COLUMN: Zac Alley and WVU’s defense got the last laugh against TCU
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MORGANTOWN - Zac Alley was absolutely mobbed on the West Virginia sideline on Saturday, to the point where the embattled WVU defensive coordinator nearly lost his headset and may have been forced to enter concussion protocol if the celebration lasted only a few more seconds.
It was well deserved, as the Mountaineers walked out of Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas with an impressive 24-20 victory against TCU.
"I'm so proud of (the defense), because they've had a tough four weeks," WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez told ESPN after the game. "They won the game today. When we had to have a stop, they had a stop. I'm so proud of coach Alley and the defensive guys. It was a great win."
After TCU had just moved the ball 76 yards and appeared to be seconds away from the game-winning touchdown, WVU defensive end David Afogho came off the edge and hit TCU quarterback Jaden Craig from behind and forced a fumble. WVU linebacker Ben Cutter pounced on it to end the game.
"Ben loves West Virginia and he does anything and everything to help our program," Rodriguez continued. "I'm proud of him. I'm proud of all the guys, the staff and everybody. We battled through this and got a great win on the road."
That's the moment that will be remembered, as WVU (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) won its first true road game since knocking off Houston on Nov. 1 of last season. Left for dead a few weeks ago, the Mountaineers are once again back in bowl contention in Rodriguez's second season.
It wasn't Alley's finest moment of the game, though. For that, you have to rewind the clock a few minutes to an earlier point in the fourth quarter.
As it turned out, TCU (3-4, 1-3) had two really good opportunities to win this game in the fourth quarter. The last one was snuffed out by Afogho. The one about nine minutes earlier was Alley's finest moment.
Setting it up is to already tell a familiar story of yards being gained, receivers being wide open and quarterbacks scrambling for yards and first downs.
That is what was happening for TCU in the moments after Cam Cook caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Michael Hawkins Jr. to give the Mountaineers a 24-20 lead.
Craig found a wide open Kari Ashley in the seam for a 37-yard gain. That was the first play of the possession, and now TCU was already in WVU territory.
On a side note, Ashley - a senior tight end who finished with 118 yards on six receptions - looks every bit the part of a future NFL tight end. He's projected as the third-best tight end available for the 2027 draft, and for good reason.
Anyway, after that, WVU defensive back Andrew Powdrell - remember that name - was called for defensive holding, which moved the ball further up the field. There were some short passes and some short runs, which all set Alley up to shine.
It was fourth-and-two from the WVU 20. TCU had already marched 55 yards on the drive, so this seemed like a gimmie.
Not sure what WVU's football terminology is for the play. In basketball terms, it was a switch coverage. Powdrell was lined up directly over TCU receiver Jordan Dwyer and Dwyer, too, had himself a day with 10 catches for 113 yards.
Dwyer was on the outside and Ed Small was in the slot. The play developed as if Alley, and maybe even Powdrell, knew exactly what was coming.
Dwyer went inside and Small ran a quick out route and Dowdrell simply switched over to Small to cover up that option. He did so without allowing himself to get screened off and the safety came up to cover Dwyer.
Craig held onto the ball too long. He could have hit Dwyer, but failed to pull the trigger. Instead, he threw a pass out to the flat and that option had no chance.
"We really needed this. I'm glad we got the opportunity to win this game on defense," Cutter said. "That was a great confidence booster and we really needed that."
For those who were waiting for a bad TCU offense to light it up against a struggling WVU defense, well, it sort of happened. TCU gained 484 yards. Craig completed his first 12 passes. Guys were wide open throughout the day.
Yet, when it mattered most, Alley and WVU's defense had the final laugh. History will remember the final stop, but Alley and WVU came up with two big ones on this day.
"There were times our defensive ends got some pressure with a three-man rush," Rodriguez said. "There were times our coverage was there and sometimes it wasn't. We were making them execute. It looked like the plan - as opposed to some other times this year - we made them execute, even on some of the plays they made. You can live with that. In the end, they didn't execute and we did, so we win."