Thrice as nice: Late stop helps West Virginia top Texas Tech 20-13 for Brown’s first 3-game win streak – WV MetroNews

(Neal Brown postgame press conference)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With West Virginia coming off an emotional win over rival Pitt in last week’s Backyard Brawl, fifth-year Mountaineers’ head coach Neal Brown was eager to see how his team moved forward when it welcomed Texas Tech to Milan Puskar Stadium for the Big 12 opener to end a three-game home stand.

Brown didn’t have to search long or hard to motivate his team, knowing well the Mountaineers had lost four straight to the Red Raiders and never beaten them during his tenure in Morgantown.

Thanks to a second straight stingy defensive effort, the losing streak is no more and Brown has his first three-game win streak at WVU.

West Virginia came up with a defensive stand in the red zone in the game’s final minute, and its only quality drive of the second half produced what proved to be the winning points as the Mountaineers held off the Red Raiders, 20-13.

“We’re a prideful group,” Brown said. “We were embarrassed last year in Lubbock [a 48-10 loss]. Our guys heard about it all week. They were getting kicked by me and patted by everyone else. All I told them was let’s turn on the tape from last year. We’re a tough football team.” 

A crowd of 50,071 was on hand, though far fewer than that stuck around through the rain for the decisive sequence.

“The ones that stayed are super invested and it was super loud,” Brown said. “They had an effect on that game. It was similar to Iowa State in 2021.”

Trailing by seven points with 3:45 remaining, the Red Raiders took over at their 28-yard line. Texas Tech (1-3, 0-1) converted two fourth downs and benefited from Behren Morton’s 26-yard pass to Jordan Brown that was originally ruled incomplete, but overturned on review. The second fourth-down conversion positioned the Red Raiders at the WVU 11, but Morton, who earlier replaced the injured Tyler Shough, threw four straight incompletions to seal the result.

Morton was unable to connect with an open Jayden York on a third down throw into the end zone that was the Red Raiders’ best chance at a late touchdown.

“Doing everything we have to do to get a win,” WVU safety Aubrey Burks said. “Keeping our composure and knowing a situation like this, we’re built for it. We did whatever we had to do to get the job done.”

(Game highlights)

Morton’s 6-yard pass to Jerand Bradley with 11:54 remaining provided the Red Raiders with their first touchdown, cut the deficit to 13-10 and marked the first time an opponent reached the end zone against West Virginia (3-1, 1-0) since the third quarter of the Mountaineers’ first win against Duquesne two weeks ago.

Despite struggling offensively for much of the outing, West Virginia answered back.

The series began with a 15-yard facemask penalty on the Red Raiders, and soon after, quarterback Nicco Marchiol added a 17-yard run on a day he made his first career start in place of Garrett Greene, who did not play after being injured during the first quarter against Pitt.

Marchiol completed passes of 15 yards to Preston Fox and 8 to CJ Donaldson, before a pivotal pass interference call on third down allowed WVU to enter the red zone.

Two plays later, Marchiol found tight end Kole Taylor for a 9-yard touchdown on a well-designed play that made it a two-score game with 7:33 left.

“[WVU defensive end] Sean Martin comes off the field after Texas Tech scored that touchdown, and he got after me a little bit,” Marchiol said. “He got me fired up and said, ‘hey this is it and this is on you. What are you going to do?’ I perform a little better when there’s that tension.”

Taylor noticed a difference in Marchiol that series.

“He did a great job that drive. We let him open it up a little more,” Taylor said. “We ran the same concept a couple different times in a couple different ways and we did a good job of getting the ball to playmakers.”

Gino Garcia’s 34-yard field goal with 4:45 remaining cut WVU’s lead to seven, and the Mountaineers immediately followed with a three-and-out that included two incomplete passes, one of which was a downfield shot to wideout EJ Horton.

That left it up to the West Virginia defense. A week ago, the Mountaineers intercepted three passes. This time around, WVU held the Red Raiders to 2-for-18 on third down and allowed Texas Tech 56 total yards and two first downs in the first half.

“Having the will to get off the field and trying to get the ball back to the offense,” linebacker Trey Lathan said. ”That’s all we’re trying to do.”

(Greg Carey and Joe Brocato break down the game)

Still, an early interception from Malik Dunlap on an ill-advised throw from Marchiol allowed Texas Tech to score first as Garcia split the uprights on a 39-yard field goal despite the visitors gaining 14 yards that series.

WVU answered back, benefiting from a third down holding penalty in the red zone to score the game’s first touchdown on a 2-yard run by Donaldson. That left the Mountaineers with a 7-3 lead with 1:53 left in the first quarter.

Michael Hayes’ 28-yard field goal 6:34 before halftime upped the advantage to 10-3, though Marchiol was intercepted by Ben Roberts during West Virginia’s next series on a pass that first hit wideout Devin Carter.

While that allowed Texas Tech to start at midfield, the Red Raiders gained only 4 yards and Morton’s pass was incomplete on fourth-and-6.

“It’s about imposing your will in the Big 12,” Marchiol said, “and our guys are some of the toughest, meanest dudes.”

Hayes knocked home a 46-yard field goal late in the opening half to give the Mountaineers a 13-3 lead at the intermission.

West Virginia gained 171 yards through two quarters and had 10 of the game’s 12 first downs, creating somewhat of an empty feeling for Brown, who believed his team should’ve led by more than 10 at that time.

“I felt like it should’ve been anywhere from 20 to 27-3 at half,” Brown said.

Shough, a native of Chandler, Ariz., who like Marchiol played at Hamilton High School, suffered what appeared to be a significant injury in the final minute of the opening quarter on a 6-yard run that ended with him being brought down by linebackers Lee Kpogba and Ben Cutter.

He remained in the game for the next play and threw an incomplete pass, before being carted off the field.

An Oregon transfer in his third season at Texas Tech, Shough has been plagued by several injuries throughout his college career. The latest one is reportedly a broken fibula.

“I feel really bad for their quarterback,” Brown said. “He’s had some injuries. I hope it’s not as bad as it looked.”

Marchiol completed 12-of-21 passes for 78 yards. Wideout Traylon Ray connected with Taylor on a 21-yard double pass play, giving the Mountaineers 99 passing yards. West Virginia has failed to pass for 100 yards in each of its last two games, during which time the Mountaineers have totaled 159 yards through the air.

Marchiol added 72 rushing yards on 15 attempts to lead the Mountaineers on the ground. Donaldson added 48 yards on 15 attempts, though he had four carries for 4 yards after halftime.

“He wasn’t real sharp,” Brown said. ”He ran really hard in the first half. We couldn’t get him going in the second half. He’s fine. He’ll be ready to roll next week. He’ll play better.”

Texas Tech completed only 15-of-43 passes. Morton finished 13-for-37 with 158 yards. 

Red Raiders’ tailback Tahj Brooks rushed for 149 yards on 25 carries. Brooks gained all but 18 of those yards over the final two quarters.

“We didn’t want to give up shot plays. We were going to make them run it,” Brown said. “Credit them. They’re good coaches, too. They saw we were playing a light box. Brooks is a really good player. Sometimes we tackled him today and sometimes we did not. We’re not going to be the only defense he does that too.”

Defensive back Marcis Floyd and defensive lineman Davoan Hawkins each recorded a sack in the win. Floyd was also credited with three pass breakups in his second game this season after missing the first two due to injury.

“What a game by him,” Burks said. “Excited for him and what he’s going to bring to our defense the rest of the season.”

(Postgame “Round of Sound”)