Three Thoughts on West Virginia’s 56-17 Win Over Duquesne
After a brutal Week 1 match up against a Top 10 Penn State team, West Virginia returned to Morgantown for their season opener, where they welcomed in FCS Duquesne in Week 2.
The Mountaineers were desperate to get this game over with quickly and efficiently in front of the home crowd. Neither of those things happened due to a sluggish start and a two-hour weather delay, but they eventually pulled away for a 56-17 win. That moves WVU to 1-1 on the season.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
About that Start
It was an annoying start for West Virginia. There was never any concern about WVU winning the game, but Duquesne started off with a three-and-out, but then recovered the ball after a WVU player touched the ball on the punt, which led to the Dukes taking over and scoring the first touchdown of the game two minutes later to jump out to a 7-0 lead. WVU would punt on its next drive, mustering only 14 yards on five plays. But then, the Mountaineers put together two-straight touchdown drives and never looked back on their way to a very comfortable win that Neal Brown desperately needed before the schedule picks back up in Week 3.
Hello, Hudson Clement…?
Who, you ask? How about a redshirt freshman who had zero career catches before Saturday. However, he led WVU with five catches for 177 yards and three touchdown catches on the night. The Martinsburg, West Virginia native joins elite company, alongside Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin as the only two Mountaineers to rack up 175 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a single game. College football is funny like that. Go figure.
Back to the Grind
While this was the easy game on the WVU schedule, now it’s back to reality as the Mountaineers host Pittsburgh in Week 3 for the Backyard Brawl. The rivalry returned last year and WVU lost a close game on the road. This one is in Morgantown and can go a long way in deciding Neal Brown’s fate with the Mountaineers. Hopefully WVU got some quality reps, but also didn’t extend themselves too much, because next Saturday should be a grind, which this rivalry always seems to turn into.
