Cody Alexander, a former Baylor defensive staffer who worked under defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, joined Jed Drenning and Wes Uhler on the In The Gun Football Podcast, a WVU football podcast and recalled a massive game between BU and West Virginia.
In their first year in the Big 12, the Mountaineers hosted the Bears in a week five match-up between two ranked opponents that didn’t disappoint. The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout, with a tied score at halftime. It wasn’t until the third quarter that West Virginia would make it a two-possession game, going up 49-35.
“The worst football game I ever attended was the ‘basketball game’, with Geno Smith and that whole crew of receivers,” Alexander said. “I thought we (defensive staff) were all going to get fired on our way back.”
That day, West Virginia scored 10 touchdowns, totaling over 800 yards of offense and allowed no turnovers. Mountaineer quarterback Geno Smith completed 45 passes on 51 attempts, throwing for 656 yards and eight touchdowns. Stedman Bailey led WVU receivers with 303 receiving yards and five touchdowns, while Tavon Austin had 215 yards and two touchdowns.
While Baylor made it close by scoring a touchdown late in the fourth, West Virginia was able to hold onto their lead and win a big 70-63 game at home.
“We were very stunt heavy and what the problem you have and then again what you get exacerbated by a three-down front is that, if it doesn’t hit or you get washed or you get pinned you’re going to be a gap short,” Alexander said about the Bears defensive misfires that day. “And then we lose our linebacker who’s a stud and we have to play a freshman who’s just learning, was probably not (ready). We were going to ease him into it now all of a sudden he has to start and we’re learning by fire.”
After that offensive explosion against Baylor, the Mountaineers were ranked No. 8 in the nation. They beat No. 11 Texas in another thriller the next week, but would lose four straight after that. They ended the season winning back-to-back games and were selected to play Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl, where they would fall 38-14.
