Both Utah and West Virginia are licking their wounds entering Saturday’s showdown in Morgantown, W.V., after suffering one-sided losses to open Big 12 play.
The Utes (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) are just 2-8 in league games since joining the Big 12 last season. Utah sputtered on both sides of the ball in a 34-10 loss to Texas Tech last weekend.
Offensively, the Utes did not find the end zone until early in the fourth quarter. They committed four turnovers and had a first-half touchdown called back on an ineligible receiver penalty.
Then, defensively, Utah unraveled — allowing the Red Raiders to score on three straight fourth-quarter drives to break open a close game. Texas Tech totaled 224 yards on 21 plays to average 10.7 yards per play over the final 15 minutes.
“The defense battled some ridiculous field positions,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Seven of their 14 possessions started at minus-44 or better for Texas Tech and that’s a stress on a defense. I thought they held up exceptionally well all through it until the very end. Disappointed in that.”
Devon Dampier threw for 162 yards and had a pair of interceptions while battling a nagging injury that caused him to miss two days of practice leading up to the game.
West Virginia (2-2, 0-1) sputtered on offense for the second time in three games in a 41-10 loss to Kansas. The Mountaineers committed two turnovers and totaled just 227 yards through the first three quarters while the Jayhawks pulled away.
Nicco Marchiol finished with just 126 passing yards and an interception.
Things were equally bleak in the other phases of the game. West Virginia registered zero sacks after totaling 13 in its first three games and allowed Kansas to rack up 242 rushing yards. On special teams, Kansas had 199 return yards through the first three quarters — including a 94-yard kickoff return and a 32-yard interception return.
“I don’t want to say everything has to be perfect, but everything has to be aligned right,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Now, there’s going to come a point in time where we don’t have to have everything aligned right, and then you’re still going to be OK. We’re not there.”
This is the first regular-season meeting between Utah and West Virginia. The Utes are 2-0 in the series, beating the Mountaineers in the 1964 Liberty Bowl and the 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl.
