COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Having failed to beat, and in most cases compete with the Big 12’s football heavyweights, West Virginia hopes to regain some life against a string of mediocres.
October’s competition that dealt the Mountaineers four straight losses—we’re referencing Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma—they’re a combined 30-1 this season. That stretch explains why USA Today’s Jeff Sagarin ranks West Virginia’s schedule as the nation’s second-strongest to date. That’s tall cotton for sure, and WVU had no business playing in it.
October was make-or-break for gaining national exposure, proving the program was on solid footing, and heck, if we’re waxing really grandiose here, maybe winning a game or two. With none of those boxes checked, West Virginia (3-4, 0-4) is left to scrap for bowl-eligibility, a hollow stroke in this era where some five-win teams might be required to fill out the 80 bowl slots.
Yes, West Virginia, even with no momentum to speak of at this juncture, should qualify to spend the holidays playing in some low-profile 13th game, like the Cactus Bowl or Heart of Dallas or the Advocate V100 Texas Bowl. And that should happen because now comes a series of five opponents whose combined records are 14-26, aka The Redemptive Homestretch. At least it had better be redemptive, because anything less than 4-1 against such a mightily flawed procession would be a major drag.
Take this week’s matchup against Texas Tech (5-4, 2-4), a squad that will be playing its 10th consecutive game, and actually will play an 11th before squeezing two byes into the final three weeks of the regular season. (The Big 12 produced this scheduling absurdity by granting Texas a Thanksgiving Day home game that currently possesses all the appeal of a turkey dropped from a WKRP helicopter.)
If West Virginia can’t carve through a Red Raiders defense that, let’s face it, couldn’t tackle anybody even when it actually felt fresh, we’ll know Dana Holgorsen truly has encountered play-calling writer’s block.
The coach’s self-diagnosis after Thursday’s 40-10 loss at TCU: “I’ve been saying we have to try and improve offensively to where we can score and I’ve been failing at my job to get that done. We’re not scoring enough to win a game like this.”
Thing is, Texas Tech plays all its games “like this,” with points piling up in absurd bunches. The TCU defense that held WVU scoreless on 10 of 12 drives? Kliff Kingsbury’s team scored 52 against it, only to lose on a tipped pass that temporarily laid claim to Play of the Year (at least until Michigan State blocked a punt and Miami lateralled eight times.)
You’ll find the Red Raiders at No. 3 in the nation in total offense (603.7 yards)—behind only the double-gulp of Baylor and TCU. (And in almost comical symmetry you’ll find Texas Tech next-to-last nationally in total defense, allowing a 572.7 yards per game.)
Pat Mahomes isn’t as efficient as Trevone Boykin or Seth Russell, at least not yet, but he has thrown for more yards than either of them and rushed for more touchdowns. So the Mountaineers’ fast-fading defense gets one final chance to prove itself against a credible quarterback.
Hey, the Mountaineers will take motivation anywhere they can find it these days.
“We’ve got to go win a game and get our mojo back. Right now we’ve got zero,” said defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. “We’re sitting around waiting for bad things to happen it seems.”
Of course, really good opponents can pressure, pry and make bad things happen. In the coming weeks, we’ll learn whether the Mountaineers have lost their touch against the not-as-good teams.