The 23rd-ranked BYU Cougars raced past West Virginia for a 38-24 win on Friday night.
After a fast start with the Cougars scoring 14 unanswered points in the first quarter, the Mountaineers never found a way to make this a close game.
West Virginia Defensive Back Fred Berry's forced fumble late in the second quarter generated a spark for the Mountaineers' offense to score their first touchdown of the game. BYU made this a tough game for West Virginia on offense with the Cougars playing sideline-to-sideline defense. When BYU had the ball on offense, they found ways to score fast, and if they needed to extend drives, they relied on their rushing attack, led by LJ Martin, who rushed the ball 21 times for 90 yards with two touchdowns.
The Mountaineers had opportunities to make plays on the field but weren't unable to capitalize on them throughout the game. The inability to complete passes to stretch the Cougars' defense allowed them to keep more men in the box to stop their rushing attack. The Mountaineers had 20 passing yards in the first half, forcing them to lean more on their rushing attack.
West Virginia quarterback Khalil Wilkins went 7-of-15 for 81 yards, 2 interceptions, along with 23 rushes, 89 yards, and a touchdown. He threw passes to open Mountaineer receivers who dropped or bobbled the pass into the hands of a BYU defensive back, stopping any momentum the offense generated in the game.
The Mountaineer defense, led by double-digit tacklers Chase Wilson and Fred Perry, was able to intercept and force 2 fumbles deep in Cougars territory, leading to two rushing touchdowns. BYU's freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier beat up WV's secondary for 351 yards and threw his first interception of the season.
Overall, the Mountaineers' defense had a rough time slowing down the Cougars' wide receivers. Chase Roberts had four receptions for 161 yards with Parker Kingston having four receptions of his own with 111 yards and a touchdown.
West Virginia brought in Scotty Fox Jr in place of Wilkins, who went 3-of-3 for 54 yards and a touchdown, but the game was far out of reach.
BYU will need to clean up the turnovers and work on special teams. Coach Kalani Sitake wanted to make sure the Mountaineers didn’t gain any confidence in their offense. Had they allowed Will Ferrin to kick the 53-yard field goal after missing one 49 yards earlier in the game. But they set up a fake field goal to convert a first down later. Ferrin later kicked a 37-yard field goal to extend BYU's lead.
BYU maintains its undefeated record and plays Arizona next week. West Virginia faces off against UCF.
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