West Virginia Has Dismal Performance Against Texas Tech in Return Home

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Prior to Saturday’s game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, West Virginia had not played a home football game since Oct. 12. The way the team played on Saturday, fans might have been wishing the team had stayed away for one more week.

Despite how well WVU’s defense played against Baylor last week, Texas Tech scored touchdowns on each of the team’s first five offensive drives and stormed out to a 35-10 halftime lead. The Red Raiders put up 21 points and 205 passing yards in the first quarter alone.

The Red Raiders eventually won the game 38-17.

Back-up quarterback Jett Duffey was too much for WVU’s defense to handle. Duffey completed 24-of-34 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown.

WVU quarterback Austin Kendall went 26-43 in the air with 355 yards and two interceptions. Following the second interception, Kendall was pulled for junior Jarret Doege. Making his Mountaineer debut Doege went 11-17 for 119 yards and one touchdown. WVU’s favorite target on the day was freshman receiver Sam James who made 14 receptions for 223 yards.

West Virginia had 549 yards of offense, outgaining the Red Raiders who had 481, but four WVU turnovers gave Texas Tech the edge. The Mountaineers were also more effective on third down, converting 6-of-16 while Tech converted 4-of-14.

TTU head coach Matt Wells was also aggressive on offense, converting three of four fourth fourth downs. Two of the fourth-down conversions resulted in touchdowns.

WVU again struggled to run the ball, putting up on 51 yards on 18 attempts. The West Virginia defense was unable to make any big plays on the day, with no forced turnovers and no sacks.

The loss pushed West Virginia’s losing streak to five games and puts the team at a 3-6 overall record, 1-5 in the Big 12.