WVU Football: Four Players Who Led Mountaineers Victory Over Baylor

It turned into a good day at Milan Puskar Stadium as West Virginia overcame three turnovers on Saturday to put up 24 points in the first half and then added 17 more in the second to down the previously undefeated Baylor Bears 41-27.

The Mountaineers handed Baylor not only their first loss, but also their first Big 12 defeat, with leading rusher Rushel Shell on the sideline having left the game with a foot injury during the first offensive series. Also, both starting cornerbacks Daryl Worley and Terrell Chestnut went down with injuries during the afternoon.

Dana Holgorsen’s crew has now won three in a row as they racked up 456 yards of total offense and 33 first downs in addition to the 41 points on the scoreboard. They improved their record to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12 Conference.

Kick back in your favorite chair, relax, and let’s look back at the four players that helped WVU to get that upset win at home.

1) Clint Trickett extended his streak of 300-yard passing games to eight and established a new school record. The 6-foot-2 redshirt senior signal caller completed 23 of 35 for 322 yards, one interception, and three touchdowns.

2) Senior wide receiver Kevin White had 8 receptions for 132 yards and one touchdown. His 12-yard touchdown reception at 11:36 in the fourth finished off a four play, 68-yard drive that made the scoreboard read 34-27 in favor of the Mountaineers.

3) Redshirt senior defensive lineman Shaquille Riddick made his presence known on the field with three sacks, combining to hand Baylor a loss of 24 yards. He also put up four solo stops and assisted on one more for a total of five tackles.

4) Mario Alford added to the scoreboard as his 39-yard reception in the end zone capped off a nine-play, 78-yard drive at 7:35 in the fourth quarter to increase WVU’s lead to 41-27. The 5-foot-9 senior wide receiver had 53-yards on four catches.

Offense Honorable Mentions: Redshirt junior running back Andrew Buie averaged 15.4 yards per catch against the Bears as he contributed 66 yards on four receptions. Senior running back Dreamius Smith helped the ground game with 60 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown.

Defense Honorable Mentions: Redshirt senior linebacker Wes Tonkery led the defense with six solo stops and assisted on two more for a total of eight tackles while senior linebacker Brandon Golson contributed five tackles and put up one sack on the afternoon.

Special Teams Honorable Mentions: Redshirt sophomore placekicker Josh Lambert connected on a pair of field goals in the second and third quarters. The first was a 54-yarder at the end of the half and the second, a 24-yarder at 9:28 of the third. He also made all five of his extra point attempts.

Meanwhile, junior punter Nick O’Toole averaged 42.7-yards per punt on Saturday with his six punts totaling 256 yards, and putting three of them inside Baylor’s 20 yardline.

After defeating the nation’s No. 4 team in Morgantown, Holgorsen told wvusports.com, “Obviously I’m proud of the guys for the way they finished to get the win here at home,”

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Baylor went down swinging as senior quarterback Bryce Petty completed 16 of 36 for 233 yards, no interceptions, and two touchdowns. His favorite targets were senior wide receiver Antwan Goodley, who hauled in nine passes for 132 yards and one touchdown.while sophomore wide receiver Corey Coleman contributed five catches for 77 yards and the other touchdown.

The Old Gold and Blue under defensive coordinator Tony Gibson kept the Bears ground game in check as sophomore running back Shock Linwood, who coming into the game led the Big 12 with 104.5 yards rushing per game, was held to 69 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown.

However, the BU offense had problems with the West Virginia defense all afternoon as they were 3 of 16 on third down conversions and 0 for 2 on fourth down conversions. Where Baylor did lead on the score sheet was in penaltes as they were flagged 18 times for 215 yards on the afternoon.

Up Next: West Virginia hits the road next week to Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater to take on the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (5-2, 3-1 Big 12). Kick off on Saturday, Oct. 25 is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.