WVU’s defense comes up big in 24-20 victory against TCU
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TCU had West Virginia football on its heels. The Horned Frogs had the ball on the Mountaineers’ 14-yard line down 24-20 with just under a minute to play. The defense needed a stop. On second and 10, TCU quarterback Jaden Craig dropped back to pass, and the defense swallowed him. Craig fumbled the ball, and in the scrum, linebacker Ben Cutter came up with the football.
The defensive stop helped WVU close out the 24-20 win on the road against TCU Saturday to win back-to-back games and its second game in the Big 12 (2-3). The Mountaineers are now 5-3, heading into the bye, which tops last year's win total, giving Rich Rodriguez the most wins in a season since his return to Morgantown.
Defensive coordinator Zac Alley and the defense were questioned the past four games after they were gashed each game, making them the worst defense in the Big 12 and one of the worst in the country. But against the Horned Frogs defense, they showed up when it mattered most.
"I’m just so proud of them," Rodriguez said. "They've had a tough four weeks, and they won the game today. When we had to have a stop, they had a stop. Made the great play. I'm so proud of them, coach Alley and his defensive guys."
Alley's defense forced a season-high three takeaways, including the game-winning fumble recovery, and had a turnover on downs for four total. 20 points was the fewest WVU's defense has allowed this season to a Power Four opponent.
There are still areas for improvement. The Horned Frogs racked up 484 yards of offense, and WVU's defense was hurt by multiple wide-open plays. Craig threw for 372 yards and a touchdown. He had another touchdown on the ground. Receiver Jordan Dwyer led the team with 10 catches for 113 yards. Kari Ashley had the game-high 118 yards on six grabs.
Without lead back Jeremy Payne, who was ruled out with an injury, Craig helped out in the run game, and so did sophomore running back Jon Denman. He had 58 yards for a TCU total of 112.
But WVU created enough stops to win the game. The Mountaineers’ defense stopped TCU on six of its 10 drives, and just two touchdowns. WVU had three sacks and six tackles for loss.
“We know there’s issues, and there’s things to fix,” Rodriguez said. “Got a lot of yards and more than they’re used to, but we also made plays to win it.”
WVU quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. continued to hurt teams on the ground. Hawkins added two more rushing touchdowns to his total of 16 on the season, leading the FBS in rushing scores.
He had his ups and downs passing the ball Saturday, coming off a career-high performance last week. Hawkins completed 7-for-15 passes for just 79 yards and a lone passing touchdown. Hawkins threw his second interception of the season, and this one was his fault, throwing into double coverage. Receiver Prince Strachan led the team with two grabs for 24 yards.
“Offensively, we sputtered around a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “There’s some things when we watch the film we’ll be like, ‘Ah, we missed out on that.’ We answered the call when we had to.”
In his return to TCU after transferring, running back Cam Cook had the rushing attack back on schedule after having a season low the previous week against Cincinnati. Cook carried the ball 18 times for 90 yards, averaging five yards a carry. WVU had 193 on the ground. Cook also caught the go-ahead touchdown to make it 24-20 early in the fourth. It was his second receiving touchdown of his career and second of the season.
Cook's touchdown and the stop handed the Mountaineers back-to-back wins to end a long eight-game stretch. WVU has a long-awaited bye to reset and get rest before heading to Texas Tech, who is currently ranked in the top 10. But the Red Raiders were upset by Cincinnati, so they'll drop in the polls, but will be hungry to get back in the win column.
Rodriguez is looking to enjoy his first true road win of the season.
"I'm proud of all the guys," Rodriguez said. "The staff and everybody. We battled through this and got a great win on the road.”