Offense:
--Formation count: 3 WR 1 FB 1 RB (29), 4 WR 1 RB (25), I-formation (13), 3 WR 2 RB (6), 3 WR 1 TE 1 RB (5), Twin Stacks 1 RB (4), Goal Line tight (1), 5 WR Twin Stacked Slot (1)
--After that initial interception by the defense, West Virginia would take over at the Baylor 30-yard line. The Mountaineers couldn’t get the first down on three plays so elected to go for it on 4th and 2 from the 22-yard line. On the play, West Virginia lines up in the twin stack wide receivers look to each side with Rushel Shell in the backfield with Skyler Howard. The Bears show blitz, but then back off of it and only rush three dropping eight into coverage. Howard looks to the left side where Shorts and Durante are running routes but both are covered and because the defensive end is able to put pressure off the edge he has to toss the ball up for an incomplete pass in the end zone. Good defense by Baylor here.
--First completion of the game for Howard comes at the 10:01 mark when the Mountaineers come out in a three wide receiver set with a fullback alongside Crawford in the backfield. There is play action to Crawford and Marcus Simms settles into the open spot but a high ball forces him to jump up and snare it. He does but the accuracy issues will be something that play out all game.
--On the third drive of the game facing a 3rd and 1, West Virginia comes out in a three wide receiver set but sends Marcus Simms in motion across the formation. Howard then quickly sneaks up to the line and snaps the ball where he gets enough push to get the first down. Quick and sneaky.
--Not only did you see some of redshirt senior Devonte Mathis but also redshirt sophomore Ricky Rogers at wide receiver in the early phases of the first quarter.
--Really liked what West Virginia did with some of the formations early. They would use both redshirt junior Elijah Wellman and redshirt sophomore Trevon Wesco in blocking roles and then split them out in four wide receiver sets without substituting. Same can be said with the running backs. That makes things difficult on a defense to show that many variations with the same personnel groupings. You also saw a stack look out of the 3 WR 1 FB 1 RB set that I hadn’t seen until this game.
--Thought it on first look but Howard was just off on his throws early in this game. He missed open wide receivers and more often than not he missed them high.
--On the touchdown drive in the second quarter, one play that caught my attention was a 3rd and 1 from the Baylor 30. The Mountaineers come out in a traditional I-formation set and run the ball off the left side of the line with Elijah Wellman clearing out one blocker and then Martell Pettaway running over another tackle attempt for a pickup of nine yards. That’s the style that the Mountaineers want to play.
--On the Daikiel Shorts touchdown, West Virginia is lined up with a trips look at the bottom with Shorts serving as the wide receiver closest to Howard while there is a single receiver to the top. Justin Crawford comes in motion before the snap and Shorts runs to the back of the end zone between a linebacker and a safety. There are four Baylor defenders in the vicinity of Shorts but they do not drop deep enough and the throw allows Shorts to catch the ball in the back of the end zone on a curl but it’s his concentration that allows him to adjust his body mid-air and get a foot down for the touchdown. Just an incredible catch by Shorts and it was on fourth down to boot. That capped off a 15-play, 5:05 drive that was the most defining in the game when it came to momentum for West Virginia.
--On the opening drive of the second half, West Virginia was looking at a third and five and they had what they wanted with their two best blockers Elijah Wellman and Daikiel Shorts in front of Marcus Simms on a quick screen. There’s two defenders up there so it’s a good play at the snap but Shorts misses his block and by the time Simms is able to juke the first defender a linebacker has come over and halted the numbers advantage and is able to stop him short of the sticks.
--You saw a lot more four-wide receiver sets in this game and a lot of times the Mountaineers would run the ball out of it. The Crawford 63-yard run came out of this set as well and on the play he does an excellent job of finding the hole off the left side and then getting in the open field. The only bad thing that happened on the play is the fact he wasn’t able to score and was caught from behind.
--The ensuing set of plays was puzzling as West Virginia elected to hurry and keep Crawford in the game. On the first play they attempted to throw the ball and was sacked. Second play was then a short run by Crawford and third down was a drop by Devonte Mathis on what would have been a first down. Instead of a potential touchdown, the tackle by the Baylor player saved any points from scoring because Molina would miss a 31-yard field goal badly to the left.
--How fast is Shelton Gibson? On the play before the Gary Jennings touchdown catch, Baylor has two players back to defend him on the deep post and he is still able to get behind them. The ball is narrowly incomplete but just a sample of what he is able to do with his speed.
--On the Gary Jennings touchdown, West Virginia lines up in a four wide receiver look with a running back in the backfield next to Howard. There are three wide receivers at the top and Jennings is alone at the bottom. Much like you saw at Iowa State a week ago on the Ka’Raun White touchdown catch there are four defenders at the top of the screen to cover the three-wide receiver look. At the snap Crawford motions out of the backfield to the side where Jennings is at which draws two defenders to halt. Howard hits Jennings on the quick slant and both safeties are out of position to make a play. From there it’s a footrace with the final safety and Jennings not only wins it he pulls away.
--Before that 58-yard pass to Jennings, Howard had completed 9-22 passes for 49 yards. That would be the final pass he completed in the entire game with 2:04 left in the third quarter. The Mountaineers didn’t even attempt a pass over the final 11:32 of the game.
--Howard was initially stopped on his one-yard touchdown run but credit Wellman for all the work here along with Crawford. Those two willed Howard into the end zone to give the Mountaineers a 24-21 lead.
Defense:
--I counted a total of 16 missed tackles.
--The defense held Baylor to 4-13 on third down. 0-2 on fourth down. And the Bears only run a total of four plays inside the West Virginia red zone in this game which points to what defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said about making them extend drives.
--Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. On the second play of the game, Baylor is facing a 2nd and 9 and the Bears attempt a play action pass and it’s man-on-man coverage with Jarrod Harper trailing the wide receiver Chris Platt on an inside slant. The ball is delivered where Platt can catch it as Harper is beat on the play but the ball takes a funny hop into the air as he attempts to pull it in and SPUR safety Marvin Gross is in the right place at the right time to come down with the ball for an interception.
--An example of bad defense was facing a 2nd and 4 with 2:06 remaining in the first quarter, Baylor ran a direct snap to running back Terence Williams and he’s hit by a pair of West Virginia players after about a four-yard gain. However, neither are able to get him to the ground and then he breaks an arm tackle for a 48-yard run. Three missed tackles in one play and a huge chunk of yards because of it.
--On the 60-yard touchdown pass to K.D. Cannon the Bears have three wide receivers to the top and Cannon alone at the bottom. It’s simply one-on-one coverage on the outside and Cannon just runs by Antonio Crawford down the field on a go-route. The ball is delivered on time and Crawford seems to actually have a plan on it but it sails through his hands into Cannon’s and he waltz into the end zone for a touchdown with a pass interference call to boot. Nothing fancy here.
--On the Jeremy Tyler interception, Platt came open down the field beating Jarrod Harper but Smith did not see him when he was open and elected to throw the ball late. However, when he did throw it Platt had given up on the route down the field and it allowed Tyler to come over and get in there for an easy interception down the field. This could have been trouble, but freshmen quarterbacks make freshmen mistakes and the Mountaineers end up with a turnover.
--Counted on at least four separate occasions that redshirt freshman David Long was able to split gaps and blow up plays in the backfield. One was particularly impressive with Baylor in an unbalanced look he came in on the backside and made the tackle in the backfield to prevent a chunk of yards. But on another he actually was back there and overran the play.
--What can you say about redshirt junior Marvin Gross? He easily played the best game of his career and was everywhere on the field. He recorded two sacks, an interception and forced a fumble as well as making six tackles. He looked good in coverage and that stat line is the first time a player has done that in the history of the West Virginia football program.
--The late touchdown by Baylor was just another go-route as Zamora beat Battle at the line of scrimmage when he attempted to jam him but in the back end Harper doesn’t get over in time and it’s an easy pitch and catch for the touchdown and it makes it an interesting game at 24-21.
--On the final Baylor play, West Virginia brings only three. Noble Nwachukwu has two offensive linemen on him but he beats the tackle around the edge and gets his hand on the football as Smith rears back to throw it. It’s a fumble and while the offensive linemen tried to throw the football forward it was clearly a fumble and it ended the Bears comeback attempt. That play defines the effort of Nwachukwu.
Third downs:
1st quarter:
3rd and 6 with 12:47 left at the Baylor 27: WVU blitzed brought five on the play and Smith does a great job faking one way and then throwing back to the opposite side for just enough for a first down.
3rd and 1 with 11:29 left at the Baylor 41: The Bears attempted to run the ball off the left side of the offensive line but David Long was able to disrupt the play and make the tackle in the backfield.
3rd and 10 with 7:19 left at the Baylor 29: WVU brought only three initially but that was enough as redshirt freshman Adam Shuler beat his man to the inside for a sack.
3rd and 2 with :24 left at the WVU 11: WVU blitzed by bringing six but Baylor has a good play designed to the top getting the bottom wide receiver in a stack coming on a quick slant. Cannon beats Crawford to the spot in man coverage but bobbles the ball still he’s able to reel it in before it hits the ground.
2nd quarter:
3rd and 10 with 11:01 left at Baylor 12: WVU blitzed by bringing six but the pass was misfired by Smith on the sideline.
3rd and 5 with 2:20 left at the Baylor 32: The Bears elected to run the football and it was well blocked to allow Hasty to squeeze through for eight yards.
3rd quarter:
3rd and 10 with 12:22 left at the Baylor 21: WVU brought four but the Bears elected to run the football for a short gain and bring on the punt team. On the play it looks like Justin Arndt recognizes what is coming pre-snap and signals to his teammates but ends up making the play anyways.
3rd and 8 with 7:47 left at the WVU 36: WVU bought five on the play but Marvin Gross comes untouched off the edge and is able to lay the wood to Smith sacking him and ending the drive and sending the Bears out of field goal range in the process.
3rd and 8 with 3:27 left at the Baylor 45: WVU blitzes and brings seven on the play and the pressure forces Smith to release the football quicker than he wants and it sails incomplete down the field. David Long comes in again with a huge hit to force the throw.
3rd and 2 with 1:02 left at the Baylor 19: WVU blitzes again with seven here and again Marvin Gross comes untouched off the edge and is able to jar the ball loose on a sack and Darien Howard falls on it.
4th quarter:
3rd and 8 with 13:42 left from the WVU 30: WVU blitzes again with seven but the ball is through the hands of Cannon when he was able to come open.
3rd and 8 with 9:57 left from the 50: WVU brings only three on this play and Reese Donahue gets too far up field and allows a lane to open which Smith runs for a first down.
3rd and 12 with 8:08 from the WVU 40: Baylor attempts to run the ball here quickly to pick up some yards but Nwachukwu got penetration to blow up the play and keep it to two yards.
--Baylor attempted a pair of fourth downs in the fourth quarter. The first came with 13:36 left at the WVU 30 with eight yards needed. WVU brings five on the play, but redshirt senior Noble Nwachukwu makes the play by forcing a hold effectively ending the play but Smith’s pass falls incomplete. The second was a 4th and 10 situation with under eight minutes left at the WVU 39-yard line. This time WVU brought six on the play and Christian Brown was able to get his hands up to bat the ball down at the line.
Special Teams:
--On the first field goal attempt from 46-yards out, Molina had the distance just seemed to push it right. That’s been a problem with him at times as the distance hasn’t been an issue but it seems he pushes kicks hard one direction especially on the left hash which causes misses. The 50-yard field goal attempt was from the opposite hash and sailed right now the middle.
--How do you sum up West Virginia special teams in 2016? The opening play of the second half when Shelton Gibson find a lane and hits it leading to a kickoff return touchdown. But there was a flag on the play and Shane Commodore was flagged for holding wiping off a 95-yard return. So instead of six points, the Mountaineers would be pushed back all the way to their own 15-yard line.
--On the opening drive of the second half, you saw the West Virginia punt team shift and get under center on a 4th and 1 play in an attempt to draw the Bears off-sides. Wellman would get under center and bark but that was the extent of the play. They didn’t snap the football and would punt after the delay of game, but a new wrinkle on special teams to note for future reference.
--On the first punt for Baylor in the second half, it’s a low punt but Jennings doesn’t come after the ball and it bounces at the WVU 36-yard line and rolls all the way back to the 14-yard line. Making matters worse is a holding penalty which puts the drive at the Mountaineers 7-yard line to start. 29 yards of field position on that play for an offense that was struggling mightily.
--On the 31-yard field goal, Molina is kicking from the left hash and simply just kicks the ball straight. It never had a chance and almost went directly in front of where he kicked it.
--West Virginia got lucky on the onside kick attempt as Baylor had an illegal block and that is now able to be reviewed. The ball didn’t go ten yards before a Mountaineer player touched the ball, but it didn’t count and on the next kick Trevon Wesco was able to jump on it and keep the ball.
--Interesting call with the ball at the Baylor 32 and exactly one-minute left. Instead of attempting a 49-yard field goal to make it a six-point game, West Virginia decides to punt the football and gains exactly 12-yards of field position after the touchback.
--Formation count: 3 WR 1 FB 1 RB (29), 4 WR 1 RB (25), I-formation (13), 3 WR 2 RB (6), 3 WR 1 TE 1 RB (5), Twin Stacks 1 RB (4), Goal Line tight (1), 5 WR Twin Stacked Slot (1)
--After that initial interception by the defense, West Virginia would take over at the Baylor 30-yard line. The Mountaineers couldn’t get the first down on three plays so elected to go for it on 4th and 2 from the 22-yard line. On the play, West Virginia lines up in the twin stack wide receivers look to each side with Rushel Shell in the backfield with Skyler Howard. The Bears show blitz, but then back off of it and only rush three dropping eight into coverage. Howard looks to the left side where Shorts and Durante are running routes but both are covered and because the defensive end is able to put pressure off the edge he has to toss the ball up for an incomplete pass in the end zone. Good defense by Baylor here.
--First completion of the game for Howard comes at the 10:01 mark when the Mountaineers come out in a three wide receiver set with a fullback alongside Crawford in the backfield. There is play action to Crawford and Marcus Simms settles into the open spot but a high ball forces him to jump up and snare it. He does but the accuracy issues will be something that play out all game.
--On the third drive of the game facing a 3rd and 1, West Virginia comes out in a three wide receiver set but sends Marcus Simms in motion across the formation. Howard then quickly sneaks up to the line and snaps the ball where he gets enough push to get the first down. Quick and sneaky.
--Not only did you see some of redshirt senior Devonte Mathis but also redshirt sophomore Ricky Rogers at wide receiver in the early phases of the first quarter.
--Really liked what West Virginia did with some of the formations early. They would use both redshirt junior Elijah Wellman and redshirt sophomore Trevon Wesco in blocking roles and then split them out in four wide receiver sets without substituting. Same can be said with the running backs. That makes things difficult on a defense to show that many variations with the same personnel groupings. You also saw a stack look out of the 3 WR 1 FB 1 RB set that I hadn’t seen until this game.
--Thought it on first look but Howard was just off on his throws early in this game. He missed open wide receivers and more often than not he missed them high.
--On the touchdown drive in the second quarter, one play that caught my attention was a 3rd and 1 from the Baylor 30. The Mountaineers come out in a traditional I-formation set and run the ball off the left side of the line with Elijah Wellman clearing out one blocker and then Martell Pettaway running over another tackle attempt for a pickup of nine yards. That’s the style that the Mountaineers want to play.
--On the Daikiel Shorts touchdown, West Virginia is lined up with a trips look at the bottom with Shorts serving as the wide receiver closest to Howard while there is a single receiver to the top. Justin Crawford comes in motion before the snap and Shorts runs to the back of the end zone between a linebacker and a safety. There are four Baylor defenders in the vicinity of Shorts but they do not drop deep enough and the throw allows Shorts to catch the ball in the back of the end zone on a curl but it’s his concentration that allows him to adjust his body mid-air and get a foot down for the touchdown. Just an incredible catch by Shorts and it was on fourth down to boot. That capped off a 15-play, 5:05 drive that was the most defining in the game when it came to momentum for West Virginia.
--On the opening drive of the second half, West Virginia was looking at a third and five and they had what they wanted with their two best blockers Elijah Wellman and Daikiel Shorts in front of Marcus Simms on a quick screen. There’s two defenders up there so it’s a good play at the snap but Shorts misses his block and by the time Simms is able to juke the first defender a linebacker has come over and halted the numbers advantage and is able to stop him short of the sticks.
--You saw a lot more four-wide receiver sets in this game and a lot of times the Mountaineers would run the ball out of it. The Crawford 63-yard run came out of this set as well and on the play he does an excellent job of finding the hole off the left side and then getting in the open field. The only bad thing that happened on the play is the fact he wasn’t able to score and was caught from behind.
--The ensuing set of plays was puzzling as West Virginia elected to hurry and keep Crawford in the game. On the first play they attempted to throw the ball and was sacked. Second play was then a short run by Crawford and third down was a drop by Devonte Mathis on what would have been a first down. Instead of a potential touchdown, the tackle by the Baylor player saved any points from scoring because Molina would miss a 31-yard field goal badly to the left.
--How fast is Shelton Gibson? On the play before the Gary Jennings touchdown catch, Baylor has two players back to defend him on the deep post and he is still able to get behind them. The ball is narrowly incomplete but just a sample of what he is able to do with his speed.
--On the Gary Jennings touchdown, West Virginia lines up in a four wide receiver look with a running back in the backfield next to Howard. There are three wide receivers at the top and Jennings is alone at the bottom. Much like you saw at Iowa State a week ago on the Ka’Raun White touchdown catch there are four defenders at the top of the screen to cover the three-wide receiver look. At the snap Crawford motions out of the backfield to the side where Jennings is at which draws two defenders to halt. Howard hits Jennings on the quick slant and both safeties are out of position to make a play. From there it’s a footrace with the final safety and Jennings not only wins it he pulls away.
--Before that 58-yard pass to Jennings, Howard had completed 9-22 passes for 49 yards. That would be the final pass he completed in the entire game with 2:04 left in the third quarter. The Mountaineers didn’t even attempt a pass over the final 11:32 of the game.
--Howard was initially stopped on his one-yard touchdown run but credit Wellman for all the work here along with Crawford. Those two willed Howard into the end zone to give the Mountaineers a 24-21 lead.
Defense:
--I counted a total of 16 missed tackles.
--The defense held Baylor to 4-13 on third down. 0-2 on fourth down. And the Bears only run a total of four plays inside the West Virginia red zone in this game which points to what defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said about making them extend drives.
--Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. On the second play of the game, Baylor is facing a 2nd and 9 and the Bears attempt a play action pass and it’s man-on-man coverage with Jarrod Harper trailing the wide receiver Chris Platt on an inside slant. The ball is delivered where Platt can catch it as Harper is beat on the play but the ball takes a funny hop into the air as he attempts to pull it in and SPUR safety Marvin Gross is in the right place at the right time to come down with the ball for an interception.
--An example of bad defense was facing a 2nd and 4 with 2:06 remaining in the first quarter, Baylor ran a direct snap to running back Terence Williams and he’s hit by a pair of West Virginia players after about a four-yard gain. However, neither are able to get him to the ground and then he breaks an arm tackle for a 48-yard run. Three missed tackles in one play and a huge chunk of yards because of it.
--On the 60-yard touchdown pass to K.D. Cannon the Bears have three wide receivers to the top and Cannon alone at the bottom. It’s simply one-on-one coverage on the outside and Cannon just runs by Antonio Crawford down the field on a go-route. The ball is delivered on time and Crawford seems to actually have a plan on it but it sails through his hands into Cannon’s and he waltz into the end zone for a touchdown with a pass interference call to boot. Nothing fancy here.
--On the Jeremy Tyler interception, Platt came open down the field beating Jarrod Harper but Smith did not see him when he was open and elected to throw the ball late. However, when he did throw it Platt had given up on the route down the field and it allowed Tyler to come over and get in there for an easy interception down the field. This could have been trouble, but freshmen quarterbacks make freshmen mistakes and the Mountaineers end up with a turnover.
--Counted on at least four separate occasions that redshirt freshman David Long was able to split gaps and blow up plays in the backfield. One was particularly impressive with Baylor in an unbalanced look he came in on the backside and made the tackle in the backfield to prevent a chunk of yards. But on another he actually was back there and overran the play.
--What can you say about redshirt junior Marvin Gross? He easily played the best game of his career and was everywhere on the field. He recorded two sacks, an interception and forced a fumble as well as making six tackles. He looked good in coverage and that stat line is the first time a player has done that in the history of the West Virginia football program.
--The late touchdown by Baylor was just another go-route as Zamora beat Battle at the line of scrimmage when he attempted to jam him but in the back end Harper doesn’t get over in time and it’s an easy pitch and catch for the touchdown and it makes it an interesting game at 24-21.
--On the final Baylor play, West Virginia brings only three. Noble Nwachukwu has two offensive linemen on him but he beats the tackle around the edge and gets his hand on the football as Smith rears back to throw it. It’s a fumble and while the offensive linemen tried to throw the football forward it was clearly a fumble and it ended the Bears comeback attempt. That play defines the effort of Nwachukwu.
Third downs:
1st quarter:
3rd and 6 with 12:47 left at the Baylor 27: WVU blitzed brought five on the play and Smith does a great job faking one way and then throwing back to the opposite side for just enough for a first down.
3rd and 1 with 11:29 left at the Baylor 41: The Bears attempted to run the ball off the left side of the offensive line but David Long was able to disrupt the play and make the tackle in the backfield.
3rd and 10 with 7:19 left at the Baylor 29: WVU brought only three initially but that was enough as redshirt freshman Adam Shuler beat his man to the inside for a sack.
3rd and 2 with :24 left at the WVU 11: WVU blitzed by bringing six but Baylor has a good play designed to the top getting the bottom wide receiver in a stack coming on a quick slant. Cannon beats Crawford to the spot in man coverage but bobbles the ball still he’s able to reel it in before it hits the ground.
2nd quarter:
3rd and 10 with 11:01 left at Baylor 12: WVU blitzed by bringing six but the pass was misfired by Smith on the sideline.
3rd and 5 with 2:20 left at the Baylor 32: The Bears elected to run the football and it was well blocked to allow Hasty to squeeze through for eight yards.
3rd quarter:
3rd and 10 with 12:22 left at the Baylor 21: WVU brought four but the Bears elected to run the football for a short gain and bring on the punt team. On the play it looks like Justin Arndt recognizes what is coming pre-snap and signals to his teammates but ends up making the play anyways.
3rd and 8 with 7:47 left at the WVU 36: WVU bought five on the play but Marvin Gross comes untouched off the edge and is able to lay the wood to Smith sacking him and ending the drive and sending the Bears out of field goal range in the process.
3rd and 8 with 3:27 left at the Baylor 45: WVU blitzes and brings seven on the play and the pressure forces Smith to release the football quicker than he wants and it sails incomplete down the field. David Long comes in again with a huge hit to force the throw.
3rd and 2 with 1:02 left at the Baylor 19: WVU blitzes again with seven here and again Marvin Gross comes untouched off the edge and is able to jar the ball loose on a sack and Darien Howard falls on it.
4th quarter:
3rd and 8 with 13:42 left from the WVU 30: WVU blitzes again with seven but the ball is through the hands of Cannon when he was able to come open.
3rd and 8 with 9:57 left from the 50: WVU brings only three on this play and Reese Donahue gets too far up field and allows a lane to open which Smith runs for a first down.
3rd and 12 with 8:08 from the WVU 40: Baylor attempts to run the ball here quickly to pick up some yards but Nwachukwu got penetration to blow up the play and keep it to two yards.
--Baylor attempted a pair of fourth downs in the fourth quarter. The first came with 13:36 left at the WVU 30 with eight yards needed. WVU brings five on the play, but redshirt senior Noble Nwachukwu makes the play by forcing a hold effectively ending the play but Smith’s pass falls incomplete. The second was a 4th and 10 situation with under eight minutes left at the WVU 39-yard line. This time WVU brought six on the play and Christian Brown was able to get his hands up to bat the ball down at the line.
Special Teams:
--On the first field goal attempt from 46-yards out, Molina had the distance just seemed to push it right. That’s been a problem with him at times as the distance hasn’t been an issue but it seems he pushes kicks hard one direction especially on the left hash which causes misses. The 50-yard field goal attempt was from the opposite hash and sailed right now the middle.
--How do you sum up West Virginia special teams in 2016? The opening play of the second half when Shelton Gibson find a lane and hits it leading to a kickoff return touchdown. But there was a flag on the play and Shane Commodore was flagged for holding wiping off a 95-yard return. So instead of six points, the Mountaineers would be pushed back all the way to their own 15-yard line.
--On the opening drive of the second half, you saw the West Virginia punt team shift and get under center on a 4th and 1 play in an attempt to draw the Bears off-sides. Wellman would get under center and bark but that was the extent of the play. They didn’t snap the football and would punt after the delay of game, but a new wrinkle on special teams to note for future reference.
--On the first punt for Baylor in the second half, it’s a low punt but Jennings doesn’t come after the ball and it bounces at the WVU 36-yard line and rolls all the way back to the 14-yard line. Making matters worse is a holding penalty which puts the drive at the Mountaineers 7-yard line to start. 29 yards of field position on that play for an offense that was struggling mightily.
--On the 31-yard field goal, Molina is kicking from the left hash and simply just kicks the ball straight. It never had a chance and almost went directly in front of where he kicked it.
--West Virginia got lucky on the onside kick attempt as Baylor had an illegal block and that is now able to be reviewed. The ball didn’t go ten yards before a Mountaineer player touched the ball, but it didn’t count and on the next kick Trevon Wesco was able to jump on it and keep the ball.
--Interesting call with the ball at the Baylor 32 and exactly one-minute left. Instead of attempting a 49-yard field goal to make it a six-point game, West Virginia decides to punt the football and gains exactly 12-yards of field position after the touchback.
