Mountaineer Rewind: West Virginia's Shootout Win Over Arizona State in 2016 Cactus Bowl
Since the return of warmer weather is well upon us, it seems fitting to look back at a bowl appearance that packed in all the desert heat.
West Virginia and Arizona State arrived in Phoenix on January 2, 2016 sporting a pair of rather unremarkable records, belying the mayhem to come. The Mountaineers' season was one of two tales: after trouncing longtime rival Maryland 45-6, Dana Holgorsen's team would drop four consecutive in-conference games to ranked opponents only to then rebound by winning four of their last five leading up to their bowl berth. Arizona State, under the leadership of former Pitt head coach Todd Graham, had an up and down ride in 2015, as well. That Sun Devils team went 5-4 in conference play, but managed to pick up an upset win over then No. 7 UCLA and put together a gigaton of offensive numbers throughout its campaign. This is all to say, perhaps, that West Virginia and Arizona State headlining a January bowl game may not have looked like the sexiest match up of the year.
What unfolded, however, was nothing but pure offensive juice.
Skyler Howard, who still stands as a strangely divisive figure in Mountaineer lore, orchestrated the third greatest single-game passing performance in program history via his 532 yards and 5 TD's. Elsewhere, Shelton Gibson, Daikiel Shorts and Ka'Raun White proved what a formidable one-two-three punch they could be for combining for 356 yards and three scores which showcased several absolutely bonkers catches, including a sequence in the first quarter on a 1st & 5 throw that required about a dozen reviews.
Beyond the box score and gaudy statistical outing that was peak-Holgorsen air raid (676 yards of total offense!), was the now-obvious foreshadowing of the caliber of players a pair of freshman named David Sills V and Gary Jennings, Jr. would eventually transform into. While Jennings, a high school quarterback, was recruited to step into a receiver role at the collegiate level, Sills was (as is now canon) a former quarterback prodigy that seemed to get lost in the shuffle. Whether by design or simply the football universe exercising its will, both Sills and Jennings contributed mightily to West Virginia claiming victory in the desert that night. Jennings, for his part, netted 68 yards and a TD grab on just two catches- his only two snaps of the entire game. Talk about usage rate.
Sills, however, didn't hear his number called until the waning minutes of the game with West Virginia on the wrong end of a 42-36 score. After a couple big plays, including a gutsy run by Wendell Smallwood to put the Mountaineers in the red zone, Skyler Howard caught the snap at Arizona State's 15 yard line with three targets lined up wide. Looking back at it now, it's almost prophetic that Sills, drawing man coverage the attention of a safety moving down to help, ran a crisp stopping route that left both defenders off-balance and then bounded into the end zone for what would be the game-capping score.
It would take an additional year and a bouncing back and forth from coast-to-coast before Sills would essentially patent that move at West Virginia and gain national acclaim, but the successful beta test that night in Phoenix provided a glimpse at the fireworks to come. Moreover, that victory planted the very seed that would spawn into a 10 win campaign the following season, West Virginia's best mark since 2011 and the cornerstone of Skyler Howard's legacy as an oft-maligned, yet successful leader from the Holgorsen era.
Only the second of two bowl wins from Dana Holgorsen's time in Morgantown, West Virginia out-shooting the Sun Devils on their home turf is nothing if not fun. I hope you enjoy your re-watch as much as I did.
Which game should we pull out of the time capsule next? Comment below!
