to do."