COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — According to ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath, West Virginia defensive lineman Darius Stills went out of his way to let her know she needed to report that the Baylor offensive line was “soft.”
To that point, it certainly looked like that was the case. In three possessions for the Bears’ offense, it punted three times and didn’t have a single first down, and the Mountaineers’ defensive front was swarming in the backfield.
But to make a statement like that, to a national television sideline reporter when you’re the only game in town, is bold, and you better make sure you back it up.
On West Virginia’s next defensive possession, Baylor took eight plays and marched right down the field for its first touchdown to make it 7-0. On the same series, safety Josh Norwood was ejected for the second time this season for targeting.
After that? Stills kept his word. West Virginia’s defense did everything it could to keep the Mountaineers in the game Thursday night in Waco. On the final three drives for Baylor after the score in the first half, the Mountaineers forced a fumble, had a goal line stand and didn’t allow the Bears to score on a Hail Mary to end the half.
In the second half, Baylor had just 10 points and the defense kept West Virginia in the game.
The WVU offense, though, was a totally different story.
Despite the defense playing well, the offense could do nothing to take advantage. There wasn’t a single positive to take, but the finger easily can be pointed at quarterback Austin Kendall — who may have played his worst game of the season. In the first half, he was 9 of 21 for 48 yards and an interception, which came late in the second quarter when it appeared the offense was finally starting to get a little momentum.
The second half was better, but outside of an 83-yard bomb from Kendall to George Campbell, the Mountaineers couldn’t get on the scoreboard.
Winston Wright’s kickoff return was the only other touchdown in the 17-14 loss.
The quarterback usually gets too much blame and this was no different. The offensive line, once again, couldn’t do anything to help the running game. West Virginia’s running backs combined for 46 yards on 14 carries, but perhaps the worst performance of the night was redshirt freshman center Briason Mays. He snapped the ball over Kennedy McKoy’s head in the first half, and then snapped it early on WVU’s first possession of the second half – a promising drive that was promptly erased. Both snaps resulted in a combined loss of 48 yards.
Kendall also didn’t get much help from his receivers, who dropped three passes on the night, adding to their Big 12-leading 20 this season.
This game also featured Neal Brown’s first major gaffe as head coach at WVU. The decision not to call a timeout as the play clock was winding down on Casey Legg’s potential game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter was inexcusable. Instead, a delay of game pushed the kick back to a 48-yarder, and Legg promptly missed. The Bears were able to run out most of the remaining fourth-quarter clock.
Though the offense is missing its identity, it cannot be understated the job Vic Koenning is doing with the Mountaineers’ defense. Baylor came in with a top three offense in the Big 12 and it was held to 17 points, and the defensive line is proving to be disruptive. Stills walked the walk after talking the talk, finishing with 10 tackles and three sacks, and the defense as a whole had 12 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
The offense is simply missing an identity, and unless it can find a semblance of a running game, it will continue to struggle.
There’s obvious hope for the future, but another loss is making a bowl bid look further and further from reality.
