West Virginia (2-0) scored quickly and often against UT Martin. They had plenty of explosive plays but still need to contain big plays on defense. Still, they nearly pitched a shutout and kept UT Martin off the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter. The offense was explosive, and they showed they can dominate against teams they are supposed to beat easily. They have a true test next week against No. 25 Virginia on the road. Read more: West Virginia routs UT Martin at home, 52-7.
Three quick scores
UT Martin started with the ball after a touchback from WVU kicker Jack Cassidy. Julian Calvez found tight end Connie Hewitt II in the flat, and he picked up 24 yards with a solid run after the catch. On the new set of downs, WVU stuffed Chris Franklin for a loss of two yards. Calvez picked up 10 on third and 12 to set up a short fourth down. The Skyhawks called Calvez’s number again, and he lost four yards.
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The Mountaineers did not take long to find an explosive play. After two Cam Cook rushes, Michael Hawkins Jr. found DJ Epps across the middle, and he did the rest. He took it 53 yards to the house for the first score of the game.
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After three unsuccessful downs by the Skyhawks on the ensuing possession, the Mountaineers blocked the punt, which went out of bounds at the UT Martin 21. Cam Cook started the drive with two runs for a combined 10 yards. Hawkins and Bray got them down to the two-yard-line, and Cook finished the drive with his third rushing touchdown of the season.
UT Martin started its third drive with a 48-yard run down the left side by Chris Franklin to get inside the 30-yard line of West Virginia. Franklin found more space on third and one, picking up 13 yards to the five. Calvez fumbled on the next play on a keeper. Zeke Durham-Campbell forced the fumble, and Ben Cutter recovered it for a red zone stop.
Four plays later, Hawkins kept it up the middle for a 71-yard touchdown to make it 21-0.
End of first quarter
The Skyhawks picked up 25 on the first play of the next possession, but punted on their next set of downs. Tate Surber replaced Calvez at quarterback to start the drive.
The Mountaineers started with the ball on the 20 and got some backups in the game. The first unit must have been winded from running up and down the field nonstop. TaRon Francis picked up three yards on first down and was tripped up on the edge. Amari Latimer got his first carry of the game, which went for no gain. WVU punted after an incomplete pass by Hawkins, setting UT Martin up at its own 34.
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The Skyhawks picked up the first down on three plays before the end of the quarter.
Second quarter
UT Martin found some more success through the air after switching sides. Surber found Makhia Sherrard, who took it 54 to the end zone. However, a penalty negated it. Jaydon Peete was called for a chop block in the backfield. The Skyhawks punted to Matt Sieg, who returned it nine yards to WVU’s 26.
Hawkins found Epps over the middle for a 59-yard gain to the 15-yard line. Hawkins pushed it to the five on a run up the middle. He kept it up the middle two plays later for his second rushing touchdown of the game to make it 28-0 with 11 and a half minutes remaining in the half.
The Skyhawks continued to find some success through the air. Tight end Dawson Adams-Grenier caught back-to-back passes of 12 and 10 yards to push them into West Virginia territory. On third and eight, Surber found Deuce Oliver for 10 yards. Franklin ran for three yards on third and seven, and picked up the first down with a six-yard run on fourth down. The drive ended in a missed 36-yard field goal by Brandon Sims.
WVU had a quick three-and-out on the following possession. UT Martin got the ball back at its own 30 on the next drive. They picked up a first down on two plays. Ashton Woods picked up the Mountaineers’ first sack of the game on the ensuing first down. Big plays continued to plague West Virginia. The Skyhawks picked up 10 on a second and 17, and the first down on a 13-yard run by Franklin.
The Skyhawks called a timeout with 22 seconds remaining. Durham-Campbell sacked Surber for a loss of seven, leaving six seconds on the clock. The hail mary attempt, and WVU took a 28-0 lead into the locker room.
At the break
The Mountaineers had 131 yards on the ground in the first half. Hawkins had five carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Cook had 32 yards on seven carries and one touchdown. Hawkins went four-for-six through the air for 123 yards and a touchdown. DJ Epps caught two passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, with 83 yards after the catch.
UT Martin’s Franklin had 10 carries for 84 yards in the first half. Surber, who replaced Calvez, went 12-for-16 with 98 yards. Four Skyhawks had two or more receptions. Oliver led the way with four receptions for 17 yards, and Kaleb Costner had three for 36 yards.
Third quarter
The Mountaineers started right where they left off. Hawkins found Ryan Ward for a 32-yard touchdown after a couple of big gains from Epps and Cook. That score made it 35-0.
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The Skyhawks picked up a first down, but the Mountaineers’ defense made a big play. Woods intercepted a pass from Surber to give West Virginia the ball near midfield. After a pass interference that moved the ball to the 29, Latimer ran it up the middle for a 29-yard touchdown.
After a quick three-and-out by UT Martin, Scotty Fox Jr. entered the game at quarterback for WVU. He moved the ball inside the 20 of UT Martin on a sustained drive. That drive ended in a Jack Cassidy field goal from 35 yards to extend the lead to 45-0.
Fourth quarter
UT Martin switched sides at the end of the quarter after converting a third down. They picked up two more first downs before failing a fourth down attempt near midfield.
Jyron Hughley replaced Fox at quarterback as head coach Rich Rodriguez gave more opportunities to his backups. Martavious Boswell came in and got a few carries on the drive behind the backup offensive line units.
Lawrence Autry also got a carry and went for four yards to set up a short third down. Hughley kept it on the next play for a gain of 12 yards. He was tripped up and nearly scored had he kept his feet. The drive ended in a score for WVU. Hughley found Kedrick Triplett in the middle of the field, and he split the defenders up the middle for a 27-yard score. That brought the score to 52-0.
Max Brown came in at quarterback for WVU with just over four minutes remaining. He handed the ball off to Darius Morant three consecutive plays. On the third run, Morant fumbled, and John Betts III recovered it and scored to put UT Martin on the scoreboard.
Max Anderson ended the game at quarterback for West Virginia. The Mountaineers ran the ball and chewed as much clock as possible. Anderson picked up the first down that sealed the game, and Morant got the final few carries of the game. The Mountaineers won 52-7.
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