Live blog: No. 9 West Virginia carves up TCU 47-10

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After a sleepy start, No. 9 West Virginia awoke for three second-quarter touchdowns in less than 4 minutes and buried TCU 47-10 on Saturday.

Will Grier threw for three scores and 343 yards as the Mountaineers (8-1, 6-1) remained atop the Big 12 standings with two weeks left in the regular season.

Tight end Trevon Wesco finished with a team-high 86 yards receiving.

Jalen Reagor caught 11 passes worth 150 yards for TCU (4-6, 2-5), which sustained its worst loss under Gary Patterson and must beat Baylor and Oklahoma State to become bowl-eligible.

West Virginia sacked Michael Collins four times — three by David Long — leaving TCU with minus-7 yards on 24 carries.

Pettaway had 59 yards on 12 carries for West Virginia, while McKoy added 53 more on 13 rushes.

Recapping the live updates throughout this frosty Saturday:

Fourth quarter

— WVU END OF GAME: Leddie Brown carried eight consecutive plays as WVU killed the final 4 minutes.

— TCU TURNOVER: Reagor caught an 18-yard pass only to be stripped by Derek Pitts. Exree Loe pounced on it at TCU’s 42 for his second recovery of the game.

— WVU PUNT: Backup quarterback Jack Allison entered and found Tevin Bush for 28 yards.

— TCU PUNT: Two more catches for Reagor got the Frogs across midfield but David Long’s sack shut down the threat.

TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 4-yard pass from Will Grier (10:55) WVU leads 47-10
Wesco made two more catches for a combined 27 yards as TCU’s defense remained helpless. Pettaway carried three times for 20 yards and Leddie Brown tacked on three rushes for 14, all of which set up Grier’s final pass of the afternoon — the slant to Sills for his 12th touchdown catch of the season. (Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards in 4:05)

Third quarter

— TCU PUNT: The quarter appeared to expire after a three-and-out, but WVU called timeout with 1 second left. Holgorsen wanted the Frogs punting against the wind, and it paid off with a 35-yarder.

TOUCHDOWN: Gary Jennings 8-yard pass from Will Grier (1:25) WVU leads 40-10
Leading by 23 points, West Virginia tried a fourth-and-1 at midfield, which Grier converted with a 6-yard toss to Jennings. After a Wesco caught a 23-yarder across the middle, Grier threw his second touchdown of the day by finding Jennings on a third-and-goal cross. (Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards in 3:40)

TOUCHDOWN: Jalen Reagor 28-yard pass from Collins (9:48) WVU leads 33-10
After recovering the fumbled punt that was charged to Keith Washington, TCU snapped West Virginia’s 33-0 run. Reagor, a bright spot on a struggling offense, caught a TD for the fifth straight game by beating cornerback Josh Norwood along the visiting sideline.  (Drive: 3 plays, 43 yards in 0:45)

—WVU TURNOVER: As the Frogs punted from their 33, the ball knuckled like a wedge shot and struck the unsuspecting foot of West Virginia’s Keith Washington. TCU’s La’Kendrick Van Zandt recovered at the Mountaineers’ 43.

TOUCHDOWN: McKoy 1-yard run (13:12) WVU leads 33-3
West Virginia’s offense continued humming for its fourth consecutive touchdown drive, sparked by Grier flinging a 53-yard sidelined pass to Marcus Simms, who beat cornerback Jeff Gladney. McKoy nearly bounded in for an 8-yard touchdown on the ensuing snap, but was ruled down inside the 1. He squirted in moments later for his fourth score of the season and second of the day. (Drive: 4 plays, 60 yards in 0:56)

SAFETY: Intentional grounding on TCU’s Michael Collins in the end zone (14:13) WVU leads 26-3
TCU’s half opened with another kick-return blunder as Emari Demercado signaled fair catch at the 4-yard line. He got the signal part right but not the catch, muffing the kick and then recovering it. On a third-down dropback, Collins was pressured by linebacker JoVanni Stewart and forced to throw the ball away. Because Collins was not outside the pocket and had no receiver in the area, Stewart was credited with the sack and the safety.

Halftime notes

— WVU outgained the Frogs 269-114.

— QB comparison: Will Grier was 15-of-25 for 198 yards with one TD and one INT. Michael Collins completed  9-of-18 worth 101 yards.

— TCU has 17 rushing attempts for 13 yards.

Second quarter

TOUCHDOWN: Trevon Wesco 32-yard pass from Will Grier (1:39) WVU leads 24-3
The romp was on as the Mountaineers struck for their third touchdown in fewer than 4 minutes. Pettaway caught a swing pass for 15 yards and then cracked forward for another 17 up the middle. That precipitated Wesco popping wide-open on a wheel route, the function of TCU’s injury-riddle secondary struggling with assignments. Wesco’s second career TD also became his career-long reception. (Drive: 4 plays, 64 yards in 0:34)

— TCU PUNT: A dropped third-down pass continued the Frogs’ freefall.

TOUCHDOWN: Martell Pettaway 1-yard run (3:42) WVU leads 17-3
David Sills dropped another touchdown opportunity along the back boundary, but two physical carries by Pettaway punched in the score. It was the junior’s third touchdown in two weeks. (Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards in 1:22)

— TCU TURNOVER: The wind played tricks with the kickoff, which bounced away from Taye Barber. The returner pounced on the loose ball, but amid the pile-up it twice squirted out. Exree Loe finally recovered at the TCU 17.

TOUCHDOWN: Kennedy McKoy 33-yard run (5:09) WVU leads 10-3
Grier threw short to Jennings and McKoy before two sideline throws to Sills netted 28 yards. Then McKoy broke free on an inside zone run, leaving linebacker Montrell Wilson in a diving heap on the second level. (Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards in 1:23)

— WVU TURNOVER: Will Grier deserved better. His on-the-money 38-yard throw was dropped by Sills at the goal line. Then came a tipped interception on which officials appeared to miss defensive interference as receiver T.J. Simmons squared in. A review confirmed safety Ridwan Issahaku making the diving interception at the Frogs’ 28.

— TCU PUNT: Collins narrowly avoided a safety after dropping the snap 8 yards deep in the end zone. He kept his head, picked up the loose ball and actually turned it into a 12-yard completion to Sewo Olonilua. The drive ended three plays later when Collins was cup-checked by a shotgun snap he didn’t anticipate. That lost 5 yards.

— WVU PUNT: A 12-yard pass to Jovani Haskins and another 15 to McKoy brought the Mountaineers to the TCU 48. Then came two breakdowns: A 4-yard loss by McKoy on an ill-fated draw and Grier blind-sided into an incompletion when Trevon West and Leddie Brown failed in pass-pro. The ensuing third-and-long pass was open but Sills slipped coming out of his break. Sills caught the next ball to come his way, albeit a punt he downed inside the 1.

— TCU PUNT: Capping a three-and-out, Collins underthrew Reagor deep. A potential 84-yard touchdown became an incompletion when cornerback Keith Washington made the breakup.

FIELD GOAL: Evan Staley 47-yarder (14:49) Tied 3-3
Shut out in the opening quarter for the first time all season, West Virginia broke through on Staley’s kick early in the second period. The wind increased the degree-of-difficulty and the ball ricocheted off the left upright before falling through. The score was setup by Gary Jennings taking an underneath catch 34 yards as TCU’s secondary had difficulty lining up on a quick snap. WVU’s chance for more was interrupted by an illegal block penalty on Marcus Simms. (Drive: 6 plays, 34 yards in 2:11)

First quarter

— TCU PUNT: Flirting with disaster, the Frogs started by losing 10 yards on a backward toss that eluded Taye Barber. Two plays later, Collins beat a three-man rush to convert a third-and-5 throw to Jaelan Austin for 11 yards. On the next third down, Tony Gibson’s didn’t sit back. His corner blitz collapsed the pocket and led to David Long’s sack.

— WVU PUNT: After Sills went for 23 yards on a third-and-6 catch, WVU seemed to be cooking. Then T.J. Simmons dropped a wide-open curl route and TCU snuffed out Kennedy McKoy’s third-and-10 draw for no gain. Billy Kinney’s punt was initially ruled down inside the 1, only to be overturned by the replay booth.

FIELD GOAL: Jonathan Song 30-yarder (8:10) TCU leads 3-0
The Frogs opened with a clock-consuming drive extended by Michael Collins’ QB keeper on third-and-1. Despite throwing into a stiff wind, Collins zipped a 35-yard pass to Jalen Reagor. Facing third-and-2 at the WVU 13, TCU eschewed the run. Instead Collins rolled out and threw incomplete in the end zone for Reagor, who went unflagged for a push in the back on Hakeem Bailey. (Oh the OPI irony!) Had the penalty been called, WVU might have backed up TCU to thirdand-17 in hopes of creating a longer field-goal try. (Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards in 5:39)

— WVU PUNT: A three-and-out for the Mountaineers ended with Sills catching an 8-yard come-backer on third-and-9.

Pregame notes

— WVU’s Shea Campbell gets the start at Mike linebacker again, his third straight. Dylan Tonkery’s ankle injury is a mystery wrapped inside an enigma.

— Today’s game was ruled a sellout Friday. That’s the kind of buzz you’d expect for the No. 9 team in the CFP rankings.

— My pregame “5 Questions” column, which rekindles the uproar over a controversial pass interference call from last year’s game in Fort Worth.

— West Virginia’s defense, after leading the Big 12 in points allowed, slipped to No. 2 last week after the 42-41 win at Texas. The Mountaineers (22.3 per game) get a chance to make up ground this week against TCU, whose offense ranks 100th nationally in scoring against FBS opponents.

— Today’s MetroNews staff predictions? It was WVU across the board.