MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia University football team got the elusive complete game from its roster that it has sought all year. And the Mountaineers’ reward was an extra game during the holiday season.
WVU got the job done on offense, defense and special teams Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium, stuffing visiting UCF 31-21 for a bowl-clinching sixth win on the season. It was West Virginia’s first win at home in more than two months. The last victory came against Kansas, 32-28 on Sept. 21.
“This was one of the few times all year, probably going back to the Oklahoma State game … we’ve won some games, but this is probably the first time with all three phases,” WVU coach Neal Brown said..
WVU bowled over the Knights for 200 rushing yards, its much-maligned defense held UCF, one of the nation’s most prolific offenses, to 348 total yards and the Mountaineer special teams came up with several big plays to help the cause.
There was a point near the end of the fourth quarter when the Knights found a little life. UCF running back R.J. Harvey scored his second touchdown of the game to pull the Knights to within 10. But an attempted onside kick failed, and on the ensuing drive, WVU converted two fourth downs to keep the clock running.
Much of Saturday’s game was spent on the ground. Neither team spent much time passing, though WVU didn’t need to. C.J. Donaldson set the tone early in the game, running with a punishing style reminiscent of his first year in WVU’s backfield. The Mountaineers (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) capped their opening eight-play, 68-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Donaldson. The running back gained 57 of the yards on that drive on four carries.
Donaldson said he was doing a better job this game of running at the right pad level, not running too tall.
“They get on me every day, every week, ‘C.J., you’re too high, you have to run the ball with your pads down and make yourself a tough tackle,’” Donaldson said. “It’s very important for me to understand that I’m a 240-pound running back that needs to be running behind his pads all the time.”
Donaldson finished the first half with 85 yards on 13 carries with that opening score. WVU kept the chains and the clock moving by rushing for 115 yards in the first half. Donaldson got back into the end zone to finish WVU’s opening drive of the second half, finishing a five-play, 56-yard trip with another 1-yard touchdown to salt the game away at 28-7.
The Knights (4-7, 2-6 Big 12) came into Saturday’s game with the reputation of racking up yards. They were seventh in the Football Bowl Subdivision averaging 464.6 yards per game. Against WVU, they could muster just 348. The Knights sported the No. 2 rushing offense in the FBS and the No. 3 leading rusher in Harvey, but neither was able to reach their averages Saturday.
UCF, averaging 262.8 rushing yards, gained 176 on the ground as a team. Harvey, averaging 132.8 yards, gained 130 against the Mountaineers.
The Knights, who have struggled all season in their passing game, couldn’t turn to that facet of their offense despite facing one of the worst pass defenses in the nation in WVU. The Mountaineers allowed a season low in passing yards (172) and the second-lowest opponent’s completion percentage (52.3%) this year. WVU’s defense also fared much better than usual on third down, allowing the Knights to convert just three of nine for the game.
WVU’s special teams didn’t disappoint, either. Returner Preston Fox helped WVU with field position with kick returns of 40 and 36 yards, punter Oliver Straw averaged 50 yards per punt with a long of 57 yards and a pair of punts inside UCF’s 20, and Michael Hayes hit his only field goal attempt, a 35-yarder.
Garrett Greene finished with 118 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-21 passing. Two of those completions were fourth-down conversions to Justin Robinson and Hudson Clement on the final drive. Donaldson rushed for 96 yards and two scores, his best output since 125 yards versus Albany.
The Mountaineers are now eligible for their fourth bowl game in the last five seasons. They’ll be able to go for a seventh win on the season Saturday in Lubbock, Texas, versus Texas Tech. A win there would give WVU back-to-back seasons with a 6-3 conference record, which would be the first time that’s happened since WVU has joined the Big 12.
“I’m happy to get to six (total wins),” Brown said. “We’ve been up and down. I don’t hide from that. If we can get to six (conference) wins, that’s something we’ll feel good about as a program. That’s something that’s never been done.”
