WVU Sports

Mountaineers Defense Forces Four Turnovers

MORGANTOWN — Ever since the loss to Utah to cap last year’s 7-6 season, fans of the Mountaineers wondered what they would look like if it could ever play well in all three phases of a game. However, not even Jim Croce could have said it better if he sang, “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger. And you don’t mess around with WVU.” Not on a Thursday night in Morgantown that is. Led by a tenacious defense that picked off three Charlie Brewer passes in the game’s first 24 minutes, the No. 13 ...

Back to Basics for WVU During the Bye Week

MORGANTOWN — Coming off his unit’s worst performance in 2018, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and his assistants returned to the basics during No. 13 West Virginia’s bye week. “A lot of it is about just getting back to the basics and the fundamentals and technique,” Spavital ...

Thursday Games No Problem for Holgorsen

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen didn’t hide his feelings about games in the middle of the week. “I like Thursday night games, this will be fun,” he said. “There have been a lot of them around here, clearly, we understand that. A lot of eyes will be on us to see how ...

Baylor Looks for Payback From Last Season’s Close Loss

WACO, Texas — For three quarters it looked as if West Virginia would make quick work of Matt Rhule’s Baylor Bears. Then came the final 15 minutes. “Yeah, it’s hard to explain,” Rhule said. “For three quarters they (WVU) looked like they could beat anybody in the Big 12 and then during that fourth quarter we looked like we could.” Last season, WVU jumped out to a 25-point third quarter lead and then held off a furious Baylor comeback to defeat the Bears, 38-36, in McLane Stadium. “It’s hard to figure,” Rhule said. “We were playing with a backup quarterback ...

WVU Seeks Positives From Loss

MORGANTOWN — The vast number of fans may not want to admit it, but there were some positives that came out of West Virginia’s 30-14 loss at Iowa State. “I was happy with Shea (Campbell). He went in, he switched positions,” WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said. “He’d been playing Sam, and he moved to Mike. Tonk (redshirt sophomore linebacker Dylan Tonkery) tried to go, and he couldn’t go. I thought he (Campbell) did an adequate job. I was happy with him, with how he practiced throughout the course of the week. Then, he went in there and made some good stops.” Not just good, ...

No. 13 West Virginia Gets Week Off to Fix Gaffes

A bye week for No. 13 West Virginia coincides with saying so long to some lofty goals. An undefeated season. A shot, for now, of reaching the College Football Playoff. And likely the Heisman Trophy aspirations of quarterback Will Grier. The Mountaineers were thoroughly outplayed in a 30-14 ...