West Virginia Football: 3 takeaways from huge win over NC State in Week 3
By Phil Poling
West Virginia football bounced back from its defeat at Missouri with one thing in mind: playing hard. And it did in its 44-27 win vs. NC State.
The West Virginia Mountaineers came out with an energy Saturday that a coach can only hope for after losing 38-7. In front of a Gold Rush at Milan Puskar Stadium, the ‘Eers got their fans excited for the first time all season.
The offensive line isn’t great, the defense is young (yadda, yadda, yadda). One thing’s for sure with the 2019 West Virginia Mountaineers, though — they’ve got heart. And that heart was on full-display early in the contest as both the offense and defense were flying all over the field. Energy, heart, playing hard — whatever you want to call it — the Mountaineers had it.
This did result in a few bone-headed penalties — that kept a couple NC State drives alive, honestly — but the effort was clearly better than what we’ve seen in the first two games.
After failing to score a single touchdown in either first half this season, the ‘Eers put up three against former WVU defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and the Wolfpack. Austin Kendall hooked up with wide receiver Sam James for the first score, and Kennedy McKoy scored on the ‘Eers very next possession from 23 yards out on the ground. Kendall found Florida State transfer George Campbell just before the half to knot things up at 21 heading into the break; Campbell’s scored in each game for WVU.
The Mountaineer defense played extremely well, too, causing havoc in the backfield and forcing a number of 3-and-outs. This allowed the offense to get in a rhythm, and once they got their toes wet, there was no choice but to jump all the way in.
After beating NC State 44-27, here are the three biggest immediate takeaways from the game.