Observations: West Virginia Mountaineers football vs. TCU
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 snap shot of what unfolded in the West Virginia home win over TCU and what could happen next for the Mountaineers.
--This might not seem like it, but this was a huge win for West Virginia. The Mountaineers have now matched their entire win total from last year and have guaranteed they will finish the shortened regular season with at least a .500 record. No, that isn’t the end game for this program but in a year with so many challenges and a lot of youth that is a definite step in the right direction. You’d like to be 7-1 or 6-2 and this team could easily be that if not for some self-inflicted wounds, but they have taken care of business at home and found ways to win some tight football games. This is another one after a letdown on the road at Texas, where this team was able to bounce back. Now, if you truly want to take that next step you need to find a way to win either at home against Oklahoma in two weeks, on the road at Iowa State or possibly both. This team was picked eighth in the league and has a realistic chance to finish with 6 or 7 wins in a shortened 10-game season. Given the rebuilding job that Neal Brown faced when he took over here and the youth on this team still, that would be another step on the climb.
--That is the fifth game in eight tries that junior running back Leddie Brown eclipsed the 100-yard mark. The entire team only had 2 such games all of last year. His 897 rushing yards in eight games has already surpassed the 879 yards that the Mountaineers rushed for as a team last season in 12. He has more touchdowns on the ground (9) than West Virginia had as a team last year (7). Basically, he has been very, very good and today he was playing at what I would estimate was around 80-percent with an injury. His output today was the second-best rushing game of his career (behind Kansas) and he continues to make people miss and get yards after contact without losing stride. His transformation this year has been beyond impressive. Credit to the offensive line as well, while it hasn’t been perfect this year that unit is getting better and better. Really liked the progress that I’ve seen from Zach Frazier on the interior and Brandon Yates at tackle. They’re freshmen and only going to continue to get better as key contributors on the front for years to come.
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