Mike Hawkins Takes Accountability After Suffering First Loss at WVU

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Taking his first loss as well as he handled the wins, Mike Hawkins made no excuses while answering for WVU’s 41-24 loss to Oklahoma State.

Hawkins continuously reiterated the need for the Mountaineer offense to just get back in the film room and move on from what happened on Saturday night, eschpeially in the second half when their attack stalled out and only put up 10 points in the third and fourth quarters combined.

Overall, Hawkins was 10-for-22 for 132 yards through the air, missing some critical deep balls, with one interception, his first of the season. Of course, he also exceeded 100 yards on the ground, 103 to be exact, with three touchdowns. However, the Mountaineers needed more. The WVU defense gave up 609 yards of total offense, as Drew Mestemaker threw for 389 yards, including 192 to Wyatt Young, and three scores.

When evaluating his quarterback, Rich Rodriguez praised Hawkins for being “a competitor,” although noted he missed some key throws and the offense “pressed a little bit” in the second. But Rodriguez also pointed his finger at the defense as the culprit for the defeat, saying they didn’t give the team a chance.

All that said, Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris saw enough to believe Rich Rodriguez has the right quarterback leading his team. “The kid is special…I think this is the perfect system for him, and they’re going to be a problem for a long time with him at the helm.”

Like Morris, Rodriguez clearly believes in Hawkins, although he’s going to need to prove he can lead the Mountaineers to wins in Big 12 play in order to truly claim the honor as the next great one.

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