Michael Hawkins Jr. passed for 132 yards and ran for another 108 in his West Virginia debut. Cam Cook ran 72 yards on the first play from scrimmage to set up the first of his two touchdowns as the Mountaineers defeated Coastal Carolina 31-24 on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown, W.V.
Cook steamrolled the Chanticleers’ defense for 142 rushing yards, and West Virginia rolled out to a 24-0 halftime lead. The Mountaineers took a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter on Hawkins’ 49-yard touchdown pass to Armoni Weaver-Bomar.
Weaver-Bomar got behind Coastal Carolina on a run-pass option play call and caught Hawkins’ pass in stride.
Hawkins beat out Scotty Fox for the starting quarterback job in a competition leading up to the season opener against Coastal Carolina. He added a rushing touchdown late in the game.
With West Virginia up 17-0 in the second quarter, defensive back Matt Sieg recovered a Coastal Carolina fumble. The Mountaineers drove to the 9-yard line before Hawkins fumbled out of the end zone for a touchback.
Coastal Carolina couldn’t take advantage, and Cook capped off a 17-play, 86-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run a little over a minute before halftime.
The Chanticleers (0-1) got on the scoreboard in the third quarter, though they were forced to start their second possession of the second half at their own 1-yard line. Holding and pass interference penalties on West Virginia sustained the drive.
Deuce Bailey found Clayton Coppock Jr. for a 34-yard touchdown with 3:57 to play in the third quarter. Bailey won out in a quarterback competition throughout preseason camp to earn the start to open the season.
Bailey was a backup at Missouri State in 2025. He finished 21 of 37 for 373 yards and three touchdown passes, two in the second half as Coastal Carolina got within 10 points but no closer.
West Virginia lost defensive lineman Darius Wiley to injury on a third-quarter play, as he was carted off the field.
–Field Level Media
