The Day After: West Virginia football vs. BYU
The West Virginia football put together their most complete effort of the season bulldozing BYU 37-7 at home in a Big 12 Conference matchup.
The Mountaineers moved to 6-3 on the season and and WVSports.com takes a look back at what unfolded in our weekly feature The Day After.
HOT:
Offense. For the second straight week, West Virginia scored on the opening drive of the game and the first drive out of halftime. Three of those four have been touchdowns, with the opening drive of the second half against the Cougars netting only three. This was the best performance of the season for West Virginia rolling up 567 yards and 37 points while rushing for 332 yards and controlling time of possession by 11-minutes.
Jaheim White. The freshman simply looks as if he is moving at a different speed when he gets the football. He has been explosive, shown great contact balance and keeps his feet moving. After going for 9.4 yards per rush the week before, White followed that up with 9.1 yards per rush and a career high 146 yards.
CJ Donaldson. For the second straight week, Donaldson looks much more like the back that caught the attention of the league in his first year than the one that struggled for a stretch during his season. The sophomore was decisive rushing for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game and set the tone for the offense with a very physical run on fourth and one on the opening drive where he bulldozed a defender.
The offensive line. The transformation of this group from year one under Brown to now has been eye popping. The offensive line has been the engine to this offense and not only did they pave the way for 336 rushing yards, also did not allow a sack and only 4 tackles for loss in this game despite missing Doug Nester and shifting around up front.
Big plays in the passing game. It wasn't the most plentiful night for pass catchers, but they made them count. Devin Carter had a highlight reel 38-yard grab down the sideline before halftime, while Traylon Ray impressed with a very difficult catch in the first half. Kole Taylor flashed his jets and shake on a 43-yard touchdown catch in the second half and Preston Fox toe tapped in traffic for a 12-yard score on third down. There were some fantastic plays out of this group and they seem to be coming into their own.
The defense. BYU moved the ball, but West Virginia made the critical plays in this one. The Mountaineers held the Cougars to just 3-13 on third and fourth downs and killed three drives by getting stops on fourth. The defense also recorded three sacks and eight tackles for loss while forcing a turnover on an effort play. Anytime you hold a team to just 67 rushing yards and 7 points it's a good day at the office.
NOT:
Penalties. West Virginia for the most part this season has played a very clean brand of football but that was the one downside of this game with 10 yellow flags for 71 yards. Five of those were false start penalties in the first half and procedural issues that can't happen if this team wants to beat the better clubs on their schedule.
Redzone. West Virginia was 5-5 in that area of the field but had to settle for field goals twice, which can't happen in those situations. Scoring wasn't the problem, but making sure it turned into touchdowns certainly was at times in this one.
DEFINING PLAYS:
4th and 1 from BYU 37. Facing their first adversity of the game, the offense lined up in a power formation and grinded out a two-yard run by Donaldson to keep the opening drive alive.
1st and goal from BYU 2. Capping off a stellar drive, West Virginia was able to score on a toss play to Donaldson who was assisted into the endzone to give the Mountaineers an early lead after electing to take the ball to begin the football game.
4th and 2 from WVU 46. After a strong start, the Cougars faced a fourth and two as Jake Retzlaff started the game by throwing the football to get the offense past midfield. But the only designed run call on the drive was stuffed by Marcis Floyd for a two-yard loss to give the offense the ball back.
2nd and goal from BYU 1. The offense would travel 51 yards in four plays and once again head into the end zone on a one-yard run by Donaldson to push the lead to 14-0 with 6:16 in the quarter.
4th and 2 from WVU 35. After picking up 13-yards on third down, BYU elected to go for it on fourth and 2 but the pass was incomplete to Kody Epps who also took a big hit on the play. The Mountaineers would get the football back leading 14-0 with 13:50 left in the quarter.
3rd and 5 from BYU 42. Trailing 17-0, the Cougars offense attempted to generate something but on third down attempted a quick throw with a blocker in front but safety Anthony Wilson was able to get past that and blow up the play to force another punt.
3rd and 9 from BYU 12. Facing third and long, Greene sat in the pocket and fired a missile to Preston Fox in the back of the end zone who was able to get a foot down for a touchdown. The Mountaineers moved ahead 24-0 with 2:16 remaining in the first half.
1st and 10 from WVU 43. Retzlaff fired a pass to Parker Kingston for a 23-yard gain but Aubrey Burks was able to rip the football out and recover it to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard.
3rd and 14 from WVU 25. The Mountaineers took a shot down the field and connected with Devin Carter on a beautiful 38-yard catch to put the offense at the BYU 37. The drive would result in a field goal to close the half with West Virginia leading 27-0.
Opening second half kickoff. After what appeared to be a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Keelan Marion, it was wiped off the board by a holding penalty which pinned the Cougars at their own ten-yard line and kept them off the scoreboard.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
0 - Sacks allowed by the West Virginia offensive line.
3-14 - Third and fourth down conversions for BYU.
5 - First half false start penalties by West Virginia.
6:24 - Time remaining when BYU scored to snap the opportunity for West Virginia to record their first shutout against an FBS team since beating Kansas 49-0 in 2016.
7.5 - Yards per play for West Virginia.
8 - Games that BYU had won in a row in November before falling to the Mountaineers. The Cougars had also won seven consecutive night games.
9.24 - Yards per carry for Jaheim White on 25 totes over the past two games.
12 - Games in a row that West Virginia has rushed for 140 yards or more.
17 - Pass breakups by Beanie Bishop. He finished with 5 in this game.
27 - First half points is the second most in Neal Brown’s tenure against FBS competition.
30 - Largest margin of victory against an FBS opponent under Neal Brown.
43 - Yards that Kole Taylor’s touchdown catch spanned. The longest completion to a tight end since Trevon Wesco had a 43-yard catch in 2018.
336 - The most rushing yards of the Neal Brown era. It is the most against an FBS team overall since rushing for 388 against Oklahoma in 2016.
567 - The most yards West Virginia has compiled against an FBS opponent since rolling up 704 against Oklahoma during the 2018 season.
2008 - The last time West Virginia rushed for 275-yards in back-to-back games.
GAME BALL:
The team. This was as total of a team effort as West Virginia has put together in all three phases this season and perhaps throughout the entire Neal Brown tenure. The Mountaineers won 37-7, in a game that likely wasn't even that close.
West Virginia pulled away in the second half to the point that the backups were in the game in a conference matchup in November. It started off fast with Brown electing to take the football after winning the toss and the Mountaineers would go down and punch the ball into the end zone to go up 7-0. They would never trail from there.
The offense piled up 567 yards including 332 on the ground, controlled the ball for over 11-minutes longer and didn't allow a sack. While the defense held BYU to just 277 yards and 67 yards rushing, but perhaps more importantly out of the end zone until the result had all but been decided. Meanwhile, special teams continued it's strong play.
This West Virginia football team has played well at different times in the various phases this season, but this was by far the most complete effort all-around. This football team is hitting its stride down the stretch and has a schedule that could allow them to reach some goals that might have been considered pretty lofty at the start of the year.
BIGGEST QUESTION/CONCERN MOVING FORWARD:
Can West Virginia win on the road at Oklahoma? Looking at what's left for West Virginia, the Mountaineers will travel to take on the Sooners Saturday in a 7 p.m. kickoff in what will be the biggest remaining test on the schedule.
Oklahoma has lost consecutive Big 12 games to Kansas and Oklahoma State, but is one of the most talented teams in the league on an annual basis. Even with their struggles, this certainly won't be an easy matchup.
But if the Mountaineers could get past the Sooners what would remain would be a home contest with a 2-7 Cincinnati team and then a road trip to 3-6 Baylor, who must fend off Kansas State on the road to stay in the bowl hunt.
That means that there is a realistic shot that the Mountaineers could be fighting for a lot down the stretch while most of their opponents won't have a lot to play for left. That won't be the case this weekend however because despite two losses, the Sooners still very much remain alive in the conference title race.
Obviously that disappears if West Virginia finds a way to win on the road and if that happens it's time to start taking the Mountaineers seriously in that race. Oklahoma State would have the edge over them with a win, but the rest of the field would be wide open if Texas or somebody else would trip up down the stretch.
None of this matters unless West Virginia can beat the Sooners though and is it possible that in their last year in the league this team can go on the road and do it?
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