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Horned Frogs wart WVU, 31-30

By Alex Dye for The Herald Standard 4 min read

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On a night following the return to Morgantown of College GameDay, ESPN’s signature college football program, West Virginia had high hopes of showing the nation what it could do.

TCU had other ideas, as the defense forced five turnovers, Jaden Oberkrom kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, and the Horned Frogs (7-1, 4-1) topped the Mountaineers 31-30.

The Mountaineers (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) opened the game with a methodical 10-play, 75-yard drive. Wendell Smallwood and Rushel Shell provided seven tough carries, and Mario Alford caught a 23-yard touchdown on a pinpoint touch pass from Clint Trickett.

The nation’s leading receiver, Kevin White, contributed a spectacular 23-yard catch on the drive. On third down, White took a screen pass and broke tackles en route to a first down.

West Virginia took the momentum of a quick scoring drive to the defensive side. Three straight incompletions by TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin led to a punt, giving the Mountaineer offense the ball back.

On the ensuing possession, West Virginia again marched into scoring position. Several short completions and a solid running game got the Mountaineers inside the 10-yard line.

However, after three straight runs, the Mountaineers could not convert and Josh Lambert converted a short field goal to give West Virginia a 10-0 lead.

On the kickoff, a strong wind caused the ball to float short. However, it worked to the Mountaineers’ advantage, as West Virginia recovered the ball on a bounce.

The Mountaineers didn’t do much with the free possession and good field position, but Lambert made sure the gift wasn’t wasted, as the kicker converted a 47-yard field goal.

TCU’s next drive was much more representative of their usual fashion: quick and efficient. After five plays (and two first downs), Boykin found receiver Deante Gray on a wide-open screen pass, and Gray trotted 47 yards for a touchdown.

The game stagnated for a bit after the touchdown, as both offenses went cold. Shell and Smallwood both fumbled possession away, and Trickett threw an interception for West Virginia.

TCU gave the ball away too, but mostly in the form of four punts. Boykin also threw an interception to Mountaineer spur K.J. Dillon toward the end of the first half.

The Horned Frogs got the game’s third touchdown on the heels of a Trickett fumble. TCU used five straight running plays, capped by a two-yard Boykin keeper, to take the lead at 14-13.

West Virginia, trailing for the first time, quickly proved it could handle adversity. Dreamius Smith, the Mountaineers’ third-string running back, broke off a 50-yard run to the TCU red zone. Smith capped the drive with a short touchdown run a couple of plays later.

On the first play from scrimmage on TCU’s next drive, the Mountaineers scored on a superior defensive effort from cornerback Terrell Chestnut. Chestnut stripped the Horned Frogs’ Josh Doctson, picked up the fumble and rumbled 35 yards for the touchdown, putting West Virginia up 27-14.

WVU’s next possession wasn’t nearly as productive. Trickett rolled out and, in trying to throw the ball out of bounds, ended up tossing his second interception. TCU’s B.J. Catalon cashed in on the turnover, scoring a 23-yard touchdown run to bring the game to 27-21.

The Mountaineers continued to match the Horned Frogs score-for-score, as Josh Lambert hit his third field goal, a 23-yard attempt, to give WVU a 30-21 lead. Trickett hit Alford on a 46-yard pass to set up the field goal try.

TCU kept the ping-pong style game going, thanks to the legs of Catalon. Already having converted on a couple third down plays on the drive, Catalon added another when he bounced outside for a six-yard touchdown on third and goal.

After both TCU and WVU punts, TCU had a chance to win the game with about two minutes remaining. Immediately, Boykin hit a wide-open Kolby Listenbee for a 40-yard gain.

The Horned Frogs worked the clock down to 14 seconds, and a TCU injury caused a 10 second run-off to take the clock to four seconds. Oberkrom trotted out and calmly hit the field goal as time expired, winning the game.

WVU receiver Kevin White, after beginning the season with over 100 receiving yards per game, failed to reach the mark for the second straight game. White finished with just 28 yards on three catches.

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