West Virginia looking to build bowl momentum at Baylor

Field Level Media|published: Wed 22nd November, 16:11 2023

West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene (6) carries the ball on a touchdown run in the third quarter during an NCAA college football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the West Virginia Mountaineers, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W. Va. The West Virginia Mountaineers won, 42-21. credits: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

West Virginia will look to improve its bowl status when it visits Baylor for a Big 12 Conference regular-season finale on Saturday in Waco, Texas.

The Mountaineers (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) are already guaranteed a spot in the postseason and look to accentuate what's been a mostly positive season.

West Virginia was picked to finish last in the Big 12 in the preseason poll but has won three of its past four games to guarantee a winning record for the first time since 2020.

The Mountaineers are coming off a 42-21 win at home last Saturday over Cincinnati in which they rushed for 424 yards. They got 204 yards and a touchdown from Jaheim White and 154 yards and three TDs on the ground from quarterback Garrett Greene. Greene also passed for 210 yards and a score in the victory.

"The game was won in the trenches," Greene said. "I thought our O-line played phenomenal; it's the best in America."

Baylor (3-8, 2-6) returns home after a 42-17 loss at TCU last Saturday. Blake Shapen passed for 197 yards and a touchdown and ran for a 2-yard score in the setback, the fourth straight for the Bears. The Bears were just 5-for-14 on third-down conversions, compared to a 9-for-11 success rate by the Horned Frogs.

The Bears will likely be without Shapen for their season finale after the quarterback suffered chest and head injuries late in the loss to TCU. Sophomore Sawyer Robertson is expected to make his fourth start of the season.

Baylor coach Dave Aranda said a win to cap the season would be an important step forward.

"For the team, it would be a relief," he said. "It would be validation for working hard. When anything negative happens, you fight the attachment to all the negative things of the past. We're fighting that fight right now, and to get a win would be a victory over that."

—Field Level Media