Baylor Bears Murder West Virginia Mountaineers; 73-42

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

That was not what we were looking for. I have always hated to state the obvious, but coaching blunders, defensive mistakes, and offensive line mishaps cost the Mountaineers dearly in this came, and it all culminated into this.

In a game where the Mountaineers were supposed to show off their defensive power they flaunted last week against Oklahoma State, WVU was creamed into a fine paste in the first half by the Baylor Bears, 56-14. Baylor’s strong triumvirate of an offensive attack smacked the ‘Eers defense silly, as running back Lache Seastrunk showed why he is a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, rushing for an astounding 172 yards. Early in the first quarter, Baylor’s star wide receiver Tevin Reese caught what is being called by some as the catch of the year, just barely extending enough to catch Bryce Petty’s throw. That gave Baylor more momentum then we could even imagine. The Bears proceded to rip WVU apart, and the utter rout was on.

In the very slim amount of first half Mountaineer highlights, quarterback Clint Trickett played reasonably well, even while continuing to nurse his hurt arm, which he injured last week. He held tough, throwing for an impressive touchdown and no interceptions in the half. But the West Virginia offensive line played horribly, and even all star punter Nick O’Toole did not play up to his normal ways.

The 2nd half was not quite as bad, however. If anything, the ‘Eers put up quite the impressive fight, with the defense playing substantially better. The Bears only put up 17 2nd half points, compared to 28 for West Virginia. A few bright spots persisted for the Mountaineers throughout.

First, it is seeming more and more like Baylor is the best team in the Big 12, maybe even a 10 national team. The fact that WVU hung 42 on their tough defense was exceptionally grand.

Secondly, Joe Deforest’s special teams corp seemed to have drastic improvements from the last game’s debacle, including a successful onside kick, and multiple stops of Baylor’s return game.

Lastly, Dana Holgerson arguably coached the game of his life. We should all give props to him for not letting the team give up by halftime, obviously firing them up, even with the insurmountable score.

Is there coaching changes to come? I personally say no. But there are still major problems across the board. There is potential all over the team, but there might still have to be changes. We shall see. All we can say is, tonight was ugly, but we are not dead. Thank you all for sticking around, and I hope you found some sort of a way to enjoy the game. Signing off for the evening, this has been Ben Anderson.