At far odds after the loss to Iowa State, West Virginia football‘s Will Grier wasn’t going to be permanently slowed in the race for the Heisman Trophy.
For a short period of time, it looked as if No. 13 West Virginia football might have a big collapse entering the second half of the regular season. The devastating Week 7 loss to a resurgent Iowa State Cyclones squad led by freshman quarterback Brock Purdy was detrimental to their original hopes for the College Football Playoff.
This Week 9 weeknight matchup for West Virginia against the Baylor Bears was a key point for the 2018 campaign. A close win over Baylor, or even an upset, would come close to drowning the Playoff chances for the year. Yet, West Virginia went above and beyond what it needed to do to get back in the thick of the Playoff race.
Quarterback Will Grier had a huge performance against Baylor with more than 350 passing yards and four total touchdowns. Grier also didn’t toss a single interception. Senior wide receiver David Sills V was the highlight in the passing game with 139 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The efforts from Grier and Sills V were more than enough to guide West Virginia football to the 58-14 mauling of the Bears on Oct. 25. Even sophomore quarterback Jack Allison got some action in the second half, including his first career passing touchdown.
Sophomore Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer had a short stint against the Mountaineers before he was yanked. Brewer had three times as many interceptions as he had completions. He finished the game only one-for-eight passing with three interceptions.
West Virginia came through in a big way by holding Baylor to only 80 rushing yards while forcing four turnovers. And, West Virginia didn’t turn the ball over a single time. The defense showing out was also a big factor for the Mountaineers and needs to be moving forward.
West Virginia couldn’t have scripted this game better following the road loss to Iowa State two weeks ago. Depending on what happens across the rest of the Big 12 in Week 9, the Mountaineers could move back into a firm position of a top two spot in the conference standings.
Behind Grier’s arm, West Virginia football can go far provided the letdowns are now in the rearview mirror. West Virginia has a very difficult stretch upcoming that still features meetings with the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. Crunch time is officially here, and Grier’s Heisman campaign might get a boost with some more big performances looming.