The Mountaineers left no doubt as they rolled through Ames for their 9th win, beating the Cyclones 49-19. Here’s who stood out.
3rd star
Skyler Howard – 12/21, 330 yards, 5 TD, 9 carries, 48 yards
I still feel like Howard made too many of the “hold my beer” type throws that have gotten us into so much trouble this year, but it’s hard to argue with the results. Howard averaged 27.5 yards per completion and a touchdown every 4.2 throws, and though he still missed on his share of deep balls, his connections with Marcus Simms and Shelton Gibson were some of the sexiest passes he’s thrown here.
2nd star
Martell Pettaway – 30 carries, 181 yards, 1 TD, 1 catch, 25 yards
What a coming out party. Pettaway’s performance led to the quickest collective 180 that our fan base has ever made on one of Holgorsen’s decision. A bunch of credit should go to our offensive line, who again opened running lanes that most of us could run through, but Pettaway wasted no time flashing a pretty impressive skill set. He hit the hole quickly, showed solid vision and wiggle, and showed the speed to get the corner. Most impressive though was his power and the way he finished runs. Much like Karl Joseph, Pettaway seems to react to contact with other humans with an indifference that belies his smallish frame, and it often took two or three defenders to wrestle him to the ground. Credit to Smoking Musket for the reference (even though they got the words wrong), but I’ll join them in bending the knee to House Martell. You can’t help but salivate when thinking about the potential of our backfield moving forward.
1st star
Rasul Douglas – 9 tackles (6 solo), 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 1 PBU
West Virginia’s defense repeatedly put the offense in good spots with stops and takeaways yesterday, and as he has been for most of the year, Rasul Douglas was again at the center of all of it. Not only did he lead the team in tackles, but he also forced a fumble and intercepted one of Jacob Park’s passes. On the season, Douglas has 60 tackles, an NCAA-leading 8 interceptions, and 7 PBU’s, and in my opinion there’s no question that he should win Big XII Defensive Player of the Year.
Bonus: Biggest Loser Section
Jacob Park
No additional words necessary..
