My Fiver on WVU's victory over Baylor, brought to you by "Backup QB Productions" as "The Ballad of Sawyer Robertson"...
1. Zach Frazier. Gotta lead off with Frazier. That play he made on the final drive, perhaps his last play in a WVU uniform, will live in infamy. Running down the field to the second level, picking up Hudson Clement with the ball, and quite literally carrying him past the first down marker so the clock would stop, while being rolled up upon and injured, then picking himself up off the turf and limping to the sideline to avoid a 10-second runoff...
There's things you can teach. Then, there's things that are inside of you that are part of your makeup, your DNA. This kid is a warrior, but he's also one of the most fundamentally sound and intelligent players you'll ever see. He put it on the line to win the game. He's a Mountaineer. He's going to heal, and he's going to make millions of dollars in the NFL.
2. What a weird game. WVU came out and just kicked Baylor's ass up and down the field in the first half, but we only led 27-14 at the break because of the two kickoff returns - again, a very WVU thing to do. Then, Baylor kicked WVU's ass up and down the field in the second half, but when the game was on the line, we stepped up and Baylor folded. First of all, I thought the holding call on Wyatt Milum completely changed the game. Baylor had cut the lead to 27-21, but then Garrett Greene breaks off a 47-yard jaunt to start our second half, and we are rolling again. That holding call was B.S. Baylor's OL were holding our DL the entire series to start the second half, but I kinda shrugged it off because the refs weren't calling it on both sides. That made that call on Milum even more infuriating. That put us way behind the sticks, and Baylor's D was able to get off the field...then, you could kind of sense the momentum shift and the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill became an avalanche.
3. Garrett Greene finishes 16 of 25, 269 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT. 14 carries, 103 yards, 2 TDs. For the season, Greene finishes 135 of 254 passing, 2,178 yards, 15 TDs, 4 INTs; 111 carries for 708 yards and 13 TDs. That is very impressive for 10 games. The most impressive thing to me is that he only was responsible for 4 turnovers on the season - and truly, 2 of those INTs were on Jalen Anderson and Devin Carter. 0 fumbles - recall the days of the strip sack being as common in a WVU game as misusing timeouts? They are gonzo. We have a bona fide pain in the ass coming back at QB. Teams are going to need to game plan around picking their poison with Greene next year, as he has proven he can be dangerous when throwing down the field. How good was that 3rd & 4 30-yard pass to Hudson Clement? We can build around him now - and we bring back some key pieces on offense with Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson, Kole Taylor, Traylon Ray, Rodney Gallagher and an absolute diamond in the rough with Clement.
4. We have to get better, defensively. Once again, WVU makes a backup QB look like a dynamo as we helped underwrite the Ballad of Sawyer Robertson, watching him complete 17 of 19 passes with one amazing over the shoulder touchdown pass on Malachi Ruffin. Make no mistake about it, the reason this game was even a "game" was because of Baylor's two kickoff returns. However, the Defense giving up three consecutive scoring drives in the second half is inexcusable and frustrating. The defense's no-show in Norman, the 4th quarter meltdown vs. Oklahoma State, the complete inability to cover Penn State's wide receivers, and the second half disaster at Houston are all flashing "warning" signs that this defense, as currently comprised, will not be able to stand up next year and compliment an offense which should be really damn good. Tray Lathan will return, which will be big. I think he's your Mike next year, and we slide Ben Cutter over to Sam. Is Jordan Lesley's job up for review? Is it just a Shadon Brown problem? Bottom line is that this defensive team is going to need to be more reliable down the stretch of big games than it was in 2023.
5. 8-4, 6-3 in the Big 12 - tied for 4th in the conference. Prior to the season, if we would've told you that we would be 8-4, 6-3 in conference at the end, you wouldn't have believed it. WVU was famously picked dead last in preseason polls, and then there was the one anonymous coach in the Athlon article who said that WVU "looks like a MAC team". In the end, we were a knocked down Hail Mary away from a tie for second. It is a remarkable turnaround. But, it didn't start this Fall, as it actually began last year when Neal Brown benched JT Daniels, and began the Garrett Greene era. I mentioned it ad nauseum prior to the season, that our offense was completely different once he took the reigns.
Since that moment vs. Oklahoma last year, WVU has played 15 games - 14 of which are against Power-5 competition. And, we've gone 10-5, 8-4 in the Big 12, over that stretch. WVU now has the 3rd overall rushing attack in the entire nation at 234 yards per game, averaging 5.24 ypc. And, as I posted earlier in the week, WVU returns 39 of the 44 on the two deep across the board. This program has some momentum. This offseason will be critically important to build upon the "mo" we have to find a few valuable pieces in the portal at corner, linebacker and WR. This bowl game will also be more important than most may think, as we can continue to build steam toward a big 2024. With Penn State coming to Morgantown to open next season, we have a hell of an opportunity to make a splash and have some serious juice again in Morgantown.
1. Zach Frazier. Gotta lead off with Frazier. That play he made on the final drive, perhaps his last play in a WVU uniform, will live in infamy. Running down the field to the second level, picking up Hudson Clement with the ball, and quite literally carrying him past the first down marker so the clock would stop, while being rolled up upon and injured, then picking himself up off the turf and limping to the sideline to avoid a 10-second runoff...
There's things you can teach. Then, there's things that are inside of you that are part of your makeup, your DNA. This kid is a warrior, but he's also one of the most fundamentally sound and intelligent players you'll ever see. He put it on the line to win the game. He's a Mountaineer. He's going to heal, and he's going to make millions of dollars in the NFL.
2. What a weird game. WVU came out and just kicked Baylor's ass up and down the field in the first half, but we only led 27-14 at the break because of the two kickoff returns - again, a very WVU thing to do. Then, Baylor kicked WVU's ass up and down the field in the second half, but when the game was on the line, we stepped up and Baylor folded. First of all, I thought the holding call on Wyatt Milum completely changed the game. Baylor had cut the lead to 27-21, but then Garrett Greene breaks off a 47-yard jaunt to start our second half, and we are rolling again. That holding call was B.S. Baylor's OL were holding our DL the entire series to start the second half, but I kinda shrugged it off because the refs weren't calling it on both sides. That made that call on Milum even more infuriating. That put us way behind the sticks, and Baylor's D was able to get off the field...then, you could kind of sense the momentum shift and the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill became an avalanche.
3. Garrett Greene finishes 16 of 25, 269 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT. 14 carries, 103 yards, 2 TDs. For the season, Greene finishes 135 of 254 passing, 2,178 yards, 15 TDs, 4 INTs; 111 carries for 708 yards and 13 TDs. That is very impressive for 10 games. The most impressive thing to me is that he only was responsible for 4 turnovers on the season - and truly, 2 of those INTs were on Jalen Anderson and Devin Carter. 0 fumbles - recall the days of the strip sack being as common in a WVU game as misusing timeouts? They are gonzo. We have a bona fide pain in the ass coming back at QB. Teams are going to need to game plan around picking their poison with Greene next year, as he has proven he can be dangerous when throwing down the field. How good was that 3rd & 4 30-yard pass to Hudson Clement? We can build around him now - and we bring back some key pieces on offense with Jahiem White, CJ Donaldson, Kole Taylor, Traylon Ray, Rodney Gallagher and an absolute diamond in the rough with Clement.
4. We have to get better, defensively. Once again, WVU makes a backup QB look like a dynamo as we helped underwrite the Ballad of Sawyer Robertson, watching him complete 17 of 19 passes with one amazing over the shoulder touchdown pass on Malachi Ruffin. Make no mistake about it, the reason this game was even a "game" was because of Baylor's two kickoff returns. However, the Defense giving up three consecutive scoring drives in the second half is inexcusable and frustrating. The defense's no-show in Norman, the 4th quarter meltdown vs. Oklahoma State, the complete inability to cover Penn State's wide receivers, and the second half disaster at Houston are all flashing "warning" signs that this defense, as currently comprised, will not be able to stand up next year and compliment an offense which should be really damn good. Tray Lathan will return, which will be big. I think he's your Mike next year, and we slide Ben Cutter over to Sam. Is Jordan Lesley's job up for review? Is it just a Shadon Brown problem? Bottom line is that this defensive team is going to need to be more reliable down the stretch of big games than it was in 2023.
5. 8-4, 6-3 in the Big 12 - tied for 4th in the conference. Prior to the season, if we would've told you that we would be 8-4, 6-3 in conference at the end, you wouldn't have believed it. WVU was famously picked dead last in preseason polls, and then there was the one anonymous coach in the Athlon article who said that WVU "looks like a MAC team". In the end, we were a knocked down Hail Mary away from a tie for second. It is a remarkable turnaround. But, it didn't start this Fall, as it actually began last year when Neal Brown benched JT Daniels, and began the Garrett Greene era. I mentioned it ad nauseum prior to the season, that our offense was completely different once he took the reigns.
Since that moment vs. Oklahoma last year, WVU has played 15 games - 14 of which are against Power-5 competition. And, we've gone 10-5, 8-4 in the Big 12, over that stretch. WVU now has the 3rd overall rushing attack in the entire nation at 234 yards per game, averaging 5.24 ypc. And, as I posted earlier in the week, WVU returns 39 of the 44 on the two deep across the board. This program has some momentum. This offseason will be critically important to build upon the "mo" we have to find a few valuable pieces in the portal at corner, linebacker and WR. This bowl game will also be more important than most may think, as we can continue to build steam toward a big 2024. With Penn State coming to Morgantown to open next season, we have a hell of an opportunity to make a splash and have some serious juice again in Morgantown.
