On Thursday night against Baylor, West Virginia was in familiar territory. In a high-scoring game at home, it had the feel to not be West Virginia’s day just as it had been a month prior when the Mountaineers hosted Kansas.
The Mountaineers (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) got out to a 7-0 start, but the defending Big 12 Champions would score 17 unanswered points to take a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter.
With the Bears (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) leading 17-10, Baylor would have the ball in West Virginia territory, before quarterback Blake Shapen would fumble the ball right into Jasir Cox’s hands. Cox would then rumble his way to a 65-yard scoop and score to tie the game at 17-17.
“I thought really the biggest play of the game was the fumble recovery,” West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said.
That bounce was one of many which went in West Virginia’s favor in their 43-40 win and those types of bounces are what has West Virginia gaining momentum as they have now won three of their last four games.
“If we just continue to play hard, good thing will happen. Things have a funny way of evening out. And if you play hard and do things the right way in preparation, the ball’s going to eventually bounce your way. And let’s be honest it hasn’t bounced many times in our way this year,” Brown said.
In the first quarter, it looked as though West Virginia would once again have a ball bounce the other teams’ way. After forcing a Baylor punt, Preston Fox muffed the punt, before he was able to fall on it just a few yards in front of him.
The Mountaineers scored only 10 points via their offense in the first half, before finding their way in the second half.
“Once we got going offensively, I felt like we could make enough plays and that proved true,” Brown said.
Trailing 24-17 to start the second half, West Virginia quarterback JT Daniels would lead the Mountaineers on a 10-play drive spanning 4:41, with sophomore wide receiver Kaden Prather being on the receiving end of a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Baylor would have an answer for Daniels, as they converted two fourth downs to retake the lead. The Bears would turn to backup quarterback Kyron Drones during the drive after Shapen exited due to a collision with Andrew Wilson-Lamp.
“I hope he’s okay, you hate to see those type of plays,” Brown said of Shapen. “He’s a really good player.”
With the game then tied at 31-31, Baylor’s Qualan Jones would score on an 8-yard rush, but on the extra-point attempt Dante Stills would break through the Baylor offensive line to block the kick and would end up giving West Virginia two points.
Trailing 37-33, the Mountaineers would lead for the first time since the first quarter after Tony Mathis rushed in for a 34-yard score.
Both Baylor and West Virginia would trade interceptions, before the Bears tied the game at 40-40, after they converted on a 44-yard field goal.
With 1:33 to play West Virginia would get the ball back, as Mathis would rush for 49 yards on the final drive to set up a Casey Legg field goal opportunity. Legg wouldn’t miss, as he hit the 22-yard field goal from the left hash to put West Virginia ahead 43-40.
Baylor’s final gasp would be unsuccessful, as the Mountaineer defense slammed the door shut.
West Virginia’s defense forced three turnovers, matching the total number of turnovers forced through their first five games combined. The Mountaineers also gave up 590 total yards of offense, with 421 of those coming through the air.
“I don’t think this is earth shattering, we’d rather not give up deep pass plays,” Brown said.
Moving forward, West Virginia now has an opportunity in front of them. The Mountaineers travel to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech, before returning home to face TCU. With six games to play, Brown is hoping Thursday’s win ignites this team down the stretch.
“For us what I hope what it does is It sets us up for a stretch run,” Brown said of the win. “We’ve got a chance to get some wind behind us.”
Photo by Dale Sparks, All Pro Photography
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