MORGANTOWN - With a little over nine minutes left in WVU's Big 12 showdown with TCU, many of the 61,780 in attendance clicked on the lights of their cell phones and held them up.
Surprisingly, though, their Mountaineer team had already turned the lights out on the Horned Frogs. The party, indeed, was over for the visitors.
It was the second consecutive impressive victory for No. 12 West Virginia. To shut down the offenses of Texas Tech (away) and then TCU is something of which to be proud.
The Red Raiders had the nation's No. 1 passing attack and the Mountaineers held them to 17 points. And then on Saturday, West Virginia shut down and outscored a Horned Frogs team that entered the season No. 13 in both preseason polls.
Want to know why TCU wasn't ranked before Saturday's game? Because the Frogs lost by a combined nine points to No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 17 Arkansas. And West Virginia whipped TCU by 24 on Saturday.
First, WVU used a quick-strike offense in the first half. Then it used a deliberate attack in the second half to milk the clock. Finally, it wore out the opponents from Fort Worth, Texas.
"Our most complete game of the season," said WVU coach Dana Holgorsen.
What continues to most impress, however, is that Mountaineer defense.
Holgorsen, known for his offensive prowess, has many weapons. Give him credit for recruiting players like Daikiel Shorts, Ka'Raun White, Jovon Durante, Rushel Shell, Kennedy McKoy, Shelton Gibson and Justin Crawford. They are impressive. And if you didn't see Durante's ridiculous catch in the second quarter, you need to YouTube it. It was one of the finest I've seen in 34 years of covering WVU. His arms went down like landing gear on a plane. He caught the ball by his fingertips. Then he pulled the ball up to his undercarriage, er, belly, rolled and showed the ball to the official.
WVU's special teams delivered as well. The Mountaineers forced two fumbles there. On back-to-back plays, kicker Mike Molina hit a 38-yard field goal and then placed a nice kickoff to the left corner. Keep in mind TCU entered the game statistically better across the board in the area.
Yet let's get back to that Mountaineer defense - that magical, odd, odd-stack defense. Look at the final stats and you'll see TCU back Kyle Hicks finished with 103 yards. One would think that would be a bad sign because the Horned Frogs entered the game No. 74 nationally in rush offense.
But the scoreboard that glowed after the game said TCU had 10 points.
WVU was ranked No. 90 in passing yards allowed - although No. 15 in pass efficiency defense. Again, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson's goals were met. TCU quarterback Kenny Hill finished 18 of 31 passing with a Rasul Douglas interception, only one TD and just 148 yards.
I mean, how do these guys do it? Before the season I asked Holgorsen which was his best player. He said Dravon Henry. That's the same Henry who is out for the season. Also, the team lost four-star linebacker Brendan Ferns, who was in line to start.
Kudos to Gibson and his self-proclaimed "Dawgs." There was Antonio Crawford with a pass breakup. There was Toyous Avery with another. There was David Long with a sack.
"It's been a work in progress," Holgorsen said. "Gibby's done a great job ... We like where we're at [defensively]. The kids work hard at it and that's what's important."
Where the team as a whole is "at" is No. 12 in the Associated Press poll - and gaining legitimacy. In case you didn't see ESPN's College GameDay, only Desmond Howard of the panel picked WVU to win Saturday. Despite the victory at Texas Tech, skepticism remained.
That might change now. (Know, however, it will be tougher for WVU to move up in the rankings, regardless. There are good teams in the upper tier. Losses are fewer.)
Now, it's on to Oklahoma State and The Mullet, aka Cowboys coach Mike Gundy, for West Virginia.
Again, expect skepticism. Heck, WVU might be an underdog. But those that have watched these last two Mountaineer games have seen something very impressive.
And who knows? For them, the party might just be getting started.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.