MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — “The last two games, I think you could maybe call them ugly.”

That was All-American center Zach Fraizer earlier this week when asked about West Virginia’s two most recent victories.

Football purists may have needed to avert their eyes a few times over the past two weeks. Taking the rivalry aspect out of the equation, WVU’s win in the Backyard Brawl was far from beautiful, offensively. The same could be said in West Virginia’s win over Texas Tech, as the Mountaineers were held under 100 passing yards for the second consecutive week.

Despite the offensive shortcomings, the Mountaineers have pushed their winning streak to three games — the program’s longest since 2018.

“I always look at it as good teams come together at times when you get games like this. They’re not always pretty and they’re ugly, but you find a way to come out on top,” said offensive coordinator Chad Scott. “Like I said, in the past, we’ve done too good of a job to not come out on top in those games.”

The past two wins may not have been pretty, offensively, though, WVU got it done in different ways.

West Virginia was better through the air against the Red Raiders, and was more efficient on the ground against Pitt. Nicco Marchiol led the way in the rushing category for WVU against Texas Tech, as CJ Donaldson, who rushed for 102 yards against the Panthers, was held to just 48 yards against TTU.

As a whole, WVU has gained a combined 159 passing yards and 308 rushing yards over the past two weeks. Despite only averaging 3.3 yards per carry over the past 120 minutes of action, the Mountaineers have stayed committed to the inherent strength of the team.

Scott said there is a pride in winning ugly games. Frazier agrees.

“I think it’s kind of beautiful from an offensive lineman’s perspective. You know, just run the ball, controlling the game. To me, I like that. A win’s a win, no matter how it happens, a win’s a win,” said Frazier.