WVU Suffers 2nd Straight Blowout Conference Loss, Falls 48-14 to Utah

West Virginia suffered its second straight loss in Big 12 play with its 48-14 blowout loss to Utah on Saturday. Read more: WVU Suffers 2nd Straight Blowout Conference Loss, Falls 48-14 to Utah 

Coming off its abysmal showing against Kansas last week, the Mountaineers looked to be all the same this time around. 

With sporadic showers and gray skies throughout the game, WVU never could give its nearly 54,000 fans in attendance much to be excited about. 

Yet Another Slow Offensive Start 

The slow offensive starts plagued the Mountaineers once again on Saturday. 

They started the game with the ball, but after just one first down, they were forced to punt. A glaring difference to WVU’s offense was the fact that Jaylen Henderson was in at quarterback for the injured Nicco Marchiol. 

After Utah got the ball, they quickly showed their dominance on that side of the ball. Devon Dampier led the Utes on an impressive 12-play scoring drive that was capped off with his first passing touchdown of the game to wide receiver JJ Buchanan.

The Mountaineers followed that with a three-and-out on offense, giving the ball right back to the Utes. 

Similar to their first drive, the Utes’ offense easily marched down the field in 11 plays. Dampier ended that drive with his second touchdown of the game, with that being his first and only on the ground. 

With the first quarter coming to a close, the Mountaineers took their first shot towards Cam Vaughn, where he instantly forced a pass interference call.  

2nd Quarter Woes 

After going into the second quarter, the Mountaineers found themselves in a crucial fourth down in the middle of the field. The Utes’ defense stood strong and forced a turnover on downs. 

Dampier would once again answer quickly. In just six plays, he got the Utes on the board again with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Davis. 

Already down 21-0 at the time, the Mountaineers got the ball back, where they once again found themselves in a fourth-down situation. Once again, they were stopped short. 

Related: WVU Women’s Soccer Upsets #16 BYU 

Dampier would then attempt to force a pass in coverage on the very next play, resulting in getting intercepted by Nick Taylor. 

WVU would not do much with it, though, as they were forced to punt after a three-and-out. 

After a false start call that started them on their own three-yard line, the Utes began to drive with the first half winding down. 

With just 13 seconds left in the half, Dampier would throw his third passing touchdown of the game. This one being a two-yard pass to Dallen Bentley. 

A Promising 3rd Quarter 

Utah entered the third quarter with a 28-0 lead. It didn’t take long for them to extend that lead even further. 

Dampier led another methodical drive that spanned 10 plays. After a few successful pass plays, Dampier got his fourth and final passing touchdown of the game, this one through the efforts of an 11-yard pass to Wayshawn Parker. 

The Mountaineers would answer with a new quarterback under center, Khalil Wilkins. 

He led the most effective drive the Mountaineers had on Saturday. Following a couple of stingy runs by Wilkins, he was able to find Cam Vaughn for a 39-yard receiving touchdown. 

The Utes quickly answered on the first play with a 40-yard rush by Parker. That allowed Utah’s Dillon Curtis to hit a 33-yard field goal. 

The following drive, Wilkins once again orchestrated an impressive Mountaineer offensive drive. To close out the third quarter, he led the Mountaineers to Utah’s 24-yard line, where they would fail to convert on a fourth down. However, Wilkins was able to find the open target on that play. 

A Disappointing Finish 

To open the fourth quarter, Utah took out Dampier and put in their freshman quarterback, Byrd Ficklin. 

Ficklin led the Utes all the way to WVU’s 15-yard line. The Mountaineer defense forced the Utes to a 33-yard field goal, which they converted on.

On the very next snap, West Virginia native Jarod Bowie broke loose on a 68-yard jet sweep before being brought down at Utah’s 7. A few plays later, the Mountaineers would get in the end zone again through the efforts of a one-yard Diore Hubbard rushing touchdown.  

With Ficklin still in the game, he again led the Utes to an impressive scoring drive. In 10 plays, Ficklin and the offense drove down and scored a touchdown off a two-yard pass to Bryce Duke. 

With the final two minutes ticking down, Mountaineer fans got another look at freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. 

The only thing he would do is run out the clock as the Mountaineers would go on to lose 48-14. 

The Only Path is Up 

With another disappointing conference loss to their record, the Mountaineers’ season is starting to look even more bleak. 

Injuries have plagued this team, but there have been plenty of negatives across the board as well. Many of those were also seen on Saturday against Utah. 

For Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers, the only path forward is up. It can’t get much worse than back-to-back conference losses with one of them being at home. 

The Mountaineers will look to bounce back next week when they face BYU on Friday, October 3. 

Game Day Photos

Check out the game day photos below. Click on any photo to enlarge it.