It was a disappointing showing for the Mountaineers in their final regular season game of 2024, falling to Texas Tech 52-15.
West Virginia looked flat at times as the Red Raiders took over. A big second quarter for Texas Tech was detrimental to WVU’s loss. Here are some takeaways from the game as we move into Bowl season.
Passing Game
Despite the two interceptions and the inability to score, the passing game might have been the most effective it has been all year. West Virginia had their second-most passing yards in a game all season. Garrett Greene also completed 74% of his passes, which was the highest competition percentage for him all season. To reiterate, besides the fact that the Mountaineers had just one passing touchdown and Greene threw two interceptions, the passing game overall didn’t look too bad. They had seven passes of 15 or more yards.
Offensive Struggles
Along with the two interceptions, West Virginia lost a fumble. Texas Tech scored 15 points off of those turnovers. The Red Raiders also had a season-high four sacks against WVU. Texas Tech also did a good job of containing Greene, with yards lost from sacks, Greene had -11 rushing yards. The Mountaineers were also 0-2 on fourth down and 9-15 on third down, which hurt their ability to run their offense effectively.
Defensive Struggles
It is no secret that West Virginia’s defense struggled throughout. Texas Tech scored seven touchdowns, two of them 30+ yards and it was the most points the Mountaineers have let up all season. The Red Raiders had nine passes of 15+ yards and five runs of 10+ yards. The Mountaineers did secure one turnover, an interception, but still lost the turnover battle 3-1. On top of that, they didn’t pick up one sack. It was their third game of the season not picking up a sack. In total, the defense allowed 569 total yards, averaging out to 7.6 yards per play.
Jahiem White
Runningback Jahiem White was one of the very few bright spots for WVU. He had a few explosive runs and scored one of their two touchdowns. In total, he had 124 yards and the touchdowns on 14 attempts in the loss. Coming off a strong freshman campaign in 2023, Jahiem White had 817 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns his sophomore year before the Bowl game. White will have two more years of eligibility as he looks to continue to build on a good start to his collegiate career.
What’s Next?
Well, overall, the Mountaineers’ season was disappointing; they’ll have a shot at still winning a bowl game. West Virginia has a strong and deep senior class that will be departing, but they do have some young and promising pieces. The future of West Virginia football is unpredictable, though, there could be some coaching changes, whether that be small or major. For now, keep your Flying WV caps on tight and stay tuned because Mountaineer Nation will never be satisfied with a .500 regular season.
