Live blog: Mountaineers soar to 6-0 by blasting TCU

West Virginia’s Daikiel Shorts celebrates a 36-yard first-half catch against TCU.

 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 12 West Virginia enjoyed its first 6-0 start since 2006, needing none of the heart palpitations we’ve expected from past TCU games.

Recapping the live updates from sold-out Milan-Puskar Stadium where WVU enjoyed a 34-10 romp:

Fourth quarter

FIELD GOAL: Mike Molina 26-yarder (2:23) WVU leads 34-10: Kennedy McKoy rambles for 26 yards and Shell for another 20 as West Virginia salts this one away. The drive covered 75 yards in 10 plays with 5:51 elapsed.

— TCU netted minus-8 yards on a three-and-out.

— At the end of a three-and-out, Howard was sacked for the fifth time. The pressure is one of the few blights on an otherwise commanding peformance.

— TCU’s offense nearly gave up points when Noble Nwachukwu sacked Hill on the goal line. The Frogs punted from their 23.

— WVU was unable to cash in on the latest TCU turnover when Howard was tripped up for a 12-yard sack by Mat Boesen. But Billy Kinney’s 39-yard punt was caught and downed at the Frogs 3 yard line.

Third quarter

— TCU fumbled ANOTHER kickoff, this one forced and recovered by walk-on Shane Commodore. That means WVU dominates third-quarter time of possession 13:54 to TCU’s 1:06.

TOUCHDOWN: Howard 16-yard pass to Ka’Raun White (1:02) WVU leads 31-10: An 11-play, 67-yard drive culminated in Howard scrambling to his right and flipping a pass the diving White caught in front of the sliding Devonte Mathis. That’s the way things are going for West Virginia right now. Shorts made two catches worth 28 yards on the drive and WVU overcame a false start on Adam Pankey.

— After Kyle Hicks ripped off an 18-yard run, TCU was forced to punt when Antonio Crawford tightly defended two passes for Taj Williams.

FIELD GOAL: Mike Molina 37-yarder (7:24) WVU leads 24-10: West Virginia converted third downs in a variety of fashions: A 24-yard toe-tapper catch by Ka’Raun White on the sideline, a 7-yard screen on which Shell made a tackler miss, and a Shell 3-yard run out of a power formation. Alas, a holding call on Tony Matteo and another intentional grounding flag forced a third-and-22 from the Mountaineers could not recover. Molina’s kick followed a drive that chewed up 7:36.

Halftime notes

— WVU outgained TCU 215-207 in the first half.

— Rushel Shell looks invigorated with 59 yards on nine carries and a big 22-yard catch. Justin Crawford’s lone carry resulted in a 2-yard loss so his ankle is being problematic. Kennedy McKoy at least appears serviceable with appearances on several series.

— Kyle Hicks, who averages 79 yards per game, has 77 on 13 carries for the Frogs. Kenny Hill, after an early interception, is 12-of-17 for 104 yards.

— WVU’s back end hasn’t yielded anything deep aside from one Taj Williams’ 27-yarder. Tony Gibson will be content to force the Frogs into extended drives.

Second quarter

— West Virginia’s final drive of the half consumes 5:15 and reaches the TCU 34 but produces no points. Howard retreats from pressure only to be called for intentional grounding when his pass fails to reach the line of scrimmage. The 16-yard loss moves the ball back to midfield.

— Already down a cornerback for the first half, West Virginia lost Elijah Battle for the game after a questionable targeting call. He lunged low into TCU’s Daniel Walsh as the receiver went to the ground bobbling a catch, and though Battle’s helmet didn’t make contact, I can only guess the replay booth thought the shoulder to Walsh’s head was excessive. Despite the penalty, TCU punted after Battle’s replacement, Antonio Crawford, broke up a pass intended for Walsh.

TOUCHDOWN: Howard 12-yard pass to Gary Jennings (10:27) WVU leads 21-10: Rushel Shell performed most of the work, with two carries for 12 yards and a 28-yard catch on a well-blocked screen pass. That led to TCU leaving Jennings uncovered in the flat for his second career touchdown. Drive needed only five plays to go 67 yards

TOUCHDOWN: Hill 11-yard pass to Jaelen Austin (12:20) WVU leads 14-10: Behind Kyle Hicks and Trevorris Johnson, and some nifty escapability by Hill, TCU moved 76 yards in 12 plays expending 5:14. On the scoring play, Austin caught a back-shoulder pass over Rasul Douglas.

First quarter

— West Virginia went three-and-out and was fortunate to punt after replays indicated a third-down incompletion to Shorts may have been caught and fumbled. A TCU defender picked up the loose ball after a couple seconds but the replay booth didn’t halt the action.

FIELD GOAL: Brandon Hatfield 27-yarder (4:15) WVU leads 14-3: The Frogs had first-and-goal at the 7 before back-to-back penalties — center Austin Schlottman was flagged for illegal lineman downfield and then came a delay of game. Taj Williams beat Elijah Battle for a 27-yard catch down the middle but stayed on the field clutching his left leg.

TOUCHDOWN: Skyler Howard 22-yard pass to Shelton Gibson (9:37) WVU leads 14-0: Quick-strike drive for the Mountaineers, set up by Shorts twisting backward to haul in a 36-yard catch over Niko Smalls. Howard followed that up immediately by hitting Gibson on a deep slant.

— TCU went three-and-out, gaining

— Taking over at the TCU 33, the Mountaineers couldn’t add to the early lead. A 3-yard run by Shell and two incompletions for Ka’Raun White brought on Mike Molina, who hooked a 47-yarder wide left.

— Hill got his first poor throw out of the way early, throwing an interception that Rasul Douglas read like an eye chart.

TOUCHDOWN: Howard 10-yard pass to Daikiel Shorts (13:59) WVU leads 7-0: Marvin Gross provided instant juice by stripping Deante Gray on the opening kick return. It took three plays for WVU to cash in, with Shorts catching a pass at the sticks and making a physical run through two DBs at the goal line.

Pregame notes

— Injury update: Center Austin Schlottman, the top offensive lineman for TCU, was working with first unit in pregame drills. He missed past two games with a foot injury. Receiver/returner KaVontae Turpin was in pads but looks limited.

— William Crest changes jersey numbers from No. 16 to 17, meaning he’ll likely show up on special teams. (Safety Toyous Avery is other No. 16 and y’all know the rules on duplicate numbers.)

— Gary Patterson on playing in Morgantown: “I love it. The fans are fanatical about their team. Just a fun place to go, just a fun place to play. I like going there. It’s one of those things. You like going places where they truly do hate you. That’s my kind of Saturday.”

— In its last five quarters against TCU, dating back to that 2014 heartbreaker, West Virginia has scored 10 points and averaged 3.7 yards per play.

— Massey-Peabody Analytics gives West Virginia a 75-percent chance of beating TCU today and projects the Mountaineers as favorites in every remaining game, save for Oklahoma. We covered these probabilities on Thursday.

— My weekly preview “Four-Down Territory” focuses on TCU’s bye-week benefits, Gibby’s blitz wariness and Holgorsen pledging to “get the hair a little crazy” when it comes to outsmarting the Frogs’ defense.

— Our Friday Gold & Blue Lunch Report offered picks for this and other key college games, along with some love for animal mascots as a tribute to the late Mike VI. Our predictions for West Virginia-TCU:





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