Old habits reappear for WVU defense In loss to Baylor
The resurgence of West Virginia University football’s defense lasted all of one game.
The Mountaineers fell back into old, bad habits in their 49-35 loss to Baylor on Saturday. A defensive unit that looked like it had made strides from its much-maligned earlier performances last week against Cincinnati saw familiar struggles reappear against the Bears, leading to another dismal outcome.
WVU (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) gave up a season-high 512 yards of total offense against the Bears, the most the Mountaineers have allowed since letting Oklahoma rack up 644 yards last season. Baylor’s point total was the most WVU has given up since the Sooners’ 59 points in 2023.
“Really, the same issues that have plagued us all year showed up again tonight,” WVU coach Neal Brown said.
Among those problems – a porous pass defense, too many big plays and an inability to stop foes on third and fourth down. Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson finished with a career-high 329 passing yards, threw for three touchdowns and stayed interception-free. His three touchdown passes spanned 22, 43 and 40 yards, respectively. Another chunk play came with Bryson Washington’s 51-yard touchdown run.
WVU’s secondary has struggled all season, Brown said, and Saturday was no different.
“There were a couple of big balls in the first half where we just didn’t play the ball very well,” Brown said. “That’s been an issue all year. We’ve tried a bunch of different things. We have just not played very well back there.”
The Mountaineers also allowed Baylor to convert eight of 13 third downs and its lone fourth-down attempt. WVU has now allowed opponents to convert 46.8% of their third downs and 66.7% of their fourth downs, both ranked among the nation’s worst.
West Virginia had some defensive success in the third quarter, holding Baylor to 1.4 yards per carry and recording its lone sack of the night. It was WVU’s lone scoreless quarter. The Bears missed a 55-yard field goal short.
Brown said tackling was at its best during the third. Linebacker Reid Carrico said defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz – running the unit for the second game after Jordan Lesley was dismissed – brought the group together for a halftime talk.
“He just really hit home on the fact that what we did in the first half wasn’t our standard defense,” Carrico said. “So we all bought into that and in the third quarter, we played some really good defense.”
That didn’t last past the third. WVU gave up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and Baylor’s yards per carry jumped to 6.2.
“We got a little messy there at the end,” Carrico said.
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Quarterback Garrett Greene knew this past Tuesday that he felt good enough to play Saturday. Greene got his chance, starting and playing his first game since getting knocked out of the Kansas State loss.
Greene finished the Baylor game with 237 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 19-of-39 passing, while adding 129 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Despite missing two games with a head injury and watching Nicco Marchiol start in his place, Greene said he didn’t enter the Baylor game timidly.
“They just told me to play how I always play,” Greene said. “When you try to play scared or skittish or whatever, that’s when bad stuff happens. So they just told me to play my game.”
Brown said Greene had some great moments during the Baylor game, but there were some decision-making concerns as well. Greene admitted he wanted some of his third-down decisions back.
Brown said that some of Greene’s throws didn’t need attempted.
“I love the kid because he competes,” Brown said. “He’s an explosive runner and he threw the ball well at times.”
“The interception was a really bad decision,” he added. “That ball should have never been thrown.”
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Brown said that wide receiver Traylon Ray was done for the year after suffering a leg injury in the third quarter Saturday night. Ray got tangled up with Baylor defensive back Caden Jenkins at the Bear 10. Jenkins was flagged for pass interference, and Ray stayed on the ground with a serious leg injury. He was taken off the field on a cart and did not return.
“It wasn’t good,” Brown said. “It not only hurt us because he was winning a lot, but it hurt us emotionally. We had some guys that really struggled with that, because it was visible on the field what the injury was.
“Our skill group is really close,” Brown added, “and emotionally, that was tough to overcome.”
Brown said Ray will recover, but he would be out for the rest of the season. He finished the game with 22 yards and a touchdown on three catches, and finished the season with 28 catches for 426 yards and four touchdowns.
Brown said that, in Ray’s stead, Justin Robinson will need to step up.
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WVU’s home finale versus UCF will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and be broadcast on ESPNU.