TCU Football Week 9 Opponent Lookahead: West Virginia Mountaineers

Blood is in the water after TCU was thumped by WVU at home a season ago. These are two programs in wildly different spots in 2022.

© Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Your TCU Horned Frogs (7-0, 4-0) host the West Virginia Mountaineers (3-4, 1-3) in pursuit of their best start since 2015. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m. CT/Noon Eastern from Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium this Saturday, Oct. 29. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

What can we expect from WVU this weekend? Read on to find out.

West Virginia Vs. TCU: Series History

Last year's Week 8 loss at home to WVU was one Frog fans would like to forget. It was the last home game under Gary Patterson before he was let go the following week. The Frogs fell 29-17 in Fort Worth behind a pitiful effort from everyone involved.

That win pushed WVU's win streak over TCU to four straight games, a streak the Frogs hope to break on Saturday.

Only once before joining the Big 12 had these two teams ever met. That first meeting came in 1984, where TCU and West Virginia squared off in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl held in the now-defunct Astrodome in Houston. The Mountaineers won that game 31-14.

Fast forward to 2012 when both TCU and West Virginia converged on the Big 12 Conference. Patterson's TCU squad out-dueled Dana Holgerson's WVU team 39-38 in a wild finish in Morgantown. It was Holgerson's second season with the Mountaineers. He would win three games against TCU before being fired and going to Houston.

TCU is 2-3 in Morgantown, with those two wins coming by a combined two points.

West Virginia Players To Note

Quarterbacking the Mountaineers this season is former USC and Georgia transfer JT Daniels. Daniels was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, but battled injuries and coaching turnover in his first four seasons. He has yet to play a complete season, but did start 11 games for USC his freshman year. Daniels is completing about 64% of his passes for over 1,600 yards, 10 TDs, and six interceptions on the year.

Daniels' go-to guy is Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who soaks up most of the team's targets and is the recipient of five of Daniels' 10 TD passes on the year. Freshman star running back CJ Donaldson returned to the team last week after missing two games due to a concussion. At 6' 2" and 240 pounds, he was recruited to play tight end before switching to running back and averaging 6.2 yards per carry on the season (six TDs).

Defensively, WVU has struggled. However, they boast Dante Stills, who was named preseason All-Big 12.

Sizing Up The Mountaineers

As TCU fans acutely know, Morgantown is a tough place to play. This game is WVU's homecoming, meaning the crowd will be strong and excited, regardless of the Mountaineers' record.

There's no question that this team has not exceeded expectations this year. They were picked to finish eighth by Big 12 media personnel and they currently stand ninth. Defensive breakdowns are the largest contributor to the team's underwhelming showing thus far.

Daniels was brought into the college football world with sky-high expectations that he's failed to live up to. He's a perfectly serviceable quarterback and a savvy veteran, but he's not shown the ability to propel his team to victories often.

Their lone Big 12 win– two weeks ago against Baylor– was built on the back of a lucky 60-yard fumble recovery (unforced by Baylor QB Blake Shapen bumping the ball with his own knee on a scramble) and a blocked extra point returned for two. That's what stands between WVU and a winless start to the season.

The bottom line is, the Mountaineers do not have the secondary personnel to run with Quentin Johnston nor the pass rush to force Max Duggan into quick throws. The run game should be able to move the football and nothing on WVU's offense warrants the idea that they will outrun TCU's offense.

However, sometimes teams have one another's number. That's been the case with West Virginia against TCU for years.

Opponent Rundown

Team: West Virginia Mountaineers

Record: 3-4 (1-3 in the Big 12)

Coach: Neal Brown (3rd year, 20-22 record at WVU)

Previous Outcome: L, 48-10 at Texas Tech

Scoring Offense: 29.8 points per game (50th)

Scoring Defense: 38.2 points allowed per game (125th)

West Virginia 2022 Schedule & Results

Date	Opponent	Result
Sept. 1	at Pitt	L, 38-31
Sept. 10	Kansas	L, 55-42/OT
Sept. 17	Towson (FCS)	W, 65-7
Sept. 22	at Virginia Tech	W, 33-10
Oct. 1	at Texas	L, 38-20
Oct. 8	BYE
Oct. 13	Baylor	W, 43-40
Oct. 22	at Texas Tech	L, 48-10
Oct. 29	TCU
Nov. 5	at Iowa State
Nov. 12	Oklahoma
Nov. 19	Kansas State
Nov. 26	at Oklahoma State

TCU vs. West Virginia Game Info

• When: Saturday, Oct. 29, 11:00 a.m. CT
• Where: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium (Morgantown, WV)
• TV: ESPN

TCU vs. West Virginia Past Results

• 2021: West Virginia 29, TCU 17 (Fort Worth)
• 2020: West Virginia 24, TCU 6 (Morgantown)
• 2019: West Virginia 20, TCU 17 (Fort Worth)
• 2018: West Virginia 47, TCU 10 (Morgantown)
• 2017: TCU 31, West Virginia 24 (Fort Worth)
• 2016: West Virginia 34, TCU 10 (Morgantown)
• 2015: TCU 40, West Virginia 10 (Fort Worth)
• 2014: TCU 31, West Virginia 30 (Morgantown)
• 2013: West Virginia 30, TCU 27 (Fort Worth)
• 2012: TCU 39, West Virginia 38 (Morgantown)

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Visit the Mountaineers Now site, another FanNation site, to see what they are saying about the upcoming game with TCU.