Skyler Howard helps WVU improve to 6-0

“These guys, they just find a way”.

“Score one more point”, he said.

Shane Commodore had an honest response when asked about his big special teams play on October 22, against TCU, at Milan Puskar Stadium. Defensively, they look the same.

“We have gotten better, but to say that we are where we need to be, I’m not ready to say that”, Gibson explained. For one more week, WVU has done every thing they can and will land in Oklahoma an undefeated, top 10 football team.

TCU is coming off a close victory over West Virginia, as quarterback Kenny Hill completed 17 of 32 passes for 206 yards with one touchdown. TCU won the 2014 contest, its last trip to Morgantown, 31-30 on a Jaden Oberkrom 37-yard field goal as time expired.

“I don’t think anybody truly knows that answer until we go through it”.

Do not be surprised if West Virginia is unable to cover the spread but the Mountaineers will improve to 6-0 on the season while handing TCU its second conference loss.

The Mountaineers took an early 7-0 lead when the Horned Frogs fumbled the opening kickoff and WVU’s Nana Kyeremeh recovered the fumble at the TCU 17. The offense converted just two of eleven third down opportunities.

West Virginia plays at Oklahoma State. Three ended in punts, Deante’ Gray fumbled away a kickoff and the final possession ended on downs. That’s just 12 plays to defend in 28 minutes of game action! Howard has moved the ball well but sits with just an 8-4 TD to INT ratio now.

Even the Mountaineer players are beginning to realize the value of hogging the football. The Mountaineer running backs carried the ball 32 times for 153 yards.

“We will approach this like we do the rest of them, enjoy the win and tomorrow get back at it”, Holgorsen said.

That of course quite likely isn’t to be enough for Charlie Strong, but with some good opponents still remaining on the schedule, starting this weekend then with Baylor, West Virginia and TCU still to come, there’s opportunities to finish well.

“We feel like we can stop anyone”, Douglas said. “We trust our guys up front”. He’d have been plenty motivated to be at his best regardless given their aims for the end of the year, but he’s sure to be determined to put on a performance against his former team. “And, we got three”.

West Virginia covered well.

Overall, the Mountaineers held Texas Tech 280 yards and 38 points below their season average and followed that up by keeping TCU 230 yards and 30 points below theirs. Shell led all rushers with 117 yards on 24 carries and caught two passes for 35 yards.

Especially since the Horned Frogs (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) have been the team celebrating on the artificial surface at Milan Puskar Stadium the last two times the Texas based school has ventured into the Mountain State and laid a 40-10 thumping on the Old Gold an Blue a year ago.

Holgorsen was Texas Tech’s inside receivers coach when Cumbie was a quarterback for the Red Raiders (2000-04).

Skyler threw for only 231 yards, but he did so by going 16/23 (70%).

“We had chances, their goalkeeper played fantastic, and with a team like that, you have to take those chances”. “Coach Seider told us all week the game was going to be determined in our room by how we performed and when we play well you can’t guard our wide receivers one on one”.

The defense is at its full potential when the offense runs the ball, too. It may not be quite the look you have come to expect from a Dana Holgorsen football team, but this team is a balanced, disciplined, and complete football team. “(Tony Gibson) is doing a great job.