WVU Football closed out its season with a 49-0 shutout loss to No. 5 Texas Tech on Saturday. Read more: WVU closes out season flat with 49-0 loss to Texas Tech
The cold Morgantown weather did not stop the Red Raiders from having a blistering hot offensive showing, in which the Mountaineers had no answers.
The Mountaineers could not get anything going in a game that saw them converting their first first down in the second quarter. WVU’s 49-0 defeat marks the program’s first home shutout loss since 2003 against Virginia Tech.
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A slow start for the Mountaineers
West Virginia opened senior day on offense, losing a total of 9 yards and being forced to punt after a three-and-out.
Behren Morton and the Red Raiders’ offense started strong with an 11-yard completion on first down to Terrance Carter Jr. After converting on a fourth-and-three a few plays later, TTU playmaker Jacob Rodriguez scored his third touchdown of the season after scampering in the endzone from one yard out.
The Mountaineers answered with their second straight three-and-out.
The Red Raiders almost coughed up the football on their second drive, but an offensive lineman was able to fall on it. Texas Tech was pinned deep in WVU’s territory, facing a third-and-15. Running back J’Koby Williams was able to rush for 26 yards, converting the first down and getting a couple of extra yards.
More first-quarter woes
That play proved vital as Texas Tech was able to march down the field and score. Cameron Dickey was wide open in the back of the endzone. The four-yard touchdown was QB Morton’s first of the day.
Scotty Fox Jr. was able to finally get the offense moving with a four-yard completion on second down. After a holding call backed them up, he completed a six-yard pass to Rodney Gallagher. He accelerated for nine yards on third down to make the fourth down very manageable.
The freshman QB managed to lose a yard on the designed quarterback run, resulting in the Mountaineers giving the ball right back to the Red Raiders in good field position.
Morton quickly found Caleb Douglas for a 19-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the drive, taking advantage of the short field.
More of the same in the second
WVU once again was forced to punt after just three plays to open the second quarter.
Texas Tech also had to punt on the following drive after just five plays. This came after the Red Raiders were gifted a first down on a questionable pass interference call earlier in the drive.
However, West Virginia had to punt after another three-and-out, its fourth of the half.
Dickey’s legs got the Red Raider offense rolling once again with a 26-yard rush on first down. Morton, a few plays later, found Coy Eakin for a 14-yard completion to convert on fourth down. Morton dumped it out to Douglas for a four-yard touchdown reception five plays later, connecting on their second touchdown of the half.
Fox was able to connect with Jeff Weimer for a 14-yard reception and West Virginia’s first first down of the half. The two found each other again for a 17-yard completion on the next play.
The Mountaineers managed to get down to their own 34-yard line, where Fox was unable to link up with Weimer on a short in-route.
Texas Tech found itself in a third-and-10, but Morton was able to find Douglas in the middle of the field, and he was able to run for 43 yards. Morton then hooked up with Reggie Virgil for 25 yards, landing just one yard short of the endzone.
A lone bright spot
Linebacker Ben Cutter was able to intercept Rodriguez in the end zone on the following play in what looked to be an attempt at a trick play from Texas Tech.
After a sack on first down, Fox once again connected with Weimer for a timely 23-yard completion. The Mountaineers were able to convert on a third down on the next set of downs after the officials called a defensive pass interference.
They then executed a double pass to perfection. Cam Vaughn dropped a dime to Grayson Barnes, who stepped out of bounds at the Texas Tech 13-yard line. However, Fox was intercepted on the following play after what looked to be some miscommunication between him and Vaughn.
Texas Tech was unable to get another score on the board before half, but the Mountaineers went into the locker room down 28-0.
Another flat quarter
The Red Raiders opened up the second half right where they left off. TTU marched 74 yards down the field in just five plays, a drive capped off with a nine-yard rushing touchdown from Williams.
West Virginia’s offense also continued where it left off. They were only able to muster one first down before having to punt.
Backup quarterback Mitch Griffis trotted out for Texas Tech, and after a couple of short runs, his backward pass on third down was recovered by the West Virginia defense. On the other side, WVU backup QB Max Brown replaced Fox.
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He was able to connect on a couple of short passes, but was later intercepted after underthrowing the intended receiver by a considerable amount. After the 67-yard return from the Texas Tech defender, new quarterback Lloyd Jones III found Micah Hudson for a 15-yard touchdown reception in just three plays.
Khalil Wilkins came out in the following drive. And just like his counterparts, he and the offense were forced to punt after a three-and-out.
The onslaught finally ends
Jones continued to look sharp as he led the Red Raiders all the way down to West Virginia’s 30-yard line. He concluded that drive with his second straight touchdown throw to Hudson.
After that, the Mountaineers were forced to punt after five plays. The two squads traded punts toward the end of the contest.
All Texas Tech had to do was kneel out the rest of the clock and end West Virginia’s season in disappointing fashion.
A rough end to the season
With this loss, West Virginia falls to 4-8 to close out the season. At times, it looked bleak. At other times, it looked like the Mountaineers were starting to figure things out.
Saturday’s game undoubtedly falls under the bleak category. It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season. However, this is just year one in the 2.0 Rich Rod era. All the WVU faithful can hope for is that this season is rock bottom.
While it may not be the season that Mountaineer fans were hoping for, they can look forward to the future. There are hopes for potentially returning players such as Scotty Fox Jr., among others.
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