MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On a sold-out homecoming weekend, West Virginia rallied to beat No. 24 Texas Tech 46-35.
A recap of the live-game updates throughout:
Final stats
— The Mountaineers were outgained for the first time this season, 513-396.
— Will Grier completed 32-of-41 for 352 yards and five touchdowns and one interception.
— Texas Tech’s Nic Shimonek finished 24-of-39 for 323 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
— West Virginia won despite rushing for only 44 yards, while the Red Raiders piled up 190.
Fourth quarter
— Kyzir White’s interception sealed it for WVU.
TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 11-yard pass from Grier (3:23) West Virginia leads 46-35
The Mountaineers consumed some clock running Kennedy McKoy before Sills got a one-on-one matchup too good to pass up. Grier delivered on the slant and WVU had its fourth unanswered touchdown. (Drive: 7 plays, 45 yards, 3:31)
— Texas Tech produced a third consecutive three-and-out capped by Adam Shuler’s 15-yard sack of Shimonek
TOUCHDOWN: Ka’Raun White 17-yard pass from Grier (9:14) West Virginia leads 39-35
Dana Holgorsen showed some fourth-down onions and West Virginia capitalized for its first lead. Will Grier’s fourth-and-1 sneak barely picked up a first down at the Texas Tech 17, and a play later White scored on a post route. (Drive: 6 plays, 58 yards, 2:52)
— Texas Tech produced a second consecutive three-and-out.
TOUCHDOWN: White 32-yard pass from Grier (13:03) Texas Tech leads 35-32
A 19-yard run by Crawford, a 14-yard third-down pass to Jennings and a spectacular leaping grab by White re-energized the stadium. Then West Virginia capitalized on the two-point conversion with Grier rolling and throwing to Sills in the back of the end zone. (Drive: 5 plays, 66 yards, 1:37)
— Texas Tech punted after a three-and-out.
Third quarter
— So much for WVU drawing momentum. After a 12-yard catch by Ka’Raun White, Grier was sacked twice to force a third-and-26. His deep why-not throw for Gary Jennings into double-coverage was tipped and intercepted by Desmon Smith.
— Michael Barden missed a straight-on 37-yard field goal, falling to 0-for-3 today. These misfires have equated to the only “stops” for the WVU defense so far.
TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 8-yard pass from Grier (5:07) Texas Tech leads 35-24
After Texas Tech was flagged for pass interference three times, Sills caught his nation-leading 11th touchdown of the season. Two of those PIs were against defenders covering Sills, and one might have bailed out WVU on a fourth-and-1 incompletion from the Raiders’ 41. (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:04)
TOUCHDOWN: Tre King 30-yard run (9:11) Texas Tech leads 35-17
The Red Raiders ran it four times on a five-play series that went 80 yards. The only pass was Shimonek’s 22-yarder to Coutee as West Virginia’s defense continued to be shredded. (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:05)
— Despite starting near midfield, West Virginia suffered a three-and-out when Marcus Simms and Grier miscommunicated on a third-and-2 incompletion. Kinney’s punt came within inches of being downed inside the 1 before being ruled a touchback.
— Texas Tech dealt with two holding flags on its opening drive, which ended with Ezekiel Rose’s sack of Shimonek at the 19.
Halftime stats
— Texas Tech has outgained West Virginia 338-174 so far, averaging 8 yards per play.
— Nic Shimonek 17-of-24 passing for 252 yards and four TDs. He had two other scores dropped and one interception erased by a roughing-the-passer penalty.
— Will Grier has completed 18-of-22 for 184 yards and one TD, but the WVU running game is nonexistent: 12 carries for minus-10 yards.
Second quarter
— The Red Raiders missed a golden opportunity to pad their lead before half when Michael Barden’s 23-yard field goal boinked off the left upright. Lots of action a few plays earlier: Tech’s KeKe Coutee dropped a would-be touchdown, and WVU’s Mike Daniels saw his end-zone interception erased by Xavier Preston’s late hit on the QB.
— Penalty-riddled drive for West Virginia, starting with a holding flag on the kick return. Next came a chop-block (when a blitzer got high-lowed by Kennedy McKoy and a linemen) and then a holding call against Josh Sills as Grier scrambled. Jonn Young replaced Billy Kinney at punter, just as he did at TCU, and settled for a 38-yarder.
TOUCHDOWN: T.J. Vasher 50-yard pass from Nic Shimonek (10:58) Texas Tech leads 28-17
Just as WVU’s defense celebrated its first three-and-out, Texas Tech punter Dominic Panazzolo ran 13 yards around left end on a fourth-and-1 fake. On the ensuing play, Vasher beat freshman cornerback Kenny Robinson for the deep score — Shimonek’s fourth TD pass of the half. (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:09)
TOUCHDOWN: Justin Crawford 5-yard run (7:44) Texas Tech leads 21-17
Grier went 5-for-5 for 37 yards on the drive, making short throws and making a 2-yard gain on a third-and-1 keeper from the WVU 41. Two out-of-bounds hits by the Red Raiders pushed the drive along before Crawford capped it with an inside run. (Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 3:07)
TOUCHDOWN: Keke Coutee 6-yard pass from Shimonek (10:58) Texas Tech leads 21-10
Shimonek continued dealing. After Quan Shorts dropped a sure touchdown, the Red Raiders quarterback spotted Coutee on an underneath route at the goal line. Shimonek improvred to 13-of-17 for 173 yards and three touchdowns on four series. (Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 2:31)
— WVU started at its 26 and punted from its 18 after Texas Tech sacked Grier on a safety blitz. About that Billy Kinney punt, it traveled only 27 yards and set up the Red Raiders at the plus-45.
— On the opening play of the quarter, Texas Tech reconsidered a fourth-and-3 attempt and sent on kicker Michael Barden, who pushed a 43-yard field goal wide right.
First quarter
FIELD GOAL: Mike Molina 43-yarder (3:55) Texas Tech leads 14-10
Molina’s kick followed Marcus Sims dropping a third-and-14 pass at the goal line. Three plays earlier, Simms converted a third-and-8 catch to extend the drive. WVU attempted only two runs on the series, resulting in minus-4 yards, and Grier also was sacked by defensive end Eli Howard. (Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards, 4:03)
TOUCHDOWN: Dylan Cantrell 6-yard pass from Nic Shimonek (7:58) Texas Tech leads 14-7
Aided by Kyzir White’s unsportsmanlike penalty on the kick return and Xavier Preston’s subsequent facemask, the Red Raiders rolled to another score. Shimonek and the 6-foot-3 Cantrell connected three times, including a third-and-5 completion for 10 yards that moved Tech to the 1. An illegal procedure flag only gave Shimonek more room to operate out of the shotgun and he made a nice back-shoulder throw that Cantrell over the smaller Elijah Battle. (Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards, 4:03)
TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 31-yard pass from Grier (12:07) Game tied 7-7
Grier went 3-for-3 as WVU answered emphatically. First came an 18-yarder to White against zone coverage, followed by a 26-yarder on which Simms spun out of a tackle for an additional gain. Then Grier threw off-balance on a mini-rollout as Sills streaked wide-open down the middle. That became touchdown No. 10 for the FBS receiving leader. (Drive: 2 plays, 72 yards, 0:33)
TOUCHDOWN: Vasher 60-yard pass from Shimonek (12:53) Texas Tech leads 7-0
Shimonek started with a 12-yard completion to Dylan Cantrell, before Vasher turned a short screen into an explosive play. (Drive: 2 plays, 72 yards, 0:33)
— West Virginia’s opening drive went three-and-out, but at least it featured a shovel pass to Eli Wellman.
Pregame notes
— Witnessed an excessive amount of pregame whoofing, which led to a kerfuffle between the teams at the Texas Tech 30-yard line. Took a couple minutes, and numerous staffers from both teams, to contain it
— Texas Tech punter Dominic Panazzolo claims to be capable of punting with both feet, but Dana Holgorsen isn’t convinced.
“Allegedly he can kick with both, but it’s not on video though,” Holgorsen said. “I may text Kliff and say I want to see him go lefty.”
Panazzolo is yet another in a string of Australian punters, leading to Holgorsen’s explanation: “Must be nothing else to do down there but punt.”
— I’m looking forward to seeing WVU linebacker David Long back for his second game. After pressuring Kenny Hill several times last week at TCU, his impact is obvious and you can tell he wants to do more. Coaches said Long needed about 48 hours to get over his missed tackle on the quarterback throwback trick play, even though his pursuit actually gave the rest of the defense a chance to respond.
Long told me he thought his summertime knee injury, which occurred during footwork drills stepping over pads, was season-ending for a brief time. Then the diagnosis was shortened to four months. Then Long managed to return after three.
— My Four-Down Territory preview for today’s game. Contains storylines on Gibby’s Texas Tech hex, Ka’Raun White’s emergence and today’s Spavital vs. Spavital battle.
— Our staff predictions for today:
