West Virginia Football: 3 takeaways from blowout of TCU in Week 11

West Virginia football, coming off a big win over Texas, smacked TCU on Saturday afternoon to improve to 8-1 with just two weeks left.

What else can we say about West Virginia at this point in the season other than the fact that the Mountaineers may be the biggest threat from the Big 12 to make a playoff, and that includes Oklahoma.

OK, maybe the Sooners have the best shot because they’re ranked the highest, but the Big 12 title game could be a classic. The Mountaineers and Sooners will have one of the best championship games in college football and it’ll be extremely evenly matched.

West Virginia had no problem smacking an ailing, and struggling, TCU team on Saturday afternoon to the tune of 47-10. The Mountaineers struggled early on against the Horned Frogs, but ran away with the game. Dana Holgorsen’s squad seems destined for a New Year’s Six bowl and potential playoff berth, but there’s still some regular season football to be played.

What’d we learn from West Virginia’s big win over TCU?

3. West Virginia actually plays defense

Believe it or not, there is defense played in the Big 12 and West Virginia proved that on Saturday with a blowout of TCU. The Horned Frogs didn’t stand much of a chance against the Mountaineers because of their offense, led by Will Grier, but they probably didn’t expect the defensive effort they saw from West Virginia.

In fact, the Mountaineers not only held quarterback Michael Collins in check with 228 yards and a touchdown on just 6.2 yards per attempt, but the run game was non-existent.

How bad was TCU’s run game against West Virginia? The Horned Frogs ran the ball 24 times for -7 yards with a long of six yards. It was a tough day for TCU both on the defensive end and on offense because, hey, the Mountaineers have a defense, after all.