How West Virginia upset TCU 24-21 in Big 12 battle
The toughest opponent TCU has faced this season continues to be itself.
The Horned Frogs were doomed for the second time by miscues in a 24-21 loss to West Virginia at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday night.
TCU led 21-14 at halftime and moved the ball at will during the first half, but the Horned Frogs were shut out in the second half as they lost their first Big 12 regular-season game in head coach Sonny Dykes’ two seasons.
“Very disappointed tonight, have to give West Virginia credit,” Dykes said. “They played really hard, they played tough like we told our players all week they would. They made plays when they needed to and we didn’t. We got beat and deserved to get beat.”
Despite being outplayed, the Horned Frogs (3-2, 1-1 in Big 12) still had an opportunity to tie or take the lead with three minutes remaining. Starting at his own 15-yard line, Chandler Morris moved the offense down to midfield with back-to-back completions to Savion Williams and JP Richardson.
Then Major Everhart ripped off a 12-yard gain to move TCU inside the West Virginia 40. However, Morris was sacked on second down and then threw a desperation incomplete pass on third down to face a fourth-and-8 from the WVU 38.
With 32 seconds left, the Horned Frogs settled for a potential game-tying 53-yard field goal attempt by Griffin Kell. The Mountaineers (4-1, 2-0) blocked the kick, the second time in the final minutes that a potential game-tying field goal attempt was blocked. Kell also missed a field goal in the first quarter.
“We kicked two bad field goals, I think both of the kicks were low,” Dykes said. “I think we just kicked it into the back of our guys. Just really disappointed, we shouldn’t lose a game like that.”
Defense let down
The Horned Frogs defense played inspired on Saturday despite being let down by the other phases of the team. The offense was shut out in the second half when it had just two drives — the final two — where they gained more than 10 yards.
Special teams? The Horned Frogs missed one field goal and then had two more blocked in the closing minutes.
Any of the missed kicks would’ve tied the game at 24.
The defense allowed 343 total yards, including 201 on the ground. The Horned Frogs limited WVU quarterback Garrett Greene to 142 passing yards on 10 of 21 passing. The defense forced West Virginia to settle for a field goal and came up with two fourth down stops, including a late drive inside the Horned Frogs’ 5-yard line.
The unit did everything it could to put TCU in position to win.
“I thought defensively the guys played really hard and I thought we played well enough to win,” Dykes said. “The fourth down, the goal line stand; when you play that bad on offense and still have a chance to win that’s a real credit to the defense.”
Miserable third quarter
Offensively, the third quarter against West Virginia might be the worst performance in a quarter under Dykes. How bad was it? With just 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Horned Frogs had just one yard of offense despite having three possessions.
Morris was sacked on back-to-back plays one drive and the run game was effectively eliminated due to the Mountaineers’ tenacity. West Virginia kept seven to eight defenders in the box at all times and dared TCU to beat them over the top, which was a sound strategy.
“I don’t have any explanation for that. How you have 318 yards at halftime and have 100 in the second half, I have no explanation for that,” Dykes said. “It shouldn’t happen. The third quarter was as bad an offense as I’ve ever seen since I’ve been coaching. I don’t know if we made a first down, maybe one.”
On the flip side West Virginia rolled up 129 yards and added a touchdown to tie the game 21-21. The Mountaineers had another score that was overturned as the runner’s knee was down at the TCU 5-yard line and that ultimately ended up being a saving grace. The Horned Frogs stuffed West Virginia on a fourth-and-goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter to flip momentum after the tough third quarter.
Leaving the door open
It was a stressful viewing experience for TCU fans as the Horned Frogs failed to take advantage of numerous plays that could’ve put the game out of reach. Like in the first half when TCU had a chance to move ahead 10-7, but Griffin Kell missed the field goal attempt.
At the beginning of the second quarter TCU led 14-7 and moved deep into the West Virginia red zone. The Horned Frogs had a fourth-and-inches, but were stuffed by the Mountaineers and left that possession scoreless. The Horned Frogs had multiple chances at the start of the second half to make it a two possession game against an offense that was struggling to pass the ball.
TCU only managed to pick up one first down on two possessions before West Virginia tied the game at 21 late in the third quarter. In the end, similar to Colorado, the Horned Frogs couldn’t overcome their own mistakes.
“It just came down to execution and it came down to me doing my job and I didn’t do that at a high level,” Morris said of the struggles.
Morris’ monster half
With the run being held in check by an aggressive West Virginia defense, it was on Morris to be the catalyst for the offense and he answered the call with arguably his best half of football. Morris accounted for 273 of TCU’s 312 first half yards and all three touchdowns.
His first came on a strike to JP Richardson, who shed a tackler and then raced 59 yards for his first touchdown of the year. After the Mountaineers tied it, Morris put the Horned Frogs back in front again as he kept the ball on a read option and outran the defense for a 31-yard touchdown run.
His third touchdown of the half was the most crucial. The Horned Frogs were facing a fourth down and momentum was starting to shift to West Virginia. Morris patiently waited in the pocket and then threw another strike to Dylan Wright in a tight window and the Minnesota transfer strolled in from 36 yards out to make 21-14 just before halftime.
Morris finished 23 of 41 for 298 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 11 times for 51 yards and a score.
Emani Bailey, who led the Big 12 in rushing for the first four weeks, was held to 55 yards on 19 carries.
This story was originally published September 30, 2023 at 11:00 PM.
