Saturday, October 24
Fort Worth, Texas
12:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
TCU
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
October 24, 2026 03:52 PM | Football
West Virginia's much maligned defense came up with the plays needed to pull off a 24-20 upset victory over TCU Saturday afternoon at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Horned Frogs were a 10 ½-point favorite coming into this afternoon following their rivalry-game win over Baylor last Saturday.
Today, it came down to TCU's final offensive possession with the football at the Mountaineer 14-yard line, the Horned Frogs possessing one timeout and the clock winding down inside of 40 seconds to play.
Here, defensive coordinator Zac Alley dialed up an all-out blitz, David Afogho hit TCU quarterback Jaden Craig as he was attempting to pass, and Craig's fumble was recovered by linebacker Ben Cutter at the 23-yard line. The official play-by-play listed Nate Gabriel forcing the fumble, but it was clearly Afogho coming from the edge when reviewing highlight clips posted on social media.
It was the third turnover generated by the West Virginia defense and all the Mountaineers were required to do was take a knee to run out the clock.
A quick glance at the stat sheet tells a different story.
TCU nearly doubled up West Virginia in total yardage (484 to 272) and possed the football for almost 15 minutes longer than the Mountaineers, but the three turnovers, a missed field goal and eight Horned Frog penalties resulting in 81 yards determined the game's outcome.
Craig finished the afternoon completing 33 of his 47 pass attempts for 372 yards and a touchdown.
His counterpart, Michael Hawkins Jr., was not nearly as effective through the air today, connecting on only seven of his 15 aerials for 79 yards, but he produced 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. However, Hawkins was victimized by a couple of drops that could have added another 100 yards to his passing total.
Backfield mate Cam Cook, a former Horned Frog, added 90 yards on 18 rushing attempts and contributed a touchdown reception.
Both were playing in front of family and friends this afternoon. Hawkins is a Dallas resident.
WVU got a 54-yard field goal from Jack Cassidy to open the game, capping an eight-play, 39-yard drive, and one possession later, used a 31-yard run from Cam Cook to get into position for Michael Hawkins Jr. to reach the end zone from the 2.
The Mountaineers' three remaining offensive possessions of the first half netted just 23 yards on 10 plays.
TCU managed to play keep away, possessing the football for nearly nine minutes longer than West Virginia, and got a 6-yard touchdown reception from Ka'Morreun Pimpton and a Nate McCashland 39-yard field goal.
McCashland also missed a 43-yard field goal late in the second quarter and the Horned Frogs turned the ball over twice, one a Cam Torbor fumble recovery and the other a Chams Diagne interception.
West Virginia missed a big opportunity following Torbor's fumble recovery when DJ Epps dropped Hawkins' deep pass down the middle of the field that could have resulted in a touchdown.
TCU unknotted the score, 13-10, on its opening possession of the second half when McCashland's 37-yard field goal capped a nine-play, 56-yard drive.
West Virginia answered with a five-play, 75-yard march that was aided by Gil Jackson's third-down defensive holding penalty that gave the Mountaineers a new set of downs at their 39. Here, Hawkins found Prince Strachan for 21 yards down the seam to TCU's 40, and two plays later, the quarterback broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown run, his second of the game and 16th of the season.
Cassidy's conversion kick put the Mountaineers ahead 17-13.
Three minutes later, a Geimere Latimer II 13-yard sack forced a TCU punt, but West Virginia, backed up at its own 8, missed a big opportunity when Jaden Bray was unable to hold on to Hawkins' deep pass down the near side of the field.
TCU forced a three-and-out possession and got a short field out of it when Brian Hansen's 41-yard punt gave the Horned Frogs the ball at the West Virginia 47. A 15-yard Jon Denman reception moved it to the 30, and then a third-down pass interference penalty called on Kameron Reddic gave the Horned Frogs a new set of downs at the 2.
Craig took it in from there to put TCU back on top, 20-17.
The TCU lead lasted five minutes, or the time it took West Virginia to drive 75 yards in a 14-play march that was aided by Koron Hayward's unnecessary roughness penalty on his sack of Hawkins. That miscue gave West Virginia a new set of downs at the 26.
A successful Cook fourth-down run got the ball to the 14, and two plays later, Hawkins found him open down the seam for a 13-yard touchdown – Cook's second touchdown reception of the season.
In addition to his sack, Latimer led the defense with 12 tackles.
Cassidy's conversion kick put West Virginia back in the lead, 24-20, with 11:28 left.
West Virginia will now enjoy an idle weekend next Saturday with three of its final four contests coming against ranked foes, including No. 8 Texas Tech, which was upset 37-24 by Cincinnati this afternoon.
The Horned Frogs were a 10 ½-point favorite coming into this afternoon following their rivalry-game win over Baylor last Saturday.
Today, it came down to TCU's final offensive possession with the football at the Mountaineer 14-yard line, the Horned Frogs possessing one timeout and the clock winding down inside of 40 seconds to play.
Here, defensive coordinator Zac Alley dialed up an all-out blitz, David Afogho hit TCU quarterback Jaden Craig as he was attempting to pass, and Craig's fumble was recovered by linebacker Ben Cutter at the 23-yard line. The official play-by-play listed Nate Gabriel forcing the fumble, but it was clearly Afogho coming from the edge when reviewing highlight clips posted on social media.
It was the third turnover generated by the West Virginia defense and all the Mountaineers were required to do was take a knee to run out the clock.
"Defensively, we had a lot of new stuff that we had tried to install right away, and you got to work it - and they did a good job with that," WVU coach Rich Rodriguez said afterward.
West Virginia, 5-3 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play, has now won for the fourth straight time in Fort Worth dating back to 2019.A quick glance at the stat sheet tells a different story.
TCU nearly doubled up West Virginia in total yardage (484 to 272) and possed the football for almost 15 minutes longer than the Mountaineers, but the three turnovers, a missed field goal and eight Horned Frog penalties resulting in 81 yards determined the game's outcome.
Craig finished the afternoon completing 33 of his 47 pass attempts for 372 yards and a touchdown.
His counterpart, Michael Hawkins Jr., was not nearly as effective through the air today, connecting on only seven of his 15 aerials for 79 yards, but he produced 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. However, Hawkins was victimized by a couple of drops that could have added another 100 yards to his passing total.
Backfield mate Cam Cook, a former Horned Frog, added 90 yards on 18 rushing attempts and contributed a touchdown reception.
Both were playing in front of family and friends this afternoon. Hawkins is a Dallas resident.
"Offensively, we sputtered around a little bit, and there were some things we probably watching the film and like, 'Golly, missed out on that.' But we answered the call when we had to offensively," Rodriguez said. "Mike made some plays, Cam made some plays, and defensively, they got the key turnover."
West Virginia's first two possessions of the game resulted in 10 points and the bulk of its 125 total yards generated in the first half.WVU got a 54-yard field goal from Jack Cassidy to open the game, capping an eight-play, 39-yard drive, and one possession later, used a 31-yard run from Cam Cook to get into position for Michael Hawkins Jr. to reach the end zone from the 2.
The Mountaineers' three remaining offensive possessions of the first half netted just 23 yards on 10 plays.
TCU managed to play keep away, possessing the football for nearly nine minutes longer than West Virginia, and got a 6-yard touchdown reception from Ka'Morreun Pimpton and a Nate McCashland 39-yard field goal.
McCashland also missed a 43-yard field goal late in the second quarter and the Horned Frogs turned the ball over twice, one a Cam Torbor fumble recovery and the other a Chams Diagne interception.
West Virginia missed a big opportunity following Torbor's fumble recovery when DJ Epps dropped Hawkins' deep pass down the middle of the field that could have resulted in a touchdown.
TCU unknotted the score, 13-10, on its opening possession of the second half when McCashland's 37-yard field goal capped a nine-play, 56-yard drive.
West Virginia answered with a five-play, 75-yard march that was aided by Gil Jackson's third-down defensive holding penalty that gave the Mountaineers a new set of downs at their 39. Here, Hawkins found Prince Strachan for 21 yards down the seam to TCU's 40, and two plays later, the quarterback broke loose for a 36-yard touchdown run, his second of the game and 16th of the season.
Cassidy's conversion kick put the Mountaineers ahead 17-13.
Three minutes later, a Geimere Latimer II 13-yard sack forced a TCU punt, but West Virginia, backed up at its own 8, missed a big opportunity when Jaden Bray was unable to hold on to Hawkins' deep pass down the near side of the field.
TCU forced a three-and-out possession and got a short field out of it when Brian Hansen's 41-yard punt gave the Horned Frogs the ball at the West Virginia 47. A 15-yard Jon Denman reception moved it to the 30, and then a third-down pass interference penalty called on Kameron Reddic gave the Horned Frogs a new set of downs at the 2.
Craig took it in from there to put TCU back on top, 20-17.
The TCU lead lasted five minutes, or the time it took West Virginia to drive 75 yards in a 14-play march that was aided by Koron Hayward's unnecessary roughness penalty on his sack of Hawkins. That miscue gave West Virginia a new set of downs at the 26.
A successful Cook fourth-down run got the ball to the 14, and two plays later, Hawkins found him open down the seam for a 13-yard touchdown – Cook's second touchdown reception of the season.
In addition to his sack, Latimer led the defense with 12 tackles.
Cassidy's conversion kick put West Virginia back in the lead, 24-20, with 11:28 left.
West Virginia will now enjoy an idle weekend next Saturday with three of its final four contests coming against ranked foes, including No. 8 Texas Tech, which was upset 37-24 by Cincinnati this afternoon.
Players Mentioned
EDGE
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WR
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K
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RB
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LB
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CB
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WR
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DL
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QB
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N/S
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S
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WR
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LB
/ FootballSaturday, October 24
Saturday, October 24
Saturday, October 24
Saturday, October 24
