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Kingsbury Stunned By Sudden Collapse

MORGANTOWN — After watching his No. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-2, 1-2 Big 12) surrender an 18-point lead to host West Virginia (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) Saturday during Homecoming Day at Milan Puskar Stadium, Coach Kliff Kingsbury was at a loss for words to explain his team’s sudden collapse.

“No, I thought we came out fast and executed at a high level early,” he said. “I felt like we played hard. Obviously, the missed kicks were tough. We’ve just got to execute better. The offense kept going three-and-out there at the end and the defense couldn’t get off of the field.”

The result of those two issues was a Mountaineers comeback — the second largest at Milan Puskar Stadium and the largest since a 19-point comeback against Maryland in 1992.

“I don’t know,” WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said when asked about when he noticed a swing in momentum. “I was so caught up in the game. I can tell you there were three or four times in the third where I wasn’t sure we could win.”

Trailing 35-17 following a Tre King 30-yard scoring run with 9:11 left in the third quarter, West Virginia, which travels to Waco, Texas, next Saturday night for an 8 p.m. showdown with Baylor, ran off 29 unanswered points to keep its hopes alive for securing one of the Big 12’s two spots in its Championship Game.

“We had moments where we could have put them away,” continued Kingsbury, who dropped to 0-4 against his former coach. “The sign of a good team will be how we bounce back. We have a very good Iowa State team coming in next weekend that really got after us last year.”

Like most comebacks, WVU’s began quietly.

First, junior Will Grier connected with David Sills V for an 8-yard score which, along with Mike Molina’s PAT, sliced the Mountaineers’ deficit to 11, 35-24, with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter.

The Mountaineers still trailed by double-digits heading into the final 15 minutes of action.

However, a missed 37-yard field goal by the Raiders’ Michael Barden, his third miscue of the game, and back-to-back stops by the defense kept the game within reach and when Grier connected with senior wideout Ka’Raun White from 32-yards out and Sills for the all-important two-point conversion, the stage was set for the 60,928 in attendance.

“We can’t do that,” Kingsbury said. “(We) can’t give a good offense, a good quarterback with those receivers those types of opportunities. Like I said, you’ve got to give them credit. They executed in the second half and we didn’t.”

As much of a nightmare the final 15 minutes were for the visitors, the first two quarters of play was a nightmare for WVU and its fans.

A combination that included untimely penalties, poor special teams play and a defense that couldn’t stop itself allowed the visitors to jump out to a 28-17 lead at the intermission.

Big 12 rushing leader Justin Crawford, who finished with 47 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries, headed to the locker room with just five yards on five carries while a porous secondary allowed Tech’s Shimonek to complete 17-of-24 attempts for 252 yards and four touchdowns.

The one time the prevent unit was able to force a three-and-out TTU punter Dominic Panazzolo caught the Mountaineers napping when he elected to run on a fourth-and-1 at the Tech 34. Thirteen yards later the Red Raiders offense was back in business and on the very next play Shimonek connected with T.J. Vasher for a 53-yard touchdown.

“I think momentum has a lot to do with that,” Holgorsen said. “They ran the ball well. They figured out how to run the ball, and we figured out how not to run the ball. They put a lot of numbers in there.

“That’s why we threw for quite a bit. I think momentum had a lot to do with it. We weren’t playing great on offense or in the kicking game for three quarters. Then we decided to start playing in the fourth quarter. Why? I don’t know. Probably our opponent has something to do with that. They came in here with a lot of momentum. A lot of people thought they were going to win. They haven’t won in three years. It was important to them.

“I think it took a little bit of time. We gained some momentum, and then it just steamrolled from there. We all know that football is an emotional sport. It’s a momentum sport.”

∫ Kyzir White’s fourth-quarter interception is his third of the season and his career. He’s the team leader in the category.

∫ WVU’s 22-point fourth quarter is the seventh time the team has scored 20 or more points in a quarter this season.

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