The Day After: West Virginia football at Baylor
The West Virginia football team rallied in the final minutes to knock off Baylor 34-31 on the road to close the regular season on a high note.
The Mountaineers moved to 8-4 on the season and and WVSports.com takes a look back at what unfolded in our weekly feature The Day After.
HOT:
The two-minute. On two separate occasions, West Virginia traveled 70+ yards with no timeouts at the end of a half to score a touchdown. The first was a 74-yard drive, capped off with a Garrett Greene one-yard run with 15 ticks left. The second was an 80-yard drive with 1:14 remaining that ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jaheim White to give the Mountaineers the win and left only 23 seconds On those two drives, Greene had full command of the offense with his arm and legs.
Hudson Clement. The redshirt freshman hauled in 4 catches for 80 yards, including two critical grabs on the final drive of the game.
Zach Frazier. On that final drive, senior center Zach Frazier pushed wide receiver Hudson Clement almost five yards down the field with no timeouts to help him cross the first-down marker and then had the smarts and toughness to limp off the field despite an injury to avoid a ten second run-off on the clock. Frazier is likely to miss the bowl game due to his injury, but has simply been fantastic over his career and perhaps no sequence better sums up the type of player he's been than that.
Jaheim White. In his second start, White turned in another strong effort with 133 rushing yards while averaging 7.8 yards per carry and the game-winning 29-yard grab in with 23 seconds left. White had three runs over 10+ yards and continued to be explosive as the lead back in the Mountaineers offense.
The Hail Mary defense. Learning their mistakes from what unfolded at Houston, West Virginia brought pressure and was able to hit Baylor quarterback RJ Martinez and force the ball loose before he ever had a chance to launch the ball toward the end zone.
NOT:
Kick return coverage. Anytime you allow a single player to run back 90+ yard kick returns for touchdowns it's a bad thing. The Mountaineers simply got beat in one-on-one blocks and missed a tackle at the point of attack. That unit has been an adventure at times this season, but this was their worst performance of the year.
Red zone offense. West Virginia moved the ball almost at will in the first half, but did have to settled for a pair of field goals in the red zone when the offense could have really put some distance between them and the Bears. The Mountaineers were 3-3 in the red zone, but only managed one touchdown.
The second half outside the final drive. West Virginia just didn't play well for the majority of the second half. The offense was held to 54 total yards prior to the game winning 80-yard drive and the defense allowed 248 yards and 17 points. It was a half marred with penalties and mistakes but ultimately it didn't cost them the win.
That fourth down call. Yes, the one where West Virginia lined up Garrett Greene under center to attempt a tush push over a full-yard with the Bears crowding the line of scrimmage. Predictably it was stuffed for no-gain and the ball went back to Baylor but fortunately the defense would hold and give the offense another shot at it.
DEFINING PLAYS:
2nd and 8 from WVU 38. After taking the opening kickoff, West Virginia was able to get a first down, but Greene mishandled the snap and was forced to take a nine-yard loss which completely derailed the drive and left the offense scoreless on their first possession.
1st and 10 from BU 30. After a 53-yard run by Jaheim White, Greene found a wide-open Traylon Ray on a deep ball with blown coverage by the Bears to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead.
3rd and 1 from BU 38. On the ensuing possession, the Bears faced a third and one with Robertson attempting to pick it up himself to the outside, but Aubrey Burks made an impressive open field tackle spilling the attempt for a two-yard loss and forcing a second punt.
3rd and 7 from BU 20. After moving down the field yet again, the Mountaineers attempted an option play where Greene was stuffed and forced the offense to settle for a field goal. Hayes would knock it through to give West Virginia a 10-0 lead, but a win for the Bears keeping the offense out of the end zone.
Ensuing kickoff. After taking that 10-0 lead, West Virginia allowed the Bears to completely seize the momentum by allowing a 96-yard kickoff untouched for Richard Reese.
3rd and 4 from WVU 38. The offense looked to recapture momentum when Greene uncorked a 36-yard pass down the right sideline into the arms of Hudson Clement. That allowed the Mountaineers to keep pushing despite the back breaking touchdown return only moments before.
2nd and 7 from BU 23. Greene took the ball on a read play and followed the block of tight end Kole Taylor off the left side to waltz into the end zone for a 23-yard score to take a 17-7 lead.
Ensuing kickoff. For the second time in as many scores, Reese went untouched down the left side for 93-yard kickoff return for his second in as many attempts to keep the Bears in the game at 17-14.
3rd and 5 from BU 18. Again, West Virginia marched down the field on the ensuing drive but had to settle for a field goal in the red zone when Greene’s rush attempt was stuffed. The score was pushed to 20-14 but with only 28 yards the Bears were very much in the football game.
4th and 12 from WVU 26. After stopping the Baylor offense, Hankins came on for a 43-yard field goal attempt which was pushed wide left to keep the score at 20-14.
2nd and 8 from WVU 28. On the next drive, Greene released a ball under pressure that Devin Lemar got his hands on that he should have returned for a pick six but dropped the ball.
3rd and 8 from WVU 28. Greene launched a ball down the right sideline to Traylon Ray and while it fell incomplete, it drew a flag which kept the drive alive. The Mountaineers would then head into the end zone five plays later on a one-yard touchdown run by Greene to take a 27-14 edge.
1st and 10 from WVU 38. The Bears took the opening drive of the second half into West Virginia territory and connected on a 38-yard touchdown toss to Ketron Jackson to score their first offensive touchdown and cut the West Virginia lead to just 27-21.
1st and 10 from WVU 25. The Mountaineers ripped off a 43-yard run on the first play, but it was called back due to a penalty on a hold. That would lead to a three and out, which then resulted in a kick-catch interference to set the Bears up on their next drive.
4th and 1 from WVU 4. The Bears easily converted on a sneak by Robertson and Richardson would cap off the drive with a touchdown run from the two to take a 28-27 lead.
4th and 2 from WVU 47. Facing another fourth down, the Bears rolled the dice on the last play of the third quarter and got the Mountaineers to jump giving them the first down but still completed a 18-yard pass play to keep their drive alive with a one-point lead. It led to a field goal.
3rd and 9 from BU 43. After not putting up much resistance in the second half, the Mountaineers came up big on third down with a sack from Eddie Vesterinen. The ensuing punt would only be 26 yards.
4th and 1 from WVU 45. Facing a fourth down, West Virginia attempted a tush push and was stuffed to give the ball back to the Bears with a turning fourth quarter clock.
4th and 8 from WVU 14. For the second time in the game, Baylor missed a field goal to keep the score at 31-27 with 1:14 remaining and zero timeouts.
1st and 10 from WVU 20. On a screen pass to Hudson Clement, center Zach Frazier helped to push him over the first down marker in order to stop the clock with zero timeouts. Frazier, who was injured on the play and will likely miss the bowl game because of it, was able to pull himself up and get to the sideline to avoid a run-off.
2nd and 10 from BU 29. Five plays later, the Mountaineers moved deep into Baylor territory where Greene connected with a wide-open Jaheim White down the sideline for a 29-yard touchdown giving West Virginia a 34-31 lead with just 23 seconds left.
2nd and 4 from the BU 46. On the final play of the game, West Virginia brought pressure and was able to hit the quarterback before RJ Martinez could even release the ball ending the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
0 - Sacks allowed by the West Virginia offensive line for the third consecutive week.
1 - Number of West Virginia players that have thrown for at least 250 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns in the same game after Greene pulled off the feat against the Bears.
2 - First downs for West Virginia in the second half prior to the final drive. The Mountaineers rolled up 17 in the first half. Also the number of missed Baylor field goals.
5 - Consecutive scoring drives for West Virginia in the first half after punting on their opening possession.
7 - Second half points for the Mountaineers after scoring 27 in the first.
8.2 - Yards per play for the West Virginia offense, the second highest total of the season after hitting 9.8 a week ago against Cincinnati.
10 - Tackles by true freshman linebacker Ben Cutter.
15 - Games in a row that West Virginia has rushed for 140 yards or more.
30-29 - West Virginia record under Neal Brown.
54 - If this was his last game due to injury, center Zach Frazier helped push Hudson Clement for a first down with no timeouts and then limped off the field to avoid a ten-second run-off. Hats off to one of the best to do it for the Mountaineers.
80 - Yards that West Virginia drove over the final 1:14 on the game-winning drive. The Mountaineers had just 54 yards on 18 plays in the second half before that.
86 - First half yards allowed by the West Virginia defense.
522 - Rushing yards by Jaheim White over the final four games of the season. He averaged 8.2 yards per carry over that stretch.
1904 – The last time West Virginia allowed to kickoff returns for a touchdown in the same game. The Mountaineers lost to Michigan 130-0.
2015 – The last time Baylor had a first quarter where they did not complete a pass.
2018 - The last time West Virginia won eight regular season games and hit six wins in the Big 12 Conference.
GAME BALL:
Garrett Greene. This wasn't even his best overall effort, but Greene overcame some inconsistency and being stuck behind the sticks to become the first West Virginia player to ever throw for over 265 yards with 2 scores while rushing for 100 more and 2 scores. Greene completed 16-25 passes and was able to make a number of plays with his legs to extend drives and pick up massive chunks of yards. It's the second time this season that Greene has been able to engineer a late touchdown drive to give the Mountaineers the lead with around 20-seconds remaining but this time the result was favorable. Greene has truly blossomed this season in the offense and gives West Virginia a chance to win every single week. The scary part is there is still room for growth.
BIGGEST QUESTION/CONCERN MOVING FORWARD:
Where does this team go bowling and can they hit nine wins to head into the off-season with momentum? This is the question. Sitting at 8-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big 12 which would be a three-way tie for third with Kansas State and Iowa State. The teams ahead of them would be Texas and Oklahoma State obviously to go along with Oklahoma before you even get to the teams sitting in the three-way tie.
Some of this is going to depend entirely on what unfolds in the Big 12 championship game and whether Oklahoma State could possibly upend Texas to open up another spot with the Longhorns then likely getting picked for the New Years Six.
But it might not matter, because Oklahoma could also still be picked there if Texas would head to the College Football Playoff. There's still a lot to sort out with a week left, but it seems unlikely that the Mountaineers are going to head to the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando with what is ahead of them in the standings.
The Liberty Bowl could be a destination in Memphis against the SEC with the proximity and the fact that the Mountaineers have traveled well there in the past or they could fall even lower on the totem pole depending on how things shake out.
Still, regardless where this team ends up the chance to get to nine wins is within reach and it would be a massive achievement regardless of how they've reached this point. Eight wins is already exceeding the overall expectations, but if you can get to nine you have a chance to finish the year ranked and pick up even more momentum heading into a critical off-season with a young team that could return a lot.
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