MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Thanks to one remarkably disastrous freak play, last year’s Texas game was all about what could have been for West Virginia. This year, Will Grier and the Mountaineers are out to show everything that they can be against the Longhorns.
Things seemed to be going well enough for West Virginia when Texas visited Morgantown last November. When Grier decided to dive towards the end zone with 4:35 left in the first quarter, the Mountaineers were poised to take a 7-0 lead. When he hit the ground, cruel fates intervened.
Grier landed awkwardly, breaking the middle finger of his throwing hand. To make matters worse, the ball popped loose and rolled out of bounds, hitting the pylon, thus making it Texas ball after a touchback.
It’s almost impossible to package that much bad luck into one play without someone walking past a black cat underneath a ladder while simultaneously smashing a mirror.
Grier was done for the season, and so were the Mountaineers. West Virginia lost its final three games to finish 7-6.
But memories of that disappointment aren’t motivating Grier for Saturday’s rematch.
“I haven’t really revisited that at all,” Grier said. “It was just a freak thing that happened. It hasn’t changed my mindset at all moving forward.”
Offensive lineman Josh Sills refuses to even buy into the narrative that losing Grier lost the game. He says his own unit needed to play better, and must bring that attitude to Austin.
“It was more frustrating from the perspective of how our offensive line played,” Sills said. “We didn’t play very well at all that game. Even if something like that does happen, you can’t let it affect you. Injuries are a part of football. We didn’t play like we did other games that year.”
The present and future are far more pertinent to the Mountaineers than the past. West Virginia and Texas are tied with Oklahoma for first place in the Big 12. The winner of this game will clear a massive hurdle towards reaching the Big 12 championship game.
“This is a really good team we’re going up against,” Grier said. “So, we look forward to having the opportunity to play this great game in a great environment against a great team.”
Texas coach Tom Herman knows that a full game of Grier represents a far greater headache for him to deal with than the now-departed Chris Chugunov. Grier ranks third nationally in quarterback rating and passing yards per attempt.
“He’s one of the best players in the country, if not the best player in the position at the country,” said Herman, who has already seen Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray first-hand.
“When you’re not playing him, it’s certainly fun to watch. When you are playing him, it’s a handful. He is an absolute difference-maker back there.”