MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Watching a 13-point second-half evaporate in real time was hard enough for West Virginia. Reviewing film from the 31-30 loss to TCU only highlighted a number of pivotal moments that factored into the narrow margin.
“Nobody feels good about it,” coach Dana Holgorsen said Monday. “Our team met (Sunday) night and watched the tape. Coaches and players both were upset because it was such a close game.”
Among the major turning points:
• West Virginia’s defense, steady and unyielding for much of Saturday, suffered a coverage breakdown that allowed TCU to move 51 yards in the final 2:07 for the winning kick.
• The defense held TCU to 2-of-11 on situations of third-and-3 or longer, but those conversions each resulted in B.J. Catalon touchdown runs. His third-and-goal score from the 6 with 7:33 left proved crucial by putting the Frogs in position to win the game late with a field goal.
• West Virginia went three-and-out on all three fourth-quarter series, when even a couple of first downs ultimately might have made the difference.
• On three trips inside the 10, the Mountaineers produced only one touchdown.
• West Virginia committed five turnovers on its half of the field, including four inside its 30-yard line. Though TCU converted those five opportunities into a mere 14 points, WVU’s sloppiness eliminated about one-third of its possessions. Three of the turnovers occurred on first-down plays or, in the case of Rushel Shell’s fumble, after a run that picked up a first down.
Holgorsen said “it’s impressive to watch” TCU’s defenders force takeaways.
“They’re not just lucking into turnovers. They create turnovers,” he said. “They get to the ball and they affect the ball. I wasn’t happy with us turning the ball over as much as we did, but you’ve got to give TCU credit.”
Holgorsen-Trickett dustup: The coach and quarterback had a brief, animated exchange after what turned out to be West Virginia’s final play. The third-and-9 hand-off to Andrew Buie lost 3 yards, forcing WVU to punt from its 41 with 2:18 left.
“I saw something a little bit different than he did,” Holgorsen said. “But I can’t explain the difference in what I’m looking at (versus) being in his shoes when he’s getting hit and getting knocked around and having to deal with all sorts of things on the field.”
Texas on deck: While admitting “it’s challenging” to rebound from the deflation of the TCU loss, Holgorsen said his players have shown a knack this season for maintaining next-game focus.
“I give our guys a bunch of credit: They’ve buried the previous game and moved on to the next game each and every week this year.”
TCU’s Catalon injured: Gary Patterson said Catalon is questionable this week after absorbing a jarring hit on TCU’s final offensive play at West Virginia. The running back, popped by safety Karl Joseph after a 2-yard gain, looked woozy on the sideline as the Frogs set up for Jaden Oberkrom’s game-winning field goal.
Asked if Catalon suffered a concussion, Patterson said “I can’t discuss those type of things.”