WVU Football
Defense Steps Up to Secure Win for West Virginia at TCU
With the Texas heat shining down and the pressure mounting on the Mountaineers, West Virginia secured a win in uncharacteristic fashion.
Early on, WVU had to settle for a field goal on the opening possession before TCU put together a 16-play drive. Even though West Virginia’s defense reduced big plays in the first quarter, Horned Frogs quarterback Jaden Craig marched his team 16 plays for 91 yards for the touchdown.
Mike Hawkins would counter with an answer score for the Mountaineers. West Virginia even caught a break on a fumble near the goal line when a TCU defender batted the ball away from a Mountaineer attempting to recovery. Hawkins then punched in the ball on his own.
A Cam Torbor fumble recovery seemed to spark momentum for West Virginia until a drop by DJ Epps on what would’ve been a touchdown off a deep pass from Hawkins proceeded an interception two plays later.
But showing why both teams have struggled at points this season, TCU ended up just tying the game with a field goal after wide receiver Ed Small dropped what would’ve been a first down on a third and long.
A missed 43-yard field goal granted WVU another lucky break, letting Hawkins go to work in the final minutes of the first half. While West Virginia failed to do anything on offense, Chams Diagne picks Craig to ruin TCU’s own attempt at taking the lead before halftime. But uncharacteristically, Rich Rodriguez’s high-powered offense is forced to take a knee and drain the clock due to what appeared to be miscommunication on the sideline.
After the WVU defense once again held the Horned Frogs to a field goal, Hawkins found the space he was looking for all day, sprinting by multiple defenders to the house. Hawkins’ 36-yard touchdown run gave him 75 yards at the time and put the Mountaineer up 17-13 on the scoreboard.
But it was only a matter of time until Craig took advantage of the West Virginia secondary, finding a 38-yard completion to Jordan Dwyer on TCU’s attempt at an answer. It was WVU’s pass rush coming up with a clutch sack to derail the Horned Frog’s effort. TCU did eventually get their seven points, mostly thanks to Craig’s legs, to jump on top 20-17.
Continuing the back and forth trend, a reminiscent situation to be in for West Virginia, Hawkins finds Cooks for the Mountaineers’ third score of the day. Cook was up to 88 yards on 17 carrie with 11:28 on the fourth quarter clock.
Several defensive stops led to TCU owning the final possession. Craig churned the clock on a drive that flirted with the game-winning touchdown, that was until Ben Cutter came up with a game-saving play to recover a fumble and seal the win.
The Mountaineers’ record moved to 5-3 (2-3, Big 12) with a bye week up next.
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