How about Dana Holgorsen admitting he goofed up the end of the first half last week and had that on his mind at the end of the first half Saturday?

Ah, yes. Today is a different day, and I know this not because WVU won but because we’re not circling a carcass. But how close were we to that flight pattern today? I could capably argue that the Mountaineers were fortunate to hold onto the ball for the final 16 plays and 6:47 yesterday — by both metrics, the longest drive of the season — and could have been forced to punt, kick a field goal or go for a first down on fourth down on three occasions.

As it stands, a pass to Rushel Shell on second-and-5 — the second play of the drive — lost 2 yards and featured Shell fumbling the ball, recovering it and then saying, “If I’m getting pulled because of that fumble, I might as well try to do something helpful.” That encouraged him to bad-mouth McKeesport High and draw a personal foul penalty and a first down from Branden Jackson.

First down WVU. Two third downs would follow, and each came with a stopped clock because the Mountaineers, inexplicably, I could say, passed the ball and threw two incomplete passes. Dana Holgorsen said he was OK with the plays, but it would appear those plays were Skyler Howard’s plays.

WVU would actually pass twice on the drive, defying tactical logic and bewildering hopeful fans. Both times, Skyler Howard’s second-down passes were incomplete. Both times, the quarterback said he made the decision to change from a run play to a pass play.

“It was a good check,” Howard said. “The ball just didn’t get there. That’s something I’ll work on this week, as I always do. I take something from every game and get better at it. I’ll continue to do that and get even better.”

After both passes, running back Wendell Smallwood saved the drive. He first ran for 10 yards on third-and-6 and then gained 12 yards on third-and-9. He was happy to take matters back into his own hands after seeing the pass plays get away from him and the goal of working on the clock.

“I think he caught us all off guard,” Smallwood said. “The linemen were looking. We saw the ball in the air. The defensive guys were all yelling, knowing we threw the ball. We’re like, ‘No, let’s keep running. Let’s keep getting first downs.’ ”

Smallwood’s second third-down dash gave the Mountaineers a first down at Texas Tech’s 6, but they’d face one more third down at the 1. Howard tried to cross the goal line, but was stopped short. A penalty flag then flew and linebacker Micah Awe was caught twisting Howard’s face mask for a personal foul and a first down. Howard took three knees to end the game and give his side its first win since Sept. 26.

“This is something to build off of,” Howard said. “We still have a long stretch to go, but this definitely feels great. The feeling in the locker room after the game with your brothers is great.”

Texas Tech is a substandard outfit, and WVU is right on track for being the fifth- or sixth-best team in the Big 12 with much more clarity arriving after Saturday’s noon home game on ESPNU against Texas (and isn’t that the epitome of why one joins the Big 12?).

That one was an odd one, though. Consider that WVU’s banged-up defense that lost Terrell Chestnut, gained Ricky Rumph and lost Jeremy Tyler held Texas Tech to below 200 yards passing for the first time in four seasons. Consider that Holgorsen won with a quarterback who completed 12 passes and didn’t throw for a touchdown. Consider that the biggest part of maybe the biggest game of the season was a drive that produced no points. Consider the Red Raiders won the turnover battle.

WVU didn’t do a whole lot to win the game, but Texas Tech did less and actually did more to help the Mountaineers. After four straight losses, they’ll take that.

The home team did one thing very well  and ran the ball with ease. Three-hundred yards. That’s happened just four other times under Holgorsen here, and he said afterward his offense has been “building” toward this. Take that for what it’s worth. But take this, too. Texas, Kansas, Iowa State and Kansas State each have quarterback deficiencies. I can’t sit here and say WVU’s running game is the strongest strength among the remaining teams and the things they do well, but it’s fair to say from here on out the Mountaineers have an asset on the ground while the level of quarterback play is nowhere near as lofty as was the past five games.

None of that, though, dismisses the obvious.

There were times throughout the game when Howard was jeered by the home crowd, which nevertheless saved its loudest cheers for when Howard’s 2-yard touchdown run gave the Mountaineers a 31-20 lead with 11:28 left in the game.

“There’s a lot of crowd reactions to me I feel like,” he said. “The boos in there for the missed throws are all right. I thank those people. Those boos are going to push me to be the greatest quarterback I can be.”

Howard completed fewer than half his passes the previous two games and 53.1 percent and 51.4 percent in the two games before that.

“There are going to be times over the course of the next four or five games we’re going to have to do better in the passing game,” Holgorsen said. “It’s my job to continue to do that. Yes, it’s hard. I know what it’s supposed to look like, and that’s not what it’s supposed to look like.”