West Virginia (7-6) fell to 15-21 all-time in bowl games and ended its 2017 season by dropping its third straight game, falling to Utah (7-6) 30-14 Tuesday afternoon in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl at the Cotton Bowl.
Despite a solid performance from their defense, the Mountaineers struggled to get in a rhythm offensively, gaining 153 total yards and just 29 rushing yards on 21 carries without senior running back Justin Crawford and starters Kyle Bosch and Yodny Cajuste both out on the offensive line.
In his second career start in place of the injured Will Grier, West Virginia redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Chugunov finished 9-of-28 for 129 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Defensively for West Virginia, the Mountaineers sacked Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley six times as Huntley finished with 165 passing yards and 57 rushing yards to go along with two touchdowns on the ground.
Senior safety Kyzir White led the West Virginia defense with a career-high 13 tackles and one sack.
West Virginia received the ball to start out, but quickly went three-and-out. Utah then wasted no time and took an early 7-0 lead at the 11:37 mark in the first quarter after Zack Moss capped off a 4-play, 83-yard scoring drive with a 58-yard touchdown run.
The Mountaineers would go three-and-out again on the ensuing drive, but West Virginia’s defense would rise up and force a Utah punt after the Utes drove the ball near midfield. After each team possessed the ball twice, Utah had 137 total offensive yards to West Virginia’s -1.
West Virginia’s total offensive yards would fall to -4 on its next possession as the team went three-and-out for the third straight drive, but the Mountaineer defense would then force Utah’s first three-and-out of the day.
While still trailing 7-0, the Mountaineers received a much-needed first spark thanks to a 33-yard pass from Chugunov to sophomore wide receiver Marcus Simms on third-and-seven and a 12-yard pass to junior wide receiver Gary Jennings on fourth-and-three. Evan Staley capped off West Virginia’s 11-play, 67-yard drive with a 28-yard field goal that cut Utah’s lead to 7-3 with 13:09 left in the first half.
Two dropped passes and a sack would force the Utes to punt for the third straight drive on the ensuing possession, but the Mountaineers would punt for the fourth time on their next offensive drive after Chugunov’s pass on third-and-10 was nearly intercepted.
The West Virginia defense would come up with its fourth straight stop after White sacked Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley on third-and-seven, but Simms would muff the ensuing punt which was recovered by Utah on West Virginia’s 13-yard line.
Utah’s offense would take advantage of West Virginia’s special teams miscue and would extend its lead to 14-3 with a two-yard touchdown run by Huntley three plays later at the 5:46 mark in the second quarter.
The Utes would add a 29-yard field goal from 2017 Lou Groza Award winner Matt Gay and their defense would force back-to-back three-and-outs to end the first half as West Virginia trailed 17-3 at halftime.
After one half, Utah outgained West Virginia 229-81 in total yards. The Mountaineers also finished the first half averaging just 2.7 yards per play on offense, were 1-for-9 on third down and gained just three first downs to Utah’s 10.
Both teams would open the second half with punts, but West Virginia would get another another spark after Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky fumbled the ball on the punt which ended up in the hands of West Virginia’s Shane Commodore on Utah’s 9-yard line.
However, the Mountaineers were unable to come within one possession of the Utes and instead settled for a 26-yard field goal from Staley to make it 17-6 in favor of Utah with 6:43 left in the third quarter.
West Virginia continued to struggle offensively throughout most of the second half as Utah added another Huntley rushing Touchdown and field goal to extend its lead to 27-6 with 11:38 left in the game.
The Utes then intercepted Chugunov later in the fourth quarter and would eventually add another field goal to go up 30-6.
West Virginia would then score its first touchdown of the day with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chugunov to fifth-year wide receiver Ka'Raun White. Chugunov then hit Trevon Wesco for the two-point conversion.
The Mountaineers recovered the onside kick, but Chugunov would throw his second interception of the day to seal the 30-14 win for Utah.
