West Virginia scored early and then often over the first three quarters to keep up with 15th-ranked Texas Tech at Galaxy Stadium late Saturday night into early Sunday.
But four straight scoreless possessions without a first down in the fourth quarter were ultimately the Mountaineers’ demise as the Red Raiders rallied for a 53-48 victory.
“Our defense was just ridiculous. Offensively, we were moving the ball pretty well, but when we needed to at the end, we just didn’t coach it well, didn’t play it well,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Texas Tech (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) trailed 48-44 after Stone Harrington made a 46-yard field goal with 7:55 remaining.
WVU then faced third-and-1 on its own 34-yard line, and tailback Cam Cook was stopped at the line of scrimmage.
Rodriguez elected to punt and the Red Raiders took over at their 31.
“They stopped it. I thought about going for it. Probably should’ve,” Rodriguez said. “In hindsight, I’d probably have [gone] for it on fourth down. Would’ve had that third down call back, probably would’ve [gone] for it on fourth down. But our defense was playing better in the second half. We wanted to have them drive the long field to get a touchdown — and they did. I’d like to have that call back.”
After Tech converted fourth-and-3 on Thomas Castellanos’ 26-yard pass to Micah Hudson, Castellanos connected with Kenny Johnson for a 5-yard go-ahead touchdown with 2:42 left.
Hawkins was sacked by Trey White on fourth-and-10 of the ensuing series, but the Mountaineers (5-4, 2-4) regained possession when Castellanos was ruled to be inches short on fourth-and-2 from the WVU 6.
With 1:24 left and WVU needing 55 or so yards to consider a field goal, Hawkins was again sacked by White as he lost his balance in the end zone for a safety to set the final margin.
“We had a quick game on. Mike’s a competitive guy trying to make a play,” Rodriguez said. “They’re pretty good up front, but in the quick game, we have to get rid of it.”
The Mountaineers tried an unsuccessful onside kick and have lost seven of the last eight against Texas Tech.
Castellanos’ 30-yard pass to Terrance Carter Jr. on a play where the tight end gained all of his yardage after the catch marked the game’s first touchdown, and set the stage for a back-and-forth first half that saw Amari Latimer’s 3-yard touchdown run combined with Jack Cassidy’s 30-yard field goal put WVU in front 10-7.
J’Koby Williams changed that, breaking off a 75-yard TD run, but the Mountaineers again answered in the form of Michael Hawkins’ 3-yard TD run to lead 17-14 after one.
The opening frame featured 400 yards on 37 plays, and the offensive dominance continued into the second starting with Tech regaining the advantage at 21-17 on Castellanos’ 29-yard TD pass to Carter, who ran his route to virtually the same spot as a teammate and still hauled in the score.
WVU immediately went back in front when Hawkins found an uncovered TaRon Francis behind the secondary, and the wideout turned it into a 73-yard touchdown catch.
But the Mountaineer defense again offered little resistance and Castellanos continued to shine with a 1-yard TD pass to Jett Carpenter to put the home team on top, 28-24, with 9:28 remaining in the first half.
Williams’ 43-yard run was immediately followed by Castellanos’ 38-yard touchdown toss to Johnson, giving the Red Raiders a 35-24 lead.
Cassidy made a 29-yard field goal after the Mountaineers stalled in the red zone, and Quinten Joyner’s 1-yard TD run 1:13 before halftime made it 41-27, while a failed two-point conversion left it a 14-point margin at halftime.
“It’s like they were going against air in the first half,” Rodriguez said. “It was just ridiculous. Just ridiculous. I have to see our plan, and what the calls were. There were some calls that I think were new and we screwed up. One guy messes up, it’s a touchdown. Kind of living dangerously when that’s the case.“
WVU then played its best quarter this season in a dominant third, starting with Hawkins’ 2-yard TD to cap the opening second-half series.
After forcing Tech to punt on a second straight series, the Mountaineers pulled even as Hawkins connected with Francis for 75 yards, and Cook crossed the goal line two plays later on a 2-yard run to make it 41-all.
A third straight Tech series ended with a punt that true freshman Matt Sieg returned 74 yards to the Red Raiders’ 6, and Hawkins scored on a 3-yard run for his single season program record 19th rushing touchdown this season. Altogether, WVU, which forced a punt on the first play of the fourth quarter as well, had a 190-16 edge in yardage while winning the third, 21-0.
But the Mountaineers punted on their first series of the fourth, and it was a sign of things to come offensively. For all of its offensive dominance in the first three frames, West Virginia’s last four possessions consisted of 11 plays for minus-11 yards.
Hawkins continued his stellar campaign by completing 11-of-16 passes for 303 yards and rushing for 88 more on 19 attempts.
Cook rushed for 149 yards on 23 carries.
Francis did not have a reception this season before Saturday and now has three for 169 yards.
Castellanos was 18-for-27 with 362 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing 23 times for 102 yards.
Williams rushed for 160 yards on 19 carries.
Tech finished with a 638-582 edge in yardage.
“People say why don’t you slow the tempo down and give them some rest. Then all of a sudden, you’re not doing your thing,” Rodriguez said. “You can’t keep up with them, because you’re not running it the way you’re supposed to run it. That isn’t the answer. The answer is play better defense. You have to play better defense. It’s ridiculous. Offense has to make better plays at the end of the game, but we have to play better defense. It’s as simple as that.”