West Virginia’s 2025 season will end in two weeks with the Mountaineers assured of a losing record as a result of Saturday’s 25-23 loss to Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium.
As has been the case too often throughout the campaign, WVU struggled in short yardage situations and its 39 rushes amounted to only 68 yards — the second-lowest total the Mountaineers have recorded in a game this year.
“You have to be able to run the ball this far to win the game,” said WVU coach Rich Rodriguez while separating his hands less than a foot. “You have about seven opportunities to do it and you don’t do it. We ran for 68 yards — embarrassing. If you can’t the ball for more than 68 yards, you don’t deserve to win the game.”
Yet the game was there for the taking as the Mountaineers (4-7, 2-6) overcame a 12-point deficit to start the fourth quarter and held a late lead in their third one-possession loss this season.
Greg Genross blocked a 46-yard field goal attempt from Jesus Gomez on the third play of the fourth, and the Mountaineers followed with a 72-yard drive to generate their second touchdown on a 1-yard run from Curtis Jones Jr. Primarily a bandit, Jones saw his first action at tailback last week against Colorado and kept the role against the Sun Devils, though he was limited to 12 yards on seven carries.
WVU, trailing 22-17 at this point, got the ball back after allowing one first down.
The Mountaineers were immediately flagged for holding and after quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. was sacked by Justin Wodtly, it created third-and-27. On the ensuing play, Fox threw a swing pass to tailback Cyncir Bowers, who got behind blockers and maneuvered his way through and around the Sun Devil defense for a 90-yard touchdown reception and the fourth-longest touchdown pass in program history.
Leading by one, West Virginia was in an obvious spot to attempt a two-point conversion, but before doing so, the Mountaineers were forced to use the last of their three timeouts. Out of the break, Jones was stopped well short of the goal line on a handoff, leaving WVU with a 23-22 lead and 6:37 remaining.
Arizona State (7-3, 5-2) was set to face a third-and-8 early into its ensuing series, but Braden Siders was flagged for roughing the passer. The Sun Devils picked up one more first down on quarterback Jeff Sims’ 9-yard run, before Gomez split the uprights on a go-ahead 49-yard field goal with 2:47 left.
“As a defense, we have to do a better job of staying on top and not letting it slip away as the game continues,” WVU defensive lineman Edward Vesterinen said.
Rodriguez noted his team wasn’t aligned properly on the winning kick
“It’s a matter of getting lined up and doing what you’re supposed to do. I don’t know why we couldn’t,” he said.
The Mountaineers were still in position to lead late with a field goal, but managed only one first down on their final possession, which ended with Fox throwing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4 from the WVU 44.
“They’re better than us because they won,” Rodriguez said. “We can’t move the ball that much [less than a foot]. And then we get stupid penalties on defense, give them first downs. It’s a lack of discipline, goes back to coaching. We can’t even get lined up right on the last play for the field goal block. A lack of discipline. All coaching right there.”
An inability to convert in short yardage for the Mountaineers on their opening possession of the second half proved costly as a 14 play, 73-yard series ended scoreless when Jones was stopped 1 yard short of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 2.
That sequence began with first-and-goal on the 4, and over four plays, WVU rushed three times for 3 yards and Fox threw an incomplete pass.
The Mountaineers, did, however, return the favor by stopping the Sun Devils on fourth-and-1 from the WVU 36 on the following possession.
For the third straight game, West Virginia scored first, though the Mountaineers settled for a 29-yard field goal from Kade Hensley.
With an ideal opportunity to increase the lead in the opening frame, WVU got to the ASU 2-yard line, before Fox was stopped for no gain and followed it with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal.
The Sun Devils then scored their first of three second-quarter touchdowns on Sims’ 6-yard pass to tight end Chamon Metayer.
A three-and-out, combined with Oliver Straw’s 26-yard punt, allowed ASU to start its next series at the WVU 40, and the Sun Devils added to their lead four plays later when Sims threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Derek Eusebio. The Sun Devils were successful on a special teams trick play to add to the advantage, with Gomez fielding the snap in a point-after kick formation and throwing to an uncovered Cameron Harpole for a successful two-point pass that made it 15-3.
WVU countered immediately, getting a 75-yard pass from Fox to wideout Jeff Weimer for its first touchdown and cutting the deficit to five points with 8:11 remaining in the first half.
“It kind of comes down to preparation and Scotty making a good throw on time,” Weimer said. “I’m just doing my job.”
Following an exchange of punts, Sims found tailback Raleek Brown in a favorable matchup with linebacker Reid Carrico trailing, and Brown hauled in a pass before racing to the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown reception that left the Sun Devils with a 22-10 halftime advantage.
“He looked like was seeing things and there were other times he had some true freshman moments,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a competitive guy that loves to compete. He doesn’t have any quit in him. It should be a hell of a lot easier to be quarterback if you can run the ball when you have to get that much.”
Fox completed 19-of-31 passes for a career-high 353 yards.
Bowers, who rushed for 42 yards on 13 attempts, was West Virginia’s leading rusher.
Weimer had 90 receiving yards, Cam Vaughn added 79 and Jarod Bowie had a team-high four receptions for 34 yards in defeat.
“When you play the run as hard as they play the run, you should be able to have some play action passes,” Rodriguez said. “That kind of goes hand in hand. You still have to be able to run the ball this much when everybody knows you’re going to run it that much. I’ll have to watch the film and see what the deal is.”
Sims hit on 19-of-28 passes for 207 yards and added 81 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Eusebio was ASU’s leading receiver with six catches for 74 yards and Brown added 53 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Both teams were 6-for-15 on third down. WVU was 1-for-4 on fourth down attempts.
“We gave them first downs to win the game on penalties,” Rodriguez said. “Not good enough to be undisciplined and win games. Played hard, but supposed to play hard. That’s a given.”