West Virginia and Texas Tech turned Saturday night into a track meet, and the Mountaineers came up short when the game finally tilted late. WVU fell 53-48 after failing to make enough plays over the final eight minutes.
The first half was chaos in the purest sense. The teams piled up more than 600 yards of total offense just a couple of minutes into the second quarter, and the scoring came so fast it felt like one long exchange of haymakers.
By halftime, the two sides had combined for 892 yards, the most in a Big 12 game since 2004. It had the feel of one of those old-school shootouts where nothing stays quiet for long.
Mike Hawkins Jr. was right in the middle of it again. Week after week, he keeps showing why he belongs among the nation’s best quarterbacks, and his night only strengthened that case.
His second rushing touchdown of the game gave him the West Virginia quarterback single-season rushing score record, passing Pat White. That’s elite company, and he’s now sitting in it.
Rich Rod didn’t sugarcoat the way the defense looked early. He told the ESPN sideline reporter that the first-half performance was "embarrassing" after receivers were left wide open and the run defense repeatedly lost leverage, allowing several explosive plays on the ground.
WVU did settle things down to start the second half, stringing together four straight stops before Texas Tech finally broke through with a field goal and then a touchdown. Even then, the Mountaineers couldn’t quite stop the bleeding.
A defensive pass interference call helped extend one Tech drive that ended in points, and on 4th & 3, Castellanos had time to let one fly and lofted up a prayer that was caught. A lot of the 50/50 balls seemed to go Texas Tech’s way.
The game swung again when WVU had the lead and the ball with a 3rd-and-short chance to keep control. Instead, the run up the middle was stuffed immediately, with no room to work.
That gave Texas Tech a lift and helped flip the momentum into a lead. Later, with WVU driving while trailing, Nick Krahe was beaten badly, Mike Hawkins Jr. had to escape pressure, and the offense never got the clean look it needed.
On the next red-zone turnover on downs, Kevin Brown was beaten off the edge, and the safety that followed put the game away.
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Ex-WVU QB Nicco Marchiol Gets Another Chance To Reopen Old What-Ifs
Nicco Marchiol is back in the kind of spot that can reshape a quarterbacks story, even if only for a night. The former West Virginia signal-caller is set to start for Northwestern against No. 19 Iowa, giving him his first extensive action since last season and a chance to step back into a meaningful role after a quiet stretch this year.
For Mountaineers fans, Marchiol still carries the memory of what he did in Morgantown, especially those two wins over Pitt that made him a familiar name in rivalry lore. His career at West Virginia was shaped by coaching changes and shifting offensive schemes, and now he gets another opportunity on a bigger stage to add a fresh chapter to a college journey that has already had its share of what-ifs. [Read more 🡒]
Ross Hodge Just Teased A Nonconference Opportunity WVU Fans Will Love
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A matchup there would likely come against an East Coast opponent, with St. Johns mentioned as the kind of team that fits the idea, and the history between West Virginia and the Red Storm only adds to the intrigue. Nothing is set yet, but the possibility alone gives the Mountaineers a marquee road trip to watch as Hodge starts shaping the schedule in his own image. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Has A Chance To Silence Doubters Against Texas Tech
West Virginia heads into Week 10 with a chance to change the conversation around its season, and the setting is a tough one. A win over Texas Tech would not only give the Mountaineers a signature result, it could also push them back into the AP Top 25 and give them a fresh argument against the skeptics who still view them as an underdog in this matchup. ESPNs Bill Connellys SP+ model leans toward the Red Raiders, which only adds to the sense that this is the kind of game that can define how the rest of the year is perceived.
Mike Hawkins Jr. will be one of the names to watch for West Virginia, while Texas Tech brings Thomas Castellanos into a game with plenty of attention attached to it. The Mountaineers are looking for more than just another conference win here, because a strong showing on the road in a 9:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN could do real damage to the doubts still hanging around the program. [Read more 🡒]