DSCN1001 by mr_t_77 is licensed under CC by 2.0
West Virginia had been looking for that big upset all season, having already played two top 5 teams in Alabama and Oklahoma. The Mountaineers finally got that upset beating No.4 Baylor 41-27. I knew coming into the game that Baylor was on upset alert, but I would have never guessed they would have performed so poorly. Baylor had 18 penalties, for a Big 12 record 215 yards. West Virginia improved to 5-2 and 3-1 in conference play, Baylor fell to 6-1 and 3-1 in conference play. I almost picked West Virginia in this game, but I thought that Baylor would just be to good and I was wrong. The Big 12 is now up for grabs and it might be the second best race to watch this season, behind the SEC West.
Baylor had 782 yards of total offense last week against TCU, this week they had just 318 yards. The Bears could never get anything going, after the first quarter. They lead the game 13-7 at the end of the first, and would only score 14 more points in the final three quarters.
West Virginia had the lead at half 24-20, after a 54 field goal by Josh Lambert, as time expired in the second quarter. The refs made a huge mistake on a play that led to the field goal. On a 3rd and 15 pass by Clint Trickett to Andrew Buie, the refs said that Buie was in front of the line of scrimmage and West Virginia had an illegal receiver down the field. After reviewing it they said he was behind the line of scrimmage which made it a legal play. But, the mistake is the refs aren’t allowed to review that play, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but it did change the momentum.
Clint Trickett had a big game for the Mountaineers, throwing for 322 yards on 23 completions and three touchdown passes. Trickett has proven to be a great leader this season and I think any team would love to have him. I think his draft stock may be soaring, if he can put on a little bit more weight, he might have a chance to have a good NFL career. Trickett was able to hit seven different receivers, but Kevin White was his main target throughout the game. White had eight receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
The game was tied up going into the fourth quarter at 27-27. But, Baylor scored on two straight drives in the fourth quarter to give them the win.
The Mountaineers turned the ball over three times, but didn’t let it effect them. They executed when Baylor couldn’t and that is why they won this game. They took advantage of the opportunities presented to them and I think this team deserves to be ranked now.
Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns, but he only completed 16 of his 36 attempts. Sophomore running back Shock Linwood, was coming off back-back weeks of 148 yards rushing or more. This week Linwood could only run for 69 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. Linwood struggled for most of the game, but he’s only a sophomore and I see him having a great career. Senior receiver Antwan Goodley had another big game, with nine receptions for 132 yards.
Looking at his game on paper, two things really will stick out to you. Third down efficiency and penalties, Baylor was only 3-16 on third downs and I mentioned earlier about the penalties. West Virginia was great on third downs, converting 6 out of 15 times. The Mountaineers where also penalized a lot, 14 times for 138 yards.
West Virginia will travel to play Oklahoma State next week. This is a must win for West Virginia, as they control their on destiny right now with Oklahoma having two conferences loses.
Baylor has a bye week next week and then will host Kansas before traveling to Oklahoma. Three of Baylor next five games could be losses, so this team needs to get focused and take care of business if they want to stay in the playoff race.
