No. 7 TCU survives scare in Morgantown with 41–31 win over West Virginia

BY STEVEN JOHNSON · OCT. 29, 2022

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Another losing streak to a Big 12 opponent ended as TCU snapped a four-game losing streak to West Virginia on Saturday with a 41–31 win over the Mountaineers.

The Horned Frogs had dropped their last three games in Morgantown, but emerged victorious thanks to another masterful secondhalf defensive performance. After surrendering 21 points in the first half, TCU allowed just 10 in the second as Dylan Horton led a tenacious pass rush.

“We’ve got to play better. West Virginia was ready to play today, they had a good plan, they played hard. You have to give them a lot of credit, I thought their guys really took it to us early in the game,” head coach Sonny Dykes said. “We’ve got to do a better job of starting games and settling in more quickly.”

The offense started fast but sputtered in the second half, largely due to their own mistakes. TCU started the fourth quarter at the WVU 1-yard line, but settled for a field goal after the Mountaineers blew up a reverse to Quentin Johnston on third-and-goal.

Leading 31–24, TCU had another chance to create separation in the fourth. On two carries Kendre Miller picked up 29 yards and got the offense into field goal range. Facing a second-and-1, he didn’t get another touch as the Horned Frogs had to settle for another field goal. Dykes said Miller was dealing with a hand injury that limited his touches.

A touchdown pass by JT Daniels to Reese Smith cut TCU’s lead to 34–31 with just over four minutes remaining. After recovering an onside kick, it appeared TCU was in prime position to milk the clock. But the Horned Frogs attempted three straight passes with the third resulting in Max Duggan’s second interception of the year.

“Stalling out in the second half like that, I think it was more about what we were doing. There were a couple things we just busted on that just really impacted what happened in the second half,” Duggan said.

In the end, the Mountaineers could not threaten. The Horned Frogs got the ball back and Duggan connected with Savion Williams for a 29-yard touchdown pass to ice the game with 20 seconds left.

Duggan finished the day 16-of-28 for 341 yards and threw three touchdowns.

Other things to know about the win:

Gillespie a master motivator

TCU defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie must have some of the best halftime speeches because once again the Horned Frogs defense looked completely different in the second half compared to the first. After being carved up in the first half TCU buckled down as they began to get after JT Daniels.

“(Gillespie) is real calm at halftime, he’ll just talk to us and say ‘We know what we’re doing, just tackle and communicate, communicate, communicate.’ And that’s what we did,” safety Bud Clark said.

Horton picked up his first sack to end a potential WVU scoring drive. Jamoi Hodge added another in the fourth quarter to get the offense the ball back. Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson had excellent coverage on a fourth-and-goal attempt and kept the Mountaineers out of the endzone.

West Virginia managed just 71 yards in the

41–31 SCORE

8–0 RECORD

OPPOSITE: TCU running back Emani Bailey (9) runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter against West Virginia at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Oct. 29, 2022. BEN QUEEN / USA TODAY SPORTS