West Virginia drops 5th straight, remains winless in Big 12

Josh Hoover threw for 247 yards and a touchdown Saturday night, and Trent Battle rushed for 89 yards and a score as visiting TCU stopped West Virginia, 23-17, in Morgantown.

Hoover completed 24 of 39 passes for the Horned Frogs (6-2, 3-2 Big 12), who also got three field goals from Nate McCashland. Eric McAlister added nine catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman Scotty Fox completed 28 of 41 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns for the Mountaineers (2-6, 0-5), who dropped their fifth straight game. Fox drew his team within six points on a pretty 28-yard strike to Jeff Weimer with 3:15 remaining.

But Battle recovered an onside kick at the West Virginia 44, and Hoover sealed the outcome by hooking up with McAlister for a 21-yard reception to the 19 at the two-minute timeout. With the Mountaineers out of timeouts, TCU was able to take three knees to run out the clock.

TCU initiated scoring when McCashland converted a 35-yard field goal just 3:25 into the game, then upped the advantage to 10-0 on Battle’s 1-yard touchdown run at the 4:31 mark of the first quarter. It came seven plays after a 19-yard punt by Oliver Straw set the Frogs up at the Mountaineers’ 48.

West Virginia got on the board when Fox connected with Grayson Barnes on a 17-yard strike with 11:50 left in the first half. It came four plays after Ethan Craw’s 23-yard punt gave it possession at the Frogs’ 35.

However, TCU responded with two straight scoring drives. First, Hoover hit McAlister for a 4-yard touchdown to finish off a 70-yard march that chewed up 5:38. After Fox was stopped for a 2-yard loss on 4th-and-2 from the Frogs’ 40, they tacked on a 22-yard field goal by McCashland 59 seconds before the half for a 20-7 advantage.

Kade Hensley drew the Mountaineers within 20-10 with 1:20 left in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal, capping a 10-play, 60-yard drive.