After a couple of fruitless drives, things got interesting when the the Mountaineers had a field goal blocked for the second straight week in a row. The play briefly echoed the infamous Leon Lett field goal muff from my childhood when a Bearcat defender touched the ball near the end zone and a scrum ensued, though Cincy recovered the football.
The play was a huge turning point in the game when, on the very next play, Munchie Legaux broke a Mountaineer tackle and rumbled 65 yards deep into Mountaineer territory. The backup quarterback would have scored had his legs not gotten tangled up with a teammate's. The Mountaineer D recovered from their mistake, as Tony Miliano missed a 42 yard field goal.
The Mountaineers punted on the possession that followed, and Cincinnati responded with another big play, a wheel route into the flat to running back Isaiah Pead who was left absolutely alone. The total defensive failure on that play would cost the Mountaineers dearly when Legaux ran it in from 7 yards out on the next play, cutting the Mountaineers lead to 17-14. Things are starting to get tense, and the Mountaineers can't continue to make mistakes, lose positive yardage and commit penalties, three themes of this game so far.
Those problems continues to plague the 'Eers when they threw into the backfield on third and two, and appeared to simply not pick up the first down, but in slow motion the replay revealed the Dustin Garrison had fumbled the football before he was down. Another mistake by WVU, and tons and tons of new life for Cincinnati. Mountaineer Nation is getting tense right now.
Entering the fourth quarter, West Virginia needs to regain momentum, and quickly, or else the season may be almost over.