MORGANTOWN — By the time Kyron Drones’ body hit the artificial turf at Milan Puskar Stadium for the final time Thursday night and the clock hit all zeros, one heck of a story had unfolded.
It was a story with more angles than a crooked politician, but just one final score: West Virginia 43, Baylor 40.
It was a story that we’re not exactly sure how to completely tell.
See, there was more to this game than just the final score.
There were sidebars and then sidebars to those sidebars.
WVU head coach Neal Brown entered the game on a hot seat, at least that’s one of the stories debated heavily on social media throughout the week.
Meanwhile, the WVU defense, too, had its collective backs against the wall after a poor showing against Texas and a poor showing throughout the season pretty much to this point.
If this game had gone sour — and for moments it looked like it was going to do just that — then someone was going to be in big trouble.
Well, here’s what happened: WVU’s defensive numbers will not be celebrated, but it was the defense that came up big at the right moments.
“Our guys showed a lot of grit,” Brown said. “Yeah, we gave up yards and we gave up plays, but we lost four guys and had other guys come in and make plays.”
Here’s the numbers: Baylor finished with 590 yards and 421 yards through the air with both Drones and starter Blake Shapen, who was knocked out of the game on a targeting call in the third quarter.
But Aubrey Burks came up with an interception in the fourth quarter. Dante Stills came up with a blocked extra point that teammate Jacolby Spells picked up and returned for a two-point conversion.
With 9:01 left in the fourth quarter, WVU linebacker Jasir Cox somehow got into the bottom of the pile to recover a fumble that, at first glance, looked like it had fallen into the arms of a Baylor offensive lineman.
“We need to get better on defense, we know that,” Brown said. “But, I thought we got better in the fourth quarter. I thought we were much better in the fourth quarter.”
For added measure, Cox came up with another big play in the second quarter, as he picked up another fumble and returned it for a 65-yard touchdown.
As far as Brown goes, there was a real story at the beginning of the game in terms of a noticeable lack of a crowd.
It was Stripe the Stadium night, but the biggest stripe was gray — the color of the empty seats throughout.
It was a sign of just how much a part of the fan base doesn’t like the direction the Mountaineers’ program is headed.
By the end of this night, though, those still hanging around sounded like a sold-out crowd at a rock concert.
And for now, Brown is Mick Jagger … he’s not going anywhere.
West Virginia (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) earned its first conference win of the season and did it in unbelievable fashion.
Running back Tony Mathis Jr. was nothing short of spectacular, especially in the second half, when he rushed for 108 of his 163 yards.
He finished with two touchdowns, the second coming on a 34-yard run with 7:06 remaining to give the Mountaineers a 40-37 lead.
Kaden Prather had eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.
“Kaden Prather is growing up,” Brown said. “He’s going to be as good as he wants to be.”
Justin Johnson scored on a 19-yard run at the end of the third quarter that saw him burst through two Baylor defenders.
J.T. Daniels threw one pass across the field to Sam James that was an NFL throw, as he dropped the ball just past two defenders and right to James’ hands.
Casey Legg, who hasn’t missed a field-goal attempt all season, won it with a 22-yard field goal with just 33 seconds left.
All of these plays and stories are running through your mind, as the game and score goes back and forth, which it did the entire evening.
If we only knew a way to tell how it all happened.
“Every point and every play matters,” Brown said. “I’m very proud of our guys. I thought it was a big win.”
That’ll do.
TWEET @bigjax3211
