MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Four Austin Kendall interceptions and a pair of missed field goals told the story as West Virginia fell to Texas, 42-31, at Milan Puskar Stadium late Saturday afternoon.
Texas turned two Kendall interceptions in a three-pass span into 14 points, taking a 35-17 lead with 10:31 left in the fourth quarter.
Texas nickelback B.J. Foster roughly separated receiver Sean Ryan from the ball, then snagged it himself to give the Longhorns the ball at the WVU 18 early in the fourth quarter. Texas needed only three plays to score the touchdown.
Two plays later, Kendall was picked off by D’Shawn Jamison, setting up a four-play, 33-yard Texas touchdown drive.
Follow along with MetroNews for more postgame coverage.
Fourth Quarter
Texas 42, West Virginia 31 (0:48)
Kendall connected with Bryce Wheaton for an empty-calorie 12-yard touchdown pass in the final minute. Texas recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Texas 42, West Virginia 24 (3:03)
Josh Chandler gave Texas 15 free yards with an inexplicable late hit of an offensive lineman, and Sam Ehlinger put the game out of reach for good with a 23-yard touchdown run.
Texas 35, West Virginia 24 (3:57)
It feels like too little, too late, but Kendall hit T.J. Simmons for a 19-yard touchdown to keep a faint murmur of hope alive.
Texas 35, West Virginia 17 (10:31)
Texas dialed up some trickery, throwing a backwards pass to left tackle Samuel Cosmi, who rumbled in untouched for a 12-yard touchdown.
Texas 28, West Virginia 17 (12:42)
Slot receiver Devin Duvernay served as a running back on a 13-yard touchdown run. Texas only needed to drive 18 yards for the score.
Third Quarter
Texas 21, West Virginia 17 (1:59)
Both an opportunity gained and lost for the Mountaineers, who started the possession at the Texas 14 following a long Keith Washington interception return with a Texas personal foul tacked on.
West Virginia only gained two yards, but Staley overcame two earlier misses for a 30-yard field goal.
Second Quarter
Texas 21, West Virginia 14 (3:28)
Sam Ehlinger kept it for a 13-yard touchdown run right through the middle of West Virginia’s defense.
The six-play, 80-yard drive came following a missed Evan Staley 36-yard field goal attempt. WVU’s defense is beginning to wear down against an offense that has had the ball for 10 more minutes.
Texas 14, West Virginia 14 (7:56)
John Burt was wide-open for a 13-yard touchdown catch from Sam Ehlinger after a miscommunication between cornerback Keith Washington and linebacker Josh Chandler.
The Longhorns did a nice job responding to West Virginia’s touchdown with an 11-play, 69-yard drive.
West Virginia 14, Texas 7 (12:59)
Austin Kendall literally skipped his way into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown after getting the entire Texas defense to bite on a read-option play.
The big play of the drive was a 44-yard connection from Kendall to TJ Simmons, with Simmons gaining most of that yardage after the catch. Leddie Brown opened the possession with an impressive 11-yard run.
First Quarter
West Virginia 7, Texas 0 (13:31)
The Mountaineers struck quickly with the help of two Texas penalties. WVU needed only four plays to go 76 yards, capped off by an extraordinary Sam James snag on a 44-yard Austin Kendall touchdown pass. James somehow kept the ball off the turf with a diving catch in the end zone.
Texas 7, West Virginia 7 (5:52)
Texas made West Virginia pay for a baffling Austin Kendall interception. Kendall threw into double zone coverage, where he was picked off by Longhorns linebacker Ayodele Adeoye.
Two players later, 6-foot-6, 245-pound receiver Malcolm Epps overpowered freshman corner Tae Mayo for a 22-yard touchdown reception.
Pregame
- Neal Brown certainly made a strong impression with his choice of sport coat.
Neal Brown in the house.
In the immortal words of Warren Zevon, “I’d like to meet his tailor.” pic.twitter.com/XcRaLljKmJ— Alex Hickey (@bigahickey) October 5, 2019
- Junior safety Jake Long is not dressed out for the game. The Mountaineers are already without spear JoVanni Stewart, who is missing the game for personal reasons. Long has played sparingly with two tackles in four games.
- True freshman Tykee Smith is starting for Stewart at the spear. Smith had been playing as Sean Mahone’s backup at strong safety. Junior Noah Guzman will back up Mahone today.
- Texas coach Tom Herman said that Longhorns wide receiver Collin Johnson would only be used “in an emergency.” Johnson is recovering from a hamstring that kept him out of the Oklahoma State game two weeks ago.