West Virginia earned bowl eligibility with a 31-21 win over UCF, closing out their home 2024 slate.
Staff writer Wesley Shoemaker picks out five things from the game yesterday that stood out and dives into each.
Team Shows Resolve
Given the preseason expectations, West Virginia placed upon itself, sitting at 5-5 with two games to play could have been a hard place to get up from mentally.
This West Virginia team showed its resolve and a level of pride as they came to play against UCF, especially early. WVU’s defense forced a three-and-out to start the game, and then the offense went down the field and scored a touchdown on eight plays.
The hot start was key for West Virginia, as a team in their home finale, could have rolled over and not shown up. They acted like they wanted to be there from the beginning and they played with purpose on Saturday and it showed.
Donaldson's Big Day
Over the past five games, CJ Donaldson only once rushed for more than 41 yards. Donaldson would reach the 41-yard mark on WVU’s first drive alone as he seemed to take things to a different gear for the first time in a while.
Donaldson finished the game with 19 carries for 96 yards, with his 19 carries being tied for the second-most he’s had in a game this season. West Virginia had recently relied upon Jahiem White as their top back, but Donaldson’s physicality seemed to be problematic for the Knights on Saturday. Donaldson also scored twice in the win, as he now has nine touchdowns on the season.
Donaldson seemed to be waiting for a breakout game like this. Everyone knew he was capable of it, but this type of showing is hopefully a sign of things to come for Donaldson, who is still very new at the running back position.
Complimentary Football
The first half of West Virginia’s game was probably the most complimentary football they had played all season, right up there with how they played against Oklahoma State.
WVU was able to set themselves up by playing so well in the first half, opening up a 21-point lead to start the second half, which made the game never feel in doubt. For the first time in 18 games, WVU started on defense. They got the ball back to their offense within the first minute of the game before the offense went down and scored a touchdown. A forced fumble on the next possession led to a touchdown for the Mountaineers, and they were in front 14-0 and never looked back.
On special teams, Michael Hayes came through with a big kick to make it a three-possession game in the second half, while Oliver Straw had four punts, averaging 50 yards per punt. Preston Fox once again had a good day at returner, as he totaled 76 yards on two kickoff returns.
WVU played complete football in the first half, and it helped them pick up the win against the Knights.
Making Plays When They Mattered
Last week against Baylor, WVU was in an offensive shootout in the first half but couldn’t score or make the necessary plays in the second half.
It was the opposite story on Saturday against UCF, as WVU was really good on the end of possession downs and making plays when they mattered.
West Virginia had almost 38 minutes of possession and was able to really control the clock at times due to their ability to extend drives. West Virginia was 8-for-18 on third down but went a perfect 4-for-4 on fourth down. WVU started the game 8-for-11 on the end of possession downs.
On WVU’s final drive of the game, they converted two huge fourth downs to keep the ball in their hands and never give UCF a chance to touch the ball again, bleeding out the final 5:19 of the game.
Bowling
While it may not seem like much, this team is going bowling.
2024 has been an up-and-down year, to say the least, for West Virginia, but they are able to get to a bowl game for the fourth time in the last five years. It’s never fun to feel like you’re settling for something, and while that may be the feeling around this team, having another opportunity to play a football game is never a bad thing.
Does this team wish it could have been contending for the Big 12 Championship, yes. Will a bowl game take those feelings away in what is a wide-open Big 12, no. However, it’s better to be going bowling than not, and given all that has happened this year, good for this group to be able to battle and have the opportunity for seven regular season wins and eight wins total on the season.
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