MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia quarterback Will Grier plans to return to North Carolina in two weeks for a post-surgery evaluation on his throwing hand.
The junior has 34 passing touchdowns this season, tied for second nationally with Baker Mayfield, whom West Virginia (7-4, 5-3) faces Saturday in the season finale at Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1).
As MetroNews reported Saturday night, Grier’s broken middle finger means he won’t play against the Sooners and his bowl status remains doubtful. Coach Dana Holgorsen said he fully supported Grier flying home to North Carolina to meet with a specialist who performed surgery Sunday. His recovery timetable is four-to-six weeks.
“He’s obviously out for quite a while,” Holgorsen said, adding that a decision on Grier probably can’t be made until the week of the bowl. “(Breaking) that middle finger on your throwing hand makes it pretty tough.”
Redshirt sophomore Chris Chugunov, who relieved Grier for the final three-plus quarters in a 28-14 loss to Texas, is preparing to make his first college start. That gives West Virginia coaches a few practices to tailor packages to Chugunov, who isn’t the.
“I thought he played hard and battled hard,” Holgorsen said. “With a few more reps we’ll probably be able to do a few more things.”
No to the pylon
Grier lost the football extending for the pylon, two plays after running back Justin Crawford made a similar lunge only to be ruled out of bounds. That followed Holgorsen warning players about exposing the football and risking a touchback.
“We don’t coach diving for the pylon but we did it on two of three plays,” he said. “I guess we’ve got to coach it better.”
Connor Williams rules the line
The return of left tackle Connor Williams from a seven-game injury absence helped Texas average 5.5 yards per carry and pile up 233 rushing yards overall.
Several Longhorns players were inspired by the potential first-round pick coming back from a knee injury for the final two regular-season games.
“It says a ton to the NFL, too,” Tom Herman said. “It proves what kind of competitor, teammate and how tough a player he really is.”
Linebacker Malik Jefferson credited Williams’ presence for amping up the defense.
“I told him he’s the heart and soul of the O-line and you could tell the difference. He was taking on two or three guys,” Jefferson said. “It was very impressive how he came back and competed today.”
Long odds In Norman
Oklahoma opened as a three-touchdown favorite and within hours the line swelled to 23 points. That would mark the second-worst odds facing a West Virginia team during the Holgorsen Era.
The largest spread occurred in 2013, when the Mountaineers were 30-point underdogs at Baylor and lost 73-42. (Earlier that season, Oklahoma was a 21-point favorite when it edged West Virginia 16-7 in Norman.)
In terms of upsets, West Virginia’s most sizable also came in 2013, when it knocked off Oklahoma State 30-21 as a 19.5-point underdog.
Bowl projections
Losing to Texas has dropped West Virginia a peg in the Big 12’s bowl pecking order.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports forecasts a Cactus Bowl matchup against Oregon on Dec. 26, while Sports Illustrated predicts a return to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando (Dec. 28) to face N.C. State, a team that pops up on next year’s schedule.
ESPN projects a Liberty Bowl date against LSU or Memphis.