MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia fell behind early in another Big 12 Conference game, failing to manage a first down over its first three series against TCU on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Unlike the previous four instances, the Mountaineers battled back this time and were to within one possession in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, however, another sluggish start proved especially costly this time around as the Horned Frogs picked up the necessary first down to run out the clock and hang on for a 23-17 victory.
“You couldn’t play much worse. We played harder and that was good,” said WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez, noting improvement from last Saturday’s 45-13 loss at Central Florida. “The guys didn’t quit. Probably going to be mad when we watch the film that we left a lot of stuff out there. Had a chance to win the game, but we have a lot of things to clean up.”
True freshman Scotty Fox Jr. had his most promising performance to date, completing 28-of-41 passes for 301 yards, including 193 yards in the second half.
“A true freshman quarterback with 10 new starters around him, the kid acquitted himself pretty well,” Rodriguez said, “and the defense played hard against a pretty veteran group.”
A well-placed 28-yard touchdown pass to wideout Jeff Weimer with 3:15 remaining allowed the Mountaineers to trail by six. With one timeout remaining, WVU elected for an onside kick, but the Horned Frogs came up with the recovery.
Faced with third-and-6 on the WVU 40 shortly after, TCU quarterback Josh Hoover found Eric McAlister for a 21-yard reception that he fumbled away at the end, but teammate Major Everhart pounced on the loose ball and brought an end to any hope the Mountaineers had.
“That one’s going to sting for a while,” Mountaineer linebacker Reid Carrico said. “In football, sometimes the ball bounces your way. That was literally the exact scenario. If it had bounced 4 inches my way to the left, it would’ve been Mountaineer football with around 2 minutes left.”
Still, it was the beginning of the game that was most costly for West Virginia, which went three-and-out on its opening series and fell behind 3-0 at the 11:35 mark of the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal from Nate McCashland.
Fox was stopped inches short of a first down on a fourth-and-1 sneak from the WVU 34 that brought an end to the Mountaineers’ second drive, and although TCU couldn’t capitalize on that field position, the visitors produced the game’s first touchdown on their third possession when Trent Battle reached the end zone on a 1-yard run for a 10-0 lead with 4:31 remaining in the opening frame.
The Mountaineers (2-6, 0-5) were held scoreless in the first quarter for a sixth consecutive game and put together a quality drive on their fourth possession, but it ended with tailback Diore Hubbard brought down 1 yard short of a first down on a fourth-and-2 run from the TCU 22.
WVU’s defense was again up to the task though and Devin Grant recorded the Mountaineers’ first sack in Big 12 play this season to force a punt that traveled only 23 yards, enabling the home team to take over at the Horned Frogs’ 35. Four plays later, Fox threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to an uncovered Grayson Barnes and the Mountaineers trailed by three 11:53 before halftime.
“You see how well he threw the ball today,” Weimer said, “but it’s about how well he’s been taking advantage of Sunday through Friday.”
TCU (6-2, 3-2) offered an ideal response and marched 70 yards over 11 plays, converting once on fourth down and regaining its two-score lead on Hoover’s 4-yard touchdown pass to McAlister.
After Fox was dragged down for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-2, the Horned Frogs added to their lead with McCashland’s 22-yard fields goal 59 seconds before halftime that enabled TCU to lead 20-7 at the break.
Grant knocked down Hoover’s fourth-and-2 pass near the line of scrimmage to give WVU the ball back with 5:05 remaining in the third, and the Mountaineers got into the red zone before settling for Kade Hensley’s 28-yard field goal for a 10-point deficit with 1:20 left in the period.
Four plays prior to Hensley’s field goal, Fox connected with Cam Vaughn for a 29-yard gain that had a chance to go for 9 more yards and the team’s second touchdown.
The Mountaineers again failed to convert on fourth down when a Fox pass intended for Vaughn fell incomplete with 11:38 to play, and the Horned Frogs put together a 13 play, 38-yard drive that ended with McCashland’s 41-yard field goal with 4:48 remaining.
TCU had 343 total yards to 342 for the Mountaineers. Both teams struggled to run effectively, with the Horned Frogs amassing 96 yards on 33 carries to a paltry 41 yards on 32 attempts for WVU.
“You’re not going to win the game when you run for 40 yards,” Rodriguez said. “Are you kidding me?”
Hoover completed 24-of-39 passes for 247 yards. McAlister had nine receptions for 124 yards and Battle rushed for 89 yards on 19 carries.
Vaughn led the Mountaineers with six receptions for 85 yards. It was the first time WVU has eclipsed 300 passing yards this season and the third time the Mountaineers had at least 200 yards through the air.
Neither team forced a turnover, though WVU converted only 5-of-21 attempts between third and fourth down.
“We had turnover on downs, because we can’t get a yard,” Rodriguez said.
The result marked West Virginia’s closest defeat this season.
“The last game was embarrassing. We were loafing, not hitting and not physical. We were physical today,” Rodriguez said. “Our defense was physical. They tackled. There’s stuff that was better.“