Observations: West Virginia football vs. North Carolina
Each week WVSports.com Managing Editor Keenan Cummings provides a look at some of the things that stood out to him during the course of the game and on the stat sheet.
These observations are a snapshot of what unfolded in the West Virginia 30-10 win over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl to finish 9-4.
–West Virginia has won nine games for the first time since the 2016 season and despite not playing the most clean game on the field, controlled most of this football game. It’s a strong close to a season that has given the program some real momentum heading into the off-season both with recruiting and when it comes to next year. Despite the game being in North Carolina, this felt like a smaller Mountaineers home game with 42,925 and the majority West Virginia fans. It always feels good to exit the season with a win and even better when it’s beating a regional ACC team. West Virginia wanted to close this season strong and it’s a mission accomplished there with this game.
–Cornerback Beanie Bishop was thrown into the punt returner role and made the most of it by taking the first one back to the house for 78-yards since 2012 when Tavon Austin had a 76-yard return against TCU. It’s the longest return since Antonio Brown took it 80-yards in 1999. For as poorly as things went in some areas, special teams was good in this one for the most part with solid kick coverage, recovering a fumble on a punt, connecting on 3-4 field goals with the miss from 52 and that fake field goal. On top of that, the Mountaineers allowed just one punt return for 3 yards. It was a solid effort from that department and West Virginia needed it. One play that won’t be talked about a lot but deserves credit is the one that DJ Oliver made on kick return by stringing it out and making a tackle.
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