WVU Falls to #12 Baylor in Waco, 17-14

     

     Undefeated Baylor came away with a narrow three-point victory over the Mountaineers on Thursday. The Big 12 front runners only had a 7-0 lead at halftime as WVU came in double digit underdogs.

     Junior quarterback Charlie Brewer led the way for the bears completing 20 of 26 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns.

     For WVU, a gritty defensive performance and special teams made this game competitive. The Mountaineers racked up eight defensive sacks and 12 tackles for loss.

     A goal line stand late in the first half especially lit a fire under the squad. The group was also able to recover multiple fumbles. However, the defense experienced more attrition as senior Josh Norwood was ejected in the first quarter for targeting and safety Noah Guzman, who ended up being the lead tackler for WVU, left the game injured.

     West Virginia’s offensive struggles continued as the team rushed for just 14 yards on 26 carries. Though WVU won the turnover battle, the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize on any of Baylor’s three giveaways with points.

     The Mountaineers’ two touchdowns were on plays of 80 yards or more. The first was an 83-yard connection between Kendall and transfer receiver George Campbell in the third quarter to tie things up at seven.

     Then, after Brewer found leading receiver Denzel Mims for a 21-yard touchdown, WVU freshman Winston Wright and the kickoff team responded by taking one 95 yards to the house.

     Another special teams highlight for WVU came with less than five minutes to play, down 17-14. R.J. Sneed contacted the punted ball on a muffed fair catch and WVU defensive back Kerry Martin Jr. recovered the fumble. The offense did not capitalize with any points as Baylor blocked WVU’s field goal attempt after a four play, three yard drive that lasted just over a minute.

     Miscues abounded for WVU. They included two fumbles on botched snaps, multiple dropped passes at key points and a critical delay-of-game penalty late in the 4^th quarter. The penalty increased a 43-yard field goal attempt to a 48-yard try for freshman Casey Legg with WVU down 17-14.

     Baylor, who came in tied for 2^nd in the country in blocked kicks and had eight in their previous 11 games, swatted Legg’s attempt. Legg played his first full game of his career because junior kicker Evan Staley couldn’t go with a groin injury.

     After the game, Coach Brown took responsibility for the blunder. “I’m sitting there worrying about how we’re going to use our timeouts, and how we’re going to kickoff, and I didn’t see the clock,” Brown said.  “That’s on me,” he added.

     WVU quarterback Austin Kendall completed 20 of 39 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Important to note is that right guard Chase Behrndt, senior running back Kennedy McKoy and receiver T.J. Simmons each left the game with injuries. The EERs struggled mightily on third downs, converting just 3 of 17, while being perfect on fourth downs going 3 for 3.

     “We’re struggling for a reason,” Coach Brown said. “We got some deficiencies, we try to hide em’.”

     Defensively, despite the loss, the Mountaineers had a performance to hang their hat on moving forward.

     “That’s how we should play every game,” said senior linebacker Reese Donahue after the game. “Now we’ve set the standard,” Donahue added, emphasizing the need to continue playing at that level.

     Baylor came in averaging over 35 points per game.

     After the game, standout defensive back Darius Stills even recalled a conveyed sense of newfound respect expressed by the opposing team.

      “They (Baylor offensive players) told us a couple times ‘you guys are good, you’re better than we thought you were’,”  Stills said.

       Interestingly, after their solid performance, the Mountaineers are now tied with Baylor for first in the Big 12 in defensive sacks with 26 each and are 12th nationally.

     Stills also mentioned that he’s never taken a loss this hard but that “Our has team has a lot of fight… Coach emphasizes to just keep fighting.”

     After dropping a close game in such devastating fashion on a national spotlight coupled with a now  four game losing skid, Coach Brown still has his mindset on one major goal: “We’ve just got to focus on getting better.”

     “Every time they’ve had any adversity, they’ve answered,” Brown said. “We’ve got kids that are hurting in that locker room because they’re invested. It’ll payoff down the road, it’ll pay off at some point this season, it’ll pay off in years to come.”

     Big picture-wise, Coach Brown specifically referenced Baylor’s turnaround success and the players buying in as a signal of hope moving forward.

     “They’re in year three of a really good turnaround,” Brown said. “I don’t think their kids ever lost faith.”

     Head Coach Matt Rhule led the bears to a 1-11 record in his first year in 2017, starting 0-7. The bears followed that season up with a 7-6 finish and Texas Bowl victory in 2018 and now are sitting atop the Big 12 undefeated and ranked 12th in the country.

     “We’re in year one here,” said Coach Brown. “I think what we saw was a group of kids that laid it out on the line and invested and fought.

     Brown expressed an empathetic connection with his guys in year one.

     “I told the guys after the game I’m proud of em’ and I mean that,” Brown said. “I appreciate em’ and I love em’.”

     Junior Darius Stills remains optimistic and bought in.

     “Over time, we’re going to get better and better,” Stills said.  “As Coach Brown says, we just need to trust the climb.”