Ben Cutter Walks Through Fumble Recovery to Seal WVU’s Win Over TCU

It wasn’t pretty, but the Mountaineers got the job done. That was the story for WVU football the second-straight week, granted this time with the defense leading the team to the win.

On a day West Virginia’s potent offense failed to reach 300 yards, the defense held a Power Four offense to under 500 yards for only the second time all year. But the improved defensive effort wouldn’t have mattered if not for a game-sealing final play by linebacker Ben Cutter.

The longest tenured Mountaineer came up with the ball and then celebrated at midfield, ending a TCU drive that ran out the clock and seemed destined for a game-winning touchdown. Instead, West Virginia left Texas with a 24-20 win.

Cutter discussed how he came up with the ball and what delivering the clutch recovery means to him after the game.

“I went down for it and it kinda scooted out to my left a little bit and ten panic mode kicks in. I’m crawling on the ground for it,” Cutter explained about what led him to grabbing the ball.

“It was a great feeling whenever I got that thing secured,” he added.

Cutter also put the moment and the win in perspective for the defense as a whole. “We really needed this. I’m glad we got the opportunity to win the game on defense or towards the end. But that was great, great confidence booster. We really needed that.”

Head coach Rich Rodriguez knows what Cutter is made of as a player and what he represents for the program.

“Ben Cutter epitomizes West Virginia football,” said Rodriguez about the veteran linebacker, who stayed loyal to the program and didn’t leave after the transition from Neal Brown to Rodriguez ahead of the 2024 season.

“He’s a tough, hard nose gritty guy who plays hard all the time.”