WVU destroys BYU, moves to 6-3 in best start to Brown era
Mountaineers never let Cougars into the game.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) - West Virginia annihilated BYU tonight with a 37-7 final score - the Mountaineers are now 6-3, the best through 9 games in the Neal Brown era!
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West Virginia came into the night knowing that a win would make the Mountaineers bowl-eligible; BYU had the same goal on the other sideline, coming in with a 5-3 record of their own.
But West Virginia struck first - on their first drive of the game, the Mountaineers went 75 yards in 11 plays, punching the ball into the end zone from 2 yards out with CJ Donaldson to take the 7-0 lead.
BYU took the field next behind backup quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who took his first Division 1 snaps tonight. Retzlaff and the Cougars drove to midfield but were turned back on a 4th down stop - and then, the floodgates broke loose.
The Mountaineers would score on 5 of their next 6 drives, and most importantly, they would do so while shutting out BYU in the process.
BYU would eventually score a touchdown late in the game, but West Virginia calmly held onto the 30 point lead for the 37-7 final score.
Some of the stats after the game are startling - West Virginia outgained BYU by 290 yards (567-277) and ran for 336 total yards tonight.
Jahiem White had his breakout game, as he ran 16 times for 146 yards - CJ Donaldson provided the power out of the backfield with 14 carries for 102 yards plus 2 touchdowns.
Garrett Greene had another strong game controlling the offense - he only completed 12-24 passes, but threw for 205 yards and a touchdown, and didn’t turn the ball over all night.
The Mountaineer defense also returned in a big way tonight - they held BYU to just 67 total rushing yards and allowed 10 fewer first downs than WVU’s offense (BYU: 20, WVU: 30).
West Virginia played a complete game tonight - and if they can continue this effort next week against Oklahoma, big things could be in store for the 6-3 Mountaineers. Kickoff against the Sooners will come at 7 PM ET next Saturday (November 12) on FOX 10.
Hear from HC Neal Brown, LB Ben Cutter, and QB Garrett Greene in the video below, as they react to bowl eligibility and what worked so well tonight:
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