TCU punter put Mountaineers in bad positions
Adam Nunez isn’t a household name, probably not even for the most diehard fans of the TCU football team.
But now, Adam Nunez is a name that fans of the Mountaineers will not soon forget because of his play on Saturday. It’s not often that a punter can change the course of a game, but Nunez definitely hurt the WVU football team.
Nunez pinned the Mountaineers deep into their own territory making it tough for the West Virginia offense to get moving, especially in the first half. Nunez had seven punts in the Horned Frogs’ 31-24 victory over the Mountaineers in Ft. Worth.
The seven punts for Nunez sailed a total of 301 yards, which was an average of 43 yards per punt. His longest punt was 51 yards. Four of Nunez’s punts gave West Virginia the ball inside the 10-yard line.
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In a first half that saw both offenses struggle, it was the play of Nunez that gave TCU an edge. Conversely, West Virginia’s special teams was a complete disaster once again. While Nunez was punting away early in the first half, the WVU return team muffed it, giving the Horned Frogs the ball in their own territory.
That miscue on the Mountaineers set up TCU’s first touchdown. West Virginia couldn’t get a touchdown in the first half, but those fortunes changed in the second half. The Mountaineers actually got two of their scores after TCU punts. The Mountaineers started both of those drives at the 25-yard line, after Nunez booted it into the end zone.
Following his efforts against the Mountaineers, Nunez was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. Prior to this most recent game, Nunez was averaging just over 38 yards per punt this season. So, the outing against the Mountaineers was definitely a breakout performance.
Nunez caught the attention of the Mountaineers on Saturday, while also catching the attention of a former WVU football legend. Pat McAfee tweeted about Nunez’s performance proving that he really did steal the show in an otherwise dry first half of action.
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It’s easy to say the Mountaineers beat themselves against TCU. A big reason why that was the case was because of the bad situations Adam Nunez put them in on Saturday.