6:00: Morning News

Mountaineers’ feverish finish packs carryover beyond one game

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen leaps into a player’s arms after the Mountaineers scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat Texas Tech 37-34.

 

LUBBOCK, Texas — One game.

This was Dana Holgorsen minimizing the huge emotional gulf between his team being 3-3 after a loss at Texas Tech vs. the 4-2 record they actually carried back to Morgantown.

“It’s a difference in one game,” Holgorsen reiterated.

Not a soul in the room believed him.

And deep down, neither did the man who said it.

Hard to trust the buttoned-down coachspeak when just minutes previously Holgorsen lept like a kid into the arms of Shaquille Riddick. So unbridled was the Happy Holgo Express he even made a point to speak to the game-winning kicker.

Hey, enthusiasm is a good thing. It’s currency for a program that was largely bankrupt of bliss during the 24 months between Lubbock Part I and Saturday’s scintillating sequel. (And as the Red Raiders rang up long-distance scores of 34, 76, 43 and 69 yards, didn’t this one feel like a shot-for-shot remake of 2012?)

How West Virginia roared back to steal the game 37-34 astounded even Tony Gibson, whose defense survived a flood of assignment errors he said “should never happen.” The late-game swing certainly astounded the crowd of 58,502, who showed up early for free waffles and spent three-plus quarters under the delusion Texas Tech could salvage its unraveling season.

While West Virginia most certainly did not defeat a strong football team, what it did was end the game with a near-flawless seven-minute stretch that washed clean all the earlier foul-ups.

Its final three drives delivered methodical efficiency: 21 plays, 11 first downs, 195 yards and 17 points.

The Red Raiders in that span? Nine plays, one flukish first down, 29 yards and zero points.

While self-doubt radiated from the home sideline, West Virginia was patient, calculated and flat-out confident when the game demanded it. Technically, the victory kept WVU in the Big 12 title chase—with games upcoming against three of the four teams atop the standings. Emotionally, it kept the team insulated against the kind of swoon that wrecked 2013. There’s no evidence the Mountaineers can contend for the league crown, but it has enough skill and verve to climb into a decent bowl game.

Remember how last season’s Texas loss sent West Virginia down the well? This bordered on being far more damaging, as it would have siphoned away swagger, depleted morale and rendered bowl-eligibility doubtful. Imagine facing Baylor next week under such a malaise.

Instead, West Virginia played spotty on the road and prevailed anyway, delighting in turning off the Red Raiders fans and their  insult shower.

“They were ruthless,” said Clint Trickett. “I’ve never seen burritos thrown from the stands.”

Holgorsen used to appreciate that rowdiness, having spent a formative chunk of his coaching career in Lubbock. “There’s many fond memories of this place,” he said. “Won a lot of games here.”

On Saturday he added one more. One, that in the context of his team’s development, counts for so much more.





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