Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
West Virginia ran its long, winding "Country Roads" all the way to a humbling win over BYU.
Welcome to the Big 12, Cougars.
Freshman Jaheim White ran for a season-high 146 yards, and CJ Donaldson added 102 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as West Virginia stormed to a 37-7 win Saturday night over BYU at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Garrett Greene threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns for West Virginia (6-3, 4-2 Big 12).
"Not good enough," BYU coach Kalani Sitake told BYU Radio, giving credit to a Mountaineers squad that was picked last in the Big 12 preseason media poll. "They just wanted it more. We have a chance to bounce back and go home for a game. This is going to be tough film to watch, but we've got to watch it and learn from it. In some moments, it will be embarrassing."
Neal Brown's team out-gained the Cougars 567-277, including 336-67 on the ground, with more first downs (30-20), 13 more plays, 3.1 more yards per play, and nearly 11 more minutes in time of possession.
"They won in every category," Sitake said. "It's very disappointing. And they could've burned more clock; they just got some young guys in there, like we did. I think they have some great momentum now with what they did to us tonight. … They were hungrier for it. They wanted it more. I hope our guys want it more next week."
Making the first start of his Division I career, junior college transfer Jake Retzlaff completed 24-of-42 passes for 210 yards and ran for 26 yards on 10 carries for the Cougars (5-4, 2-4 Big 12) in their third loss in the past four weeks.
"This one's definitely not fun; it leaves a bad taste in the mouth," said BYU safety Ethan Slade, who tied a career-high with eight tackles. "But as a team, Kalani just said we need to prepare as best as we can for this upcoming week. Use this fuel to drive us, and for me personally, never let it happen again."
Regular starting quarterback Kedon Slovis wasn't the only one on a long list of injured players. Darius Lassiter, the breakout receiver in 2023 by way of Eastern Michigan, was out with an undisclosed injury, and Keanu Hill didn't travel as he continues to recover from his own ailments.
Defensive lineman Caden Haws and John Henry Daley didn't play, and Chase Roberts made it to the field at the last minute. But the sophomore from American Fork was forced to leave with an apparent injury in the first half before returning; fellow wide out Kody Epps wasn't so lucky after taking a helmet-rattling hit before halftime.
LJ Martin was set to return from a minor injury, but did not play. Instead, Aidan Robbins ran for a team-high 37 yards on 10 carries, including the first touchdown in a BYU uniform for the Louisville transfer and former 1,000-yard rusher at UNLV.
Parker Kingston led BYU's receivers with 57 yards on six catches, and Keelan Marion and Roberts each added 53 yard.
Donaldson rushed five times at 5.8 yards per carry on the opening drive, splashing into the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown run that gave the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead just five minutes into the game.
After West Virginia dropped Robbins for a loss of 2 yards on fourth-and-2, Donaldson doubled the advantage with a 1-yard TD plunge nearly three minutes later.
The Mountaineers averaged 6.2 yards per rush en route to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, outgunning the visiting Cougars 137-76 including 74-17 on the ground and stopping Retzlaff twice on fourth down on BYU's first three possessions, and recovered Kingston's fumble in the second quarter.
West Virginia scored on five of its six possessions, including Greene's 12-yard TD toss to Preston Fox with 2:18 left in the half.
The Cougars allowed 204 rushing yards amid a 352-yard performance by WVU in the first half, including giving up 105 to White and 67 to Donaldson to go along with his two scores.
BYU thought it had a touchdown on the first play of the second half with Marion's 91-yard kickoff return, but a holding penalty on Isaiah Glasker negated the play.
There it is! @BYUFootball is on the board 🙌 pic.twitter.com/zTEJpNEJTv
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 5, 2023
BYU punted for the third time, and Michael Hayes drilled his third field goal eight plays later to stretch WVU's lead to 30-0 before Kole Taylor's 43-yard touchdown grab with just over a minute left in the third quarter helped seal the win.
BYU scored its first touchdown in nine quarters — dating back to the first half of a 27-14 win over Texas Tech on Oct. 21 — with Robbins' 10-yard scoring plunge with 6:24 left in the game.
BYU returns home to face Iowa State, needing one win to clinch bowl eligibility for the 18th time in 19 seasons — which should provide something of motivation to snap the Cougars' current two-game slide. If they need it.
"I think I hate losing more than I like winning, so I don't need any extra motivation," Retzlaff said. "But getting into a bowl game this year is going to be a big thing. We just need one more and we're bowl eligible. So let's go get it."
Added Slade: "The goal is to never let this happen again. That was not fun."
