The West Virginia Mountaineers put a huge dent into #4 Baylor's title hopes on Saturday, upending the Bears 41-27 in Morgantown.
After amassing a jaw-dropping 782 yards of total offense in their 61-58 shootout win over the TCU Horned Frogs last Saturday, Baylor's offense was held to just 318 total yards by a stout West Virginia defense. Couple that with a top-tier performance out of Mountaineers senior quarterback Clint Trickett, and you had the recipe for a major Big 12 (and national) upset.
Turning Point: Holding a 34-27 lead against a Baylor team known for scoring points in Arena Football-like bunches, Trickett beared down and captained the biggest drive of West Virginia's 2014 season. Facing a 3rd-and-10 at the edge of field goal territory, Trickett found streaking senior WR Mario Alford for a 39-yard TD to extend the lead to 41-27 - a score that ultimately put the game out of reach.
Key Stat: 10 - That's the number of failed drives for Baylor on Saturday, including eight punts, a fumble, and a turnover on downs. While they had seven drives last week that didn't amount to a score, their offense clicked quickly and often on every other drive against TCU. That just wasn't the case for Baylor on Saturday, leading to today's mammoth loss.
West Virginia MVP: QB Clint Trickett - 23-for-34, 322 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
The senior was electric on Saturday, picking apart the Baylor secondary seemingly at will. Trickett exposed holes all over the Baylor back seven, actually, spreading the ball around and getting a raucous Morgantown crowd to believe along with him.
It worked, and Trickett has a monumental win to tell his kids and grandkids about.
Baylor MVP: WR Antwan Goodley - nine catches, 134 yards, 1 TD
Baylor's offense couldn't keep up with West Virginia on this day, but that wasn't Goodley's fault. Picking up his third 100-plus receiving day of the season, Goodley picked up where he left off against TCU - slicing and dicing from sideline through the hashmarks to give QB Bryce Petty a reliable and deadly weapon to work with.
What’s Next: Baylor will look to bounce back in a big way next week when they host the Kansas Jayhawks, while West Virginia looks to carry their momentum into a road showdown with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Back to the West Virginia Mountaineers Newsfeed