Sportsline with Tony Caridi  Watch |  Listen

Live blog: Mountaineers stun Longhorns on late 2-pointer

AUSTIN, Texas — No. 13 West Virginia showed guts on a last-minute scoring drive and more chutzpah by adding a two-point conversion to down No. 17 Texas 42-41.

Recapping the live updates throughout the game:

Final stats

— The game featured nearly 1,100 yards of offense, with WVU generating 578.

— Will Grier completed 28-of-42 for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Sam Ehlinger did his part with 354 yards on 25-of-36 passing. Neither threw an interception.

— David Sills caught six passes for 97 yards while Texas had two 100-plus receivers, Lil Jordan Humphrey (nine for 143) and Devin Duvernay (six for 100).

— West Virginia’s Martell Pettaway showed up big, with 121 yards on only nine carries.

— Kenny Robinson and David Long made 10 tackles each to pace a West Virginia defense that survived a rough day.

Fourth quarter

TOUCHDOWN: Gary Jennings 33-yard pass from Grier (0:16) WVU leads 42-41
West Virginia answered in clutch fashion, patiently making a few short gains to sett up Grier’s rolling lob to Jennings, who ran behind the secondary and caught the touchdown with one foot down. Then came the do-or-die decision by Holgorsen to try the 2-pointer instead of settling for the tie. WVU actually converted the 2-pointer twice — once on a slant to Sills that came nanoseconds after Texas was granted a timeout Holgorsen stuck with the decision on the second try, this time allowing Grier to keep it. The inside draw was clogged but he bounced outside for the gane-winner. (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards in 2:18)

TOUCHDOWN:  Devin Duvernay 48 yard pass from Ehlinger (2:34) Texas leads 41-34
A stop-and-go move allowed Duvernay to blow past Josh Norwood in man coverage. Tight end Andrew Beck also made a 19-yard(Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards in 3:5

TOUCHDOWN: Pettaway 13-yard run (5:40) Game tied 34-34
West Virginia generated its first points of the half and squared the game with a methodical drive. Trevon Wesco made two catches underneath and McKoy ripped off 19 yards on a third-and-2. Pettaway eclipsed 100 yards on the scoring run. (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards in 3:58)

FIELD GOAL: Cameron Dicker 38-yarder (9:38) Texas leads 34-27
After each team suffered fourth-down meltdowns in the red zone, Tom Herman opted against gambling on fourth-and-inches at West Virginia’s 21. After the series Tre Watson had — gaining 51 yards on six carries — West Virginia might have caught a break on the decision to kick. (Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards in 5:22)

Third quarter

— WVU FAILED FOURTH DOWN: On the final snap of the third quarter, McKoy was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Texas 20. West Virginia gained 49 yards on the series but couldn’t get a push on three straight runs after facing second-and-1 in the red zone.

FIELD GOAL: Cameron Dicker 22-yarder (2:55) Texas leads 31-27
For the second straight drive, WVU’s defense concocted a stand inside the 5. This time it followed Ehlinger rolling away from pressure and heaving a jumpball that Lil’Jordan Humphrey caught for 29 yards over Kenny Robinson. Texas reached the 1 on the next snap when Devin Duvernay caught an 8-yarder on the sideline, but Ehlinger lost 4 yards on a second-down keeper. His third-down rollout to the left was well defender resulting in an incompletion. (Drive: 9 plays, 49 yards in 3:49)

— WVU PUNT: West Virginia gained 31 yards (14 on a catch by Tevin Bush), but an end-around to Bush on third-and-2 was foiled by Ta’Quon Graham for a 3-yard loss.

— TEXAS FAILED FOURTH DOWN: Texas marched 70 yards over 5 minutes but bogged down inside the 10, thanks to a couple of questionable spots. A third-and-4 pass to Collin Johnson was marked inches shy of the marker. When Ehlinger kept on the fourth-down, he picked up the necessary yardage only to lose his helmet en route. A lengthy review showed his helmet came off before he gained the first down, giving WVU a huge defensive stand.

Halftime notes

— West Virginia has outgained Texas 348-266.

— WVU is averaging 9.5 yards per carry (15 rushes for 142 yards).

— Mountaineers were assessed 95 yards in penalties to 54 for Texas.

— Will Grier was 17-of-29 for 206 yards and two TDs. Sam Ehlinger was 13-of-20 for 189 yards and two scores, with an additional 22 rushing yards.

Second quarter

FIELD GOAL: Staley 44-yarder (0:09) Texas leads 28-27
West Virginia made up some ground before the half, and two third-down plays to tight end Jovani Haskins were key. An incompletion to Haskins was negated by cornerback Kris Boyd committing pass interference. Then came third-and-11 from the Texas 45, where Haskins caught a pass over the middle and lunged for the marker. Ultiumately it came down to Staley, who missed wide right on an attempt negated by Tom Herman’s timeout. Staley drilled the second chance. (Drive: 11 plays, 48 yards in 2:31)

TOUCHDOWN: Tre Watson 32-yard pass from Ehlinger (2:40) Texas leads 28-24
After a simple slip route in the flat went uncovered, Watson raced toward the goal line and made safety Toyous Avery miss badly at the 10.  As bad as the Mountaineers defense looked on the scoring play, it had a shot at forcing a three-and-out after an incompletion to Devin Duvernay. But a defensive holding flag on Dravon Askew-Henry away from the play gave Texas a first down. (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards in 2:28)

TOUCHDOWN: Martell Pettaway 55-yard run (7:36) WVU leads 24-21
Pettaway set a new career-long with an explosive inside-zone run on which he slipped a tackle near the line of scrimmage. (It also marked the biggest gain by a WVU running back this season.) Earlier in the drive, West Virginia converted third-and-3 on a 8-yard pass to Tevin Bush and a third-and-1 on a Grier sneak out of T-formation. (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards in 2:28)

TOUCHDOWN: Tre Watson 5-yard run (10:04) Texas leads 21-17
A 45-yard touchdown catch by Collin Johnson was erased by Humphrey’s illegal pick that wiped out Josh Norwood, but Texas overcame the resulting third-and-20 anyway. A 17-yard pass to Devin Duvernay set up fourth-and-3, where the Ehlinger threw a deep curl that Johnson snatched for a 26-yard gain over Hakeem Bailey. Watson capped the series with runs of 12 and 5 yards. (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards in 4:45)

TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 18-yard pass from Will Grier (14:49) WVU leads 17-14
A breathtaking drive for the Mountaineers, as Grier’s left knee was bent on a late-hit in the pocket by Malcolm Roach. (The hit actually saved WVU on a third-and-15 incompletion.) Just when it seemed that Texas might have knocked out the QB for a second straight year, he returned two plays later for a precise touchdown pass to Sills in the back corner of the end zone. Before the illegal takedown, running back Kennedy McKoy struck for 37 yards on a sideline catch-and-run. (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards in 2:01)

First quarter

TOUCHDOWN: Lil Jordan Humphrey 21-yard pass Ehlinger (1:50) Texas leads 14-10
Thanks to two unsportsmanlike penalties, WVU kicked off from its 10-yard line and Jumphrey’s 29-yard return provided a short field for Texas. Ehlinger capitalized when Humphrey ran loose on a seam route. (Drive: 3 plays, 39 yards in 1:10)

TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 60-yard pass from Will Grier (3:08) WVU leads 10-7
Sills ran wide-open on a twist, zipping past safety Caden Sterns for an easy catch-and-run. But that’s when the weirdness began. Sills was flagged for flashing a double horns-down sign toward the student section. On the extra point, more questionable officiating when Yodny Cajuste was ejected for an open-handed shove that refs called a punch. That leaves a huge hole at left tackle to be filled by Kelby Wickline. (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards in 1:28)

TOUCHDOWN: 1-yard run by Sam Ehlinger (4:36) Texas leads 7-3
On the play before the touchdown, Ehlinger beat a third-and-4 blitz by lobbing a 23-yard pass to Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, who made the sideline grab over Toyous Avery. The drive, which started near midfield after a 39-yard punt by Billy Kinney, featured Ehlinger scrambling for 13 after the pocket collapsed. (Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards in 2:42)

— WVU PUNT: A three-and-out for WVU ended with Grier targeting Dom Maiden on third-and-8 and the pass being batted down by linebacker Gary Johnson. But Texas suffered a potential loss when defensive end Breckyn Hager injured his right arm making a tackle on Leddie Brown. Hager was in obvious pain as he went to the sideline tent and then the lockerroom.

— TEXAS PUNT: Texas opened with a third-and-1 conversion, but Sam Ehlinger’s third-and-11 attempt for Lil’ Jordan Humphrey across the middle pass was off-target.

FIELD GOAL: 45-yarder by Evan Staley (11:03) WVU leads 3-0
A promising first drive couldn’t overcome three offensive penalties as WVU settled for Staley’s line-drive kick. Grier worked short passes, going 5-of-7 for 29 yards. The incompletions came on a drop by T.J. Simmons and a third-and-10 deep ball to Sills that was broken up by Kris Boyd. Texas lost cornerback Davante Davis to a left shoulder injury on the second play, forcing Todd Orlando’s secondary to use three freshmen. Leddie Brown extended the drive with a physical 17-yard run on third-and-4, some of which was negated by an illegal block downfield. (Drive: 11 plays, 42 yards in 3:57)

Pregame notes

— Huge shakeup on the Texas defense: Safety Brandon Jones, the team’s No. 2 tackler, “aggravated an ankle injury at the team hotel this morning” and is out for today’s game. His backup is freshman B.J. Foster, which means UT will have two rookies in the secondary today.

— Mike linebacker Shea Campbell still working with defensive starters during warmups. Dylan Tonkery is dressed, though, and running with the twos. Our story from this week on Campbell, the former walkon.

— Texas defensive tackle Chris Nelson, ruled out after spraining his ankle in Wednesday’s practice, is suddenly good to go today, Tom Herman told the Longhorn Network.

— My pregame “Five questions” column.

— My final score pick is Texas 27-24. Brad Howe takes WVU 31-28, and Hoppy sides with the Mountaineers at 34-31.





More News

News
PEIA examines financial effects of new law meant to ensure local pharmacies get fair reimbursements
Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 453 into law this week.
March 28, 2024 - 4:11 pm
News
Barbour County woman sentenced after death case sent back to circuit court by Supreme Court
Carli Reed sentenced on voluntary manslaughter conviction.
March 28, 2024 - 4:11 pm
News
UMWA to fight planned Pennsylvania coal mine closure, 700 mining jobs at risk
Cumberland Mine less than 40 miles from Morgantown.
March 28, 2024 - 2:23 pm
News
Bridge collapse having an impact on West Virginia coal shipments
About third of the coal mined in northern West Virginia is shipped out of the presently idled Port of Baltimore
March 28, 2024 - 1:18 pm