MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 6 Oklahoma’s defense surrendered more than 700 yards but also returned two Will Grier fumbles for touchdowns as the Sooners survived 59-56 against No. 13 West Virginia to secure a berth in the Big 12 championship game.
Kyler Murray threw for 354 yards, ran for 114 more and accounted for four touchdowns as Oklahoma ( 11-1, 8-1) put up 668 total to remain in the College Football Playoff hunt.
Next week brings a rematch against Texas for the conference title, but the Sooners may need a breather after their wild night at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Kennedy Brooks also ran for 182 yards for Oklahoma, who improved to 7-0 in the series since West Virginia joined the conference in 2012.
Grier’s 539-yard passing night included four touchdowns, but he lost two fumbles that became defensive scores on returns by linebackers Caleb Kelly and Curtis Bolton.
Gary Jennings caught seven passes for 225 yards and David Sills added eight receptions for 131 for the Mountaineers (8-3, 6-3). Both scored two touchdowns, though it wasn’t enough to lift WVU into the Big 12 championship game. A postseason date likely awaits at the Alamo Bowl (San Antonio), Camping World Bowl (Orlando) or Texas Bowl (Houston)
The Sooners, who entered the game on pace to set an NCAA single-season record by averaging 8.8 yards per play, averaged 10.3 per snap Friday night.
Oklahoma has won 20 consecutive road games, including nine straight since Lincoln Riley ascended to head coach last year.
Recapping the live updates from throughout the night:
FOURTH QUARTER
— OKLAHOMA END OF HALF: The Sooners milked the final 4:17 off the clock with two first downs.
TOUCHDOWN: Martell Pettaway 17-yard run (4:20) Oklahoma leads 59-56
A defensive pass interference flag bailed out WVU on a fourth-down incompletion for Jovani Haskins. Grier took advantage with a 24-yard pass to Sills, before the Sooners’ defense parted for Pettaway’s second TD run. (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards in 2:55)
— OKLAHOMA PUNT: For some reason, Lincoln Riley punted from the WVU 40 on fourth-and-5.
— WVU PUNT: T.J. Simmons’ dropped pass resulted in a three-and-out. With 9-plus minutes left, Holgorsen wasn’t willing to risk a fourth-and-10 from his own 25.
TOUCHDOWN: Curtis Bolton 48-yard fumble return (9:58) Oklahoma leads 59-49
First, officials severely shaved McKoy’s 74-yard scamper by ruling that receiver T.J. Simmons illegally blocked a Sooners cornerback excessively out of bounds. Instead of having it at the OU 1, the ball was placed at the 42 instead. Two plays later, Kenneth Mann sacked Grier and the QB fumbled upon trying too throw the ball away. Bolton scooped up the fumble after it squirted away from two WVU players
TOUCHDOWN: Grant Calcaterra 2-yard pass from Kyler Murray (11:19) Oklahoma leads 52-49
The Sooners needed a fourth-and-goal play to get it done, but WVU accommodated by ignoring the tight end Calceterra who slipped free in the back of the end zone. Brooks reeled off another 20-yard run and Carson Meier caught a 21-yarder. (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards in 3:50)
THIRD QUARTER
TOUCHDOWN: Gary Jennings 75-yard pass from Will Grier (0:17) WVU leads 49-45
Pure silliness. West Virginia faced a three-and-out when Jennings ran unimpeded past Brendan Radley-Hilee, the poor nickel back who has been scorched all night. That put Jennings over 200 yards. (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards in 0:18)
TOUCHDOWN: Marquise Brown 45-yard pass from Kyler Murray (0:35) Oklahoma leads 45-42
A combination of Brown’s quickness and West Virginia’s poor tackling produced another huge scoring play. Brown caught the short crossing route, slipped free of Toyous Avery, avoided Kenny Robinson along the sideline, and then cut back to greener pastures. The TD overshadowed the well executed hookup on the previous play, when Brown beat Dravon Askew-Henry’s press coverage for 30 yards on third-and-10. (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards in 1:18)
TOUCHDOWN: Will Grier 1-yard run (1:52) WVU leads 42-38
West Virginia retook the lead despite a rough series for Yodny Cajuste. The senior left tackle was flagged for hands to the face — which WVU overcame thanks to Grier’s 52-yarder to Jennings on third-and-18. Then, in jumbo formation along the goal line, Cajuste sustained a left ankle injury and needed assistance getting to the sideline. Grier also converted a third-and-10 to Maiden. (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards in 4:00)
FIELD GOAL: Austin Seibert 37-yarder (5:52) Oklahoma leads 38-35
With OU prepping for a fourth-and-1 from the WVU 15, fullback Carson Meier false started. Sooners coach Lincoln Riley did what Holgorsen did not in the first half — he took the sure three points. CeeDee Lamb’s 23-yard catch was the big gainer on the series. (Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards in 4:33)
TOUCHDOWN: Gary Jennings 57-yard pass from Grier (10:32) Game tied 35-35
After Kenny Robinson’s end-zone interception foiled OU’s opening drive of the half, West Virginia flipped the field in fantastic fashion. Grier heaved a deep ball that found Jennings running free behind the safety. (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards in 1:49)
— OKLAHOMA TURNOVER: After Tre Brown’s 43-yard kick return set up OU at midfield, Murray forced a third-down pass that Kenny Robinson plucked for an interception in the end zone. Credit Kenny Bigelow’s pressure for hurrying Murray.
HALFTIME NOTES
— West Virginia outgained Oklahoma 371-366 in the half, but Sooners needed 26 plays to the home team’s 56.
— OU has a 100-yard rusher (Brooks) and receiver (Brown) at the break. Sills leads WVU with 98 yards on six catches.
— Grier passing so far: 20-of-29 for 262 yards.
— Murray so far: 9-of-12 passing for 168 yards and three carries for 78 more.
SECOND QUARTER
TOUCHDOWN: Kennedy McKoy 10-yard run (0:18) Oklahoma leads 35-28
Desperate to make up ground before the half, West Virginia received an unexpected boost from Dominique Maiden. The senior backup outwrestled cornerback Tre Norwood for a 30-yard sideline grab at the Sooners’ 1. Two plays later, McKoy reprised his Wildcat role of last year’s game in Norman and powered across the goal line. (Drive: 13 plays, 81 yards in 2:42)
TOUCHDOWN: Caleb Kelly 10-yard fumble return (3:06) Oklahoma leads 35-21
The Sooners’ defense delivered a spark when Kelly blitzed off the left edge and caught Grier in a careless scramble. The ball popped loose and Kelly pounced for the uncontested scoop-and-score.
TOUCHDOWN: Kennedy Brooks 68-yard run (3:30) Oklahoma leads 28-21
A simple inside zone run turned explosive when Zach Sandwisch dove at the feet of the lead blocker. The freshman Brooks came in averaging 9.9 yards per carry and that run didn’t hurt. (Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards in 0:44)
TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 10-yard pass from Grier (4:14) Game tied 21-21
Grier was 4-for-4 for 48 yards on a sharp drive, with his lone incompletion erased by defensive pass interference on Tre Norwood for getting too handsy against Sills on a deep sideline throw. Sills eventually twisted in midair and made a toe-tap TD over safety Robert Barnes. (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards in 2:58)
TOUCHDOWN: Trey Sermon 1-yard run (7:12) Oklahoma leads 21-14
Marquise Brown raced away from the man coverage of cornerback Keith Washington for a 65-yard gain down to the 1. Sermon surged in on the next snap. (Drive: 2 plays, 66 yards in 0:38)
— WVU PUNT: Turns out Billy Kinney dressed out after all. The senior punter came on after a three-and-out in which Grier has one pass batted down at the line and another broken up at the marker when Parnell Motley closed on a Sills crossing route.
— OKLAHOMA TURNOVER: Linebacker David Long stripped Murray at the Mountaineers’ 31 and Kenny Robinson recovered at the 22.
— WVU FAILED FOURTH DOWN: Need proof that it’s a bona-fide shootout? Holgorsen tried a fourth-and-2 on his own 47 to start the second quarter. It worked when Grier hit Sills for 15 yards. He later hit a wide-open Gary Jennings for an apparent 8-yard TD but officials flagged Sills for a pick. Not enticed by a short field-goal attempt, Holgorsen gambled on fourth-and-6 from the 10 and Grier threw incomplete in the end zone for Jovani Haskins. (Didn’t particularly like that decision, considering the down-and-distance made WVU one-dimensional.)
FIRST QUARTER
TOUCHDOWN: Marquise Brown 25-yard pass from Kyler Murray (1:31) Game tied 14-14
OU dodged a turnover when replay showed that kick returner Tre Brown’s fumble occurred as his forearm touched the turf. Then the Sooners struck quickly, with Kennedy Brooks gashing over the right side for 26 yards and Murray finding Brown for 13 on the OU sideline. Undeterred by CeeDee Lamb dropping an out route, Murray zipped his 35th passing TD on a deep-middle throw to Brown. (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards in 2:14)
TOUCHDOWN: Martell Pettaway 41-yard run (3:51) WVU leads 14-7
Another methodical drive for West Virginia saw Pettaway carry six times for 31 yards. Grier found Sills on a third-and-9 crossing route for 15 yards, and tight end Trevon Wesco. (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards in 3:28)
TOUCHDOWN: Kyler Murray 55-yard run (7:19) Game tied 7-7
The dazzling jets of Mr. Murray were on display when he took a QB keeper around left end and outran the secondary for his 11th rushing touchdown of the season. (The A’s front office must be salivating over the prospect of him stealing 80 bases.) Murray previously extended the drive with a third-and-7 slant to Marquise Brown that netted 8 yards. (Drive: 7 plays, 81 yards in 2:44)
TOUCHDOWN: David Sills 41-yard pass from Will Grier (10:09) WVU leads 7-0
A third-and-1 run by Leddie Brown gained 9, a third-and-3 carry by Kennedy McKoy went for 6, and then Grier delivered a third-and-7 bomb to Sills, who ran past nickel back Brendan Radley-Hiles. The throw helped West Virginia overcome a holding flag on left tackle Yodny Cajuste. (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards in 4:51)
Pregame notes
— Your weekly Mike LB update: No Dylan Tonkery or Shea Campbell dressed tonight for WVU, so it appears to be the Zach Sandwisch/Brendan Ferns combo in the middle
— After OU opened as a one-point favorite, the line has grown to three. The over/under has ballooned to 86 points.
— The press box is packed with NFL general managers and scouts, so there could be draft money on the line.
— My pregame Five Questions column, including the most offensive line-sounding quote ever, courtesy of Oklahoma’s Ben Powers:
“What gets me going is I love to take a grown man’s dreams, and I love to crush his dreams,” said guard Ben Powers, who started the previous two wins vs. West Virginia. Those were a 59-31 blowout last year and a 56-28 road win in 2016.
“I love dominating, and that’s why I do what I do,” he said. “It’s fun to know that you’ve taken the breath out of someone and they don’t want to go no more. It’s fun to make someone quit. It’s fun putting your boot on someone’s throat.”
— Here are our MetroNews staff predictions. I predicted another OU victory, 49-42.