There was just 8:50 remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday when WVU running back C.J. Donaldson burst through the right side of the line, only to meet resistance and get pushed back.
The freshman was having himself a game up to that point, but this was a collision Donaldson would not get up from.
Reaching for his right lower leg, Donaldson was taken out of West Virginia’s 41-31 loss at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“C.J. got hurt bad in the second half,” said WVU football coach Neal Brown, who later hinted that Donaldson will miss an extended amount of time.
Donaldson rushed for 104 yards on 19 carries and scored on two 1-yard runs.
It was the fourth time this season the freshman from Miami went over 100 yards.
But, with Donaldson out and backup Justin Johnson Jr. not playing at full speed, WVU’s rushing attack took a big hit out of the Mountaineers’ strategy in the second half.
The Mountaineers also played the game without Tony Mathis Jr., the team’s leading rusher.
“We got away from it a little bit, because our running back room is beat up,” Brown said. “Our run game in the second half was limited, because we just didn’t have a lot of people.”
Quick scores
In taking a 28-21 halftime lead, No. 7 TCU needed just 25 plays to score its 28 points.
The Horned Frogs scored four touchdowns in the first half of at least 30 yards.
“I don’t know how much those big plays had an impact on the game. Every play has an impact,” WVU defensive back Charles Woods said. “I do tell our guys when a big play happens to just move on. You can’t put your head down. You have to keep playing.”
Going for it
Facing a fourth-and-goal situation at the TCU 4-yard line with 5:14 remaining in the third quarter, Brown decided to go for the touchdown rather kick a field goal.
TCU led at the time, 28-24.
“That was our mentality right there was we were going to go for it on fourth down,” Brown said. “We knew we had to score touchdowns to win.”
WVU quarterback J.T. Daniels got receiver Kaden Prather in a one-on-one and Daniels lofted a pass into the end zone, where Prather got bumped and the ball fell over his head.
Brown wanted a pass interference call on the play, but it never came.
“If someone can tell me what (pass interference) is, then let me know,” he said. “If that’s not pass interference, then I don’t know what is. If our kid doesn’t have a chance to make a play, then it has to be pass interference.”
News and notes
WVU hasn’t beaten a top 10-ranked team inside Milan Puskar Stadium since 2014.
Brown said WVU lost safety Davis Mallinger during the game to injury, and it may be awhile before Mallinger returns.
WVU played without right guard Doug Nestor, but Brown said he expected Nestor would return next week, when WVU travels to Iowa State.
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