West Virginia’s performance may have had you sweating to some old issues at times Saturday, but the Mountaineers were good enough to win, to end a four-game losing streak and to position themselves to start a winning streak should they take care of matters as a touchdown favorite Saturday against wholly unpredictable Texas. Like, I don’t even know if the Longhorns’ll show up by plane, bus or hot air balloon.

Anyhow, our carefully rehearsed talking point last week was that Texas Tech was going to score and that meant WVU would have to match and, ideally, prevent scores. Well, WVU’s offense did well to answer scores. It didn’t match scores, but it followed three Texas Tech sores with points and succeeded a fourth with that long drive to end the game.

The Red Raiders were not who we thought they were offensively — unless you bought into the steep home/road splits, which I did — and they left with season-low totals for points, passing yardage and total yards. Jakeem Grant, who must have been looking forward to Christmas after seeing what Corey Coleman and Josh Doctson had just done to the Mountaineers, had a 10-yard touchdown on a scramble drill and then four other catches that netted minus-2 yards.

The defense played without a starting cornerback and a reserve safety who was going to have to play more because a reserve safety was starting at cornerback. It did well to slow Grant and the offense, and it can thank sleepy K.J. Dillon for his performance.

“I was up to maybe 1 or 2 in the morning watching him,” Dillon said. “That’s how explosive he was. But I think me doing that helped me get the edge on what he was doing. He wasn’t able to be a big part of the offense.”

Dillon finished with nine tackles, but just one after halftime. That, though, was because Grant did nothing in the second half and finished with five catches for eight yards. Grant was third in the Big 12 and in the top 11 nationally in receptions, receiving yards and receiving yards per game.

“We focused on it,” defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. “K.J. Dillon, I thought, played a hell of a game from my perspective standing over on the sideline. K.J. drew him about 90 percent of the time.”

It’s as good a reason as any the Mountaineers (4-4 overall, 1-4 Big 12) ended a four-game losing streak. They’d allowed three 100-yard receivers in four conference games, and Baylor’s Corey Coleman and TCU’s Josh Doctson combined for 21 catches, 382 yards and five scores in the previous two games.

Grant had just set a career highs with 13 catches for 178 yards against Oklahoma State, but matched a season-low for receptions and established a career-low in receiving yardage.

“I wouldn’t have guessed those stats for him,” Mountaineers coach Dana Holorsen said. “That’s a tribute to our defense.”

Tell me who’s to say after all is done and you’re finally gone you won’t be back again. You can find a way to text today. You don’t have to wait to ’til then. My edits are in [brackets].

11:33:
Your wife’s traveling, my wife’s traveling….and we’re stuck watching a team that’s lost 4 straight. Thanks, Universe.

11:41:
I’m more hungover than Skip Carey after the 95 World Series.

12:03:
Crowd is super thin. Not a good look.

12:06:
Guy beside us just yelled “Go back to TAXAS!!!!” When they ran out. Now he’s cackling at the Matthew McConahey video. He and (my husband) are gonna be be

12:06:
st friends by half time.

12:07:
run silent, run deep, west virginia

12:10:
Howard tackled himself

12:10:
He’s terrible Mike

12:11:
my god Howard just overthrew a guy with no one within 30 yards of him and no pressure in the pocket

12:11:
Get me in space and I can rapid fire TFGD texts like no other!

12:11:
What. Is up. With these refs?

12:14:
boomstache?

12:15:
Aw, snap. Poe-lice presence in our section.

12:17:
Is it bad to hate an amateur athlete this much? I don’t want to but then I watch him play…

12:17:
Illegal formation penalty on 4th & 1 play?

12:18:
Good: Elijah Wellman blocking the 2nd level.

12:36:
Shell! First lead since uMD?

12:36:
Calling this now, if TTU runs more than they pass we win. I have zero idea why they wouldn’t throw all day

12:36:
Bend and break

12:36:
Argh. I was THIS CLOSE to saying “hey, look at our red zone defense!”

12:36:
Ok. Dude beside us is starting to get annoying. Although I had to giggle just now because he just yelled “Darnit!!” Who says that? At a football game?

12:39:
Uhhhh….the [firefighter] was that defense?? :face palm:

12:39:
WVU WRs need to stop listen to The Pharcyde!!!!

12:44:
Howard is a great runner … And by “great” I mean he has gotten three yards out of a play that was perfectly blocked on the first drive, and he never ge

12:44:
ts past the first tackler.

12:44:
Ain’t nothin’ gonna breaka Shelton Gibson’s stride…unless Skyler throws behind him

12:44:
11 minutes in, I still think Tech has no defense. WVU is 1-for-3 in scoring points … And all failures so far are on Howard (and Sills).

12:44:
The ghost of GAM

12:52:
too bad Dana does not like clouds of dust

12:52:
we are and can pound it on them

12:52:
tied after one? what is it?

12:53:
Skyler Howard runs the Zone Dyslexia.

12:55:
Intermediate pass! who knew?

12:55:
Easy to see why Howard isn’t on the Rifle team..

12:57:
yeah, we’re not getting any calls today.

12:59:
Mahome is Mahuge

12:59:
Apparently, Gibson is using the drop 11 defense…QB running wild…

12:59:
Does the middle linebacker realize that when the QB takes off that the MLB HAS to make the tackle bc there is no one else there?

12:59:
Needless to say this is the fifth game in a row where trading quarterbacks would result in a huge difference in the final score.

1:02:
And jared barber still looks like a bull chasing a matador

1:02:
TT can’t run and runs 3 straight. WVU can run and passes three straight. #coachingtree

1:05:
Had no idea Rushel had hamschtrings until that run.

1:05:
WVU O beginning to realize TT D is melted butter

1:07:
empty backfield = Skylar run

1:09:
Give the [football] to the RBs. They can t stop it.

1:09:
That might’ve been the first time is aw Josh Lambert miss.

1:09:
On that note…I must now drink!

1:17:
“Get the ball! Darnit!!!”

1:17:
STOP RUNNING THE QB DRAW OUT OF THE EMPTY SET YOU [FIERCE] [DUDES].

1:18:
I’m very close to deciding that raking leaves would make me happier than watching this game

1:18:
D. Worley got his mojo back!

1:18:
each team’s deficiencies are aligning enough to make this interesting so far.

1:22:
beards and punting do not go together

1:23:
Boom[stuff]

1:23:
Dude…you have one damn job…#kicker

1:23:
You would be hard pressed to do worse than Howard did on that drive. .. even if you’re you.

1:27:
Tech’s quarterback opens up the run. WVU’s is so bad that it makes the other team sell out to stop the run.

1:32:
I love how our DB’s always argue with each other after they give up a TD!

1:32:
Dana ball!

1:39:
I am officially in the “How can no one be better than Skyler Howard” camp. He’s definitely neck and neck with Brad Lewis for a title that is NSFW.

1:43:
I like how it helps ND, according to the Fox crew, to not have a championship game, but it hurts the Big 12 not to have one. [Balderdash]

1:47:
I’m going to need the Band Aid uniform donors to give big…help those flag girls be more fashionable! #ThoseUnisAreFrompy

1:57:
A SACK A SACK A SACK!!!!!!!!!!

1:57:
punt downed at 1. more #Mountaineerluck

2:01:
Just saw the Masked Rider calling for “Maaaaaaack” over the urinal in the men’s room.

2:03:
Joe Heskitt rocking the old man blazer with the elbow patches on the sideline! Lol

2:03:
Somebody tape Petros Papadakis’s mouth shut. Everything that comes out there sounds dumber by the syllable.

2:03:
This game has all the makings of a “holgorsen.” Whats that? It’s where wvu gets a good effort from part of the team – defense here – against a team it sh

2:03:
ould beat, but screws around, lets a worse team stay close, and loses it at the end. Reverse jinx.

2:03:
…and there’s the usual [bad throw]! Smh. Why throw into double coverage????

2:03:
Caz!!!

2:03:
Mike

2:03:
How the [hay] do you make that throwing

2:04:
he never throws behind a d-back.

2:04:
Let the record show Skyler Howard checked to an INT

2:08:
I saw him change the play at the line and I thought “Alright, going deep to Gibson one on one.” Nope. Throwing it to the side that has a safety waiting for it.

2:08:
This Tech defense is probably no better than the Baylor one Geno threw 50 touchdowns against.

2:08:
How any times do I have to press F5 before I see “William Crest is warming up on the sideline”?

2:19:
“Need a big ol sack!!!!”

2:19:
If I’m tech, I would settle for a field goal every drive and force Howard to score more points than that.

2:20:
Let’s run the ball with shell and pass the ball with crest. Howard can continue taking the snaps, I guess.

2:24:
He threw an out this morning and our hearts stood still…Karaun raun raun raun, Karaun raun raun.

2:25:
Shell has his mojo back.

2:25:
Shell!!!!!!!

2:25:
#7 TTU a hot head

2:25:
We should not put the ball in the air again.

2:25:
I believe Mahomes is the prissiest football player that ever pranced thru MPS

2:33:
Hey, let’s keep throwing it!!! What could go wrong?

2:35:
Why does he insist on throwing it????

2:35:
Pull the plug Dana. Also, I’ll admit I thoroughly enjoy Petros.

2:35:
If they traded quarterbacks, WVU would be up by 50.

2:38:
Noble is mobile!

2:38:
Anyone watching on the Fox Sports Go app has seen a YouTube chef talk about sliders about 150 times at this point.

2:38:
D is saving Howard s ass.

2:38:
It’s like a pillow fight on defense without Joseph

2:47:
Two long runs. lets pass it

2:47:
Dana better not throw it again this entire game

2:47:
I’ve been waiting for Shell to play like this for 2 years! His best game since Bama last year.

2:50:
Head up…drinking

2:56:
I swear, Mahomes walks and gestureslike richard simmons. That’s different!

2:57:
6 drops by TTU. About time luck swung our way.

2:59:
Well, they’re 50 yards from your Twitter Prophesied “300 rushing yards,”. Caz….

2:59:
Dana…but why, bruh?

2:59:
People in Texas would be tweeting more about these TT receivers, but they keep dropping their phones….

3:02:
That ball was CLEARLY moving before he was down. #YakittySaxBig12Refs

3:02:
Is there no such thing as replay in college football?!?

3:02:
and they review this?

3:02:
no replay? what the [frappuccino]?

3:05:
They don’t review a clear fumble but now they review this?

3:05:
Review THAT but not the fumble?????? These guys constantly find ways to top themselves week to week.

3:05:
My texts from game day, “By rule, this is the most oddly officiated game I have ever seen.”

3:05:
Who are the clowns calling this game?

3:05:
Why didn’t holgerson challenge when the QB fumbled? My TV sources say the ball was out.

3:06:
Why does this dumbass official feel the need to give a damn dissertation for every penalty or call on the field? #Stfu

3:08:
Win, lose, or draw, I’m done with Dana! Team #donewithdana

3:08:
The man is incapable of managing a football game…

3:09:
I will say this, the Fox commentators have actually been great for this game. I remember when WVU first joined the Big 12 they were all awful.

3:09:
Good chance WVU goes three and out and loses this game.

3:10:
Petros: “that’s a play call I understand” re: the screen to Shell that nearly backfired. Good god man…

3:10:
Thank you TT for being stupid #personalfoul

3:11:
Instead of “take the air out of the ball” WVU needs to take the Skyler out of the ball.

3:12:
You have got to be kidding me!!! You can’t make this [rubbish] up!

3:14:
Why?

3:14:
smmfh again – pass?

3:15:
#donewithdana

3:15:
[jealous] [fiesta] [cravers] run! the! ball!

3:15:
That Dana Holgorsen is quite the offensive genius. Thank God for Wendell Smallwood.

3:15:
Dana is going for the cheap heat right now.

3:16:
12 degrees of separation. not 8 please

3:16:
My. Nerves. Are. Shot. Clock management is non existent.

3:17:
I know it gets lost in the shuffle, but that field goal before halftime turned out to be huge.

3:19:
I sure am glad that Smallwood decided to put himself in on this drive!

3:21:
Big plays here for those that may have money on this game.

3:22:
want the TD here even though safe to take knee

3:23:
If gambling were legal a whole lotta people would be REAL pissed right now hahaha

3:31:
I’m glad we had more points when time ran out, but that feels a little bit like Texas Tech beat themselves more than we beat them.

3:56:
drought over. no style points