MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For as much as West Virginia struggled in the opening half of Saturday’s 23-20 loss to Texas Tech, the Mountaineers weren’t without opportunity in the late stages of their Big 12 Conference home opener.
WVU battled back from a 17-0 deficit to tie the game twice, but the latter occasion on which the Mountaineers got even on a field goal proved to be a pivotal reason the Red Raiders won their third straight in the series.
“We needed to score a touchdown when we had it in the red zone and we had to kick a field goal,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said. “Weren’t good enough on the last drive and that’s what it came down to.”
Trailing 20-17, West Virginia started what would be its only fourth-quarter series from its 25-yard line. The Mountaineers overcame an early holding penalty by converting a second-and-12 on Jarret Doege’s 22-yard pass to Winston Wright Jr.
Four plays later, Leddie Brown rushed for 5 yards on fourth-and-1, and the Mountaineers soon after found themselves in the red zone with the 6-minute mark approaching in regulation.
Personnel issues caused WVU to have to use its second timeout before first-and-goal, and Brown followed with two runs that totaled 6 yards.
On third-and-4 from the Red Raiders’ 6, Doege and an uncovered Brown failed to connect on what could and should have been a go-ahead 6-yard touchdown pass on third-and-4 on what proved to be perhaps the most pivotal play of the contest.
“We got into [third-and-4], we had a good play, we missed the throw,” Neal Brown said. “Maybe it was four down [territory]. You always kind of question yourself after the fact, but I felt like we had really good answers.”
WVU then lined up for Casey Legg to try a 23-yard field goal, before a false start turned it into a 28-yard attempt. While Legg converted his eighth field goal in as many tries this season to tie the game at 20, the Mountaineers squandered a prime opportunity for a late lead that went a long way in the setback.
Afterward, Neal Brown felt it was fair to wonder if the Mountaineers should have kept the offense on the field, though failing to convert on fourth down would’ve left them trailing with less than 5 minutes to play.
“You’re down by three, so you’re rolling the dice, but the thought goes through your mind,” he said. “We kicked the field goal and tied it. They went 80 yards on us or something like that, and as a coach, you’re thinking we’ve gotten after them other than a field goal in the second half.”
Sure enough, after regaining possession with 4:31 remaining, Texas Tech went 70 yards in eight plays and produced the game-winning points on Jonathan Garibay’s 32-yard field goal with 18 seconds left.
It marked the second consecutive game the Mountaineers having to settle for a second-half field goal inside the opposition’s 10 proved instrumental in a loss.
The previous week, Legg made a 21-yard field goal in the third quarter to break a 10-all tie during what became a 16-13 defeat at Oklahoma. On that sequence, the Mountaineers had second-and-goal on the OU 1 before a false start moved them further from the goal line. Doege then couldn’t connect with an open Bryce Ford-Wheaton on third-and-goal from the 4, and the Mountaineers had to settle for three points.
In 23 red zone trips this season, West Virginia has a respectable 14 touchdowns and six field goals. However, two more touchdowns and two fewer field goals very well could have meant two more wins for the Mountaineers.
“It sucks, but we just have to bounce back and come back next week,” said wideout Isaiah Esdale, who caught six passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. “We have another big team in Baylor. We have to let this one go and move on. We can’t let it linger, because that’s when we start losing more.”