MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Exactly one week after surrendering two late touchdowns to Pitt in a 38-34 loss, West Virginia flipped the script Saturday in its Big 12 Conference opener against Kansas.
Trailing by 11 points, the Mountaineers outscored the Jayhawks 15-0 over the final 3:27, and in the process rallied for a 32-28 victory in a contest delayed for 1 hour and 58 minutes due to lightning early in the fourth quarter.
“Most things even out. We had a game last week that we really should’ve won up 10 with under 5, but then we came back and flipped the script this week,” West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said. “That’s really the way sports work.”
The winning touchdown came on a 15-yard pass from Garrett Greene to Rodney Gallagher, marking the first career TD for the sophomore from nearby Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
It capped off a 67-yard drive, and allowed the Mountaineers to lead by four with 26 seconds remaining.
The verdict wasn’t sealed until Tyrin Bradley sacked KU quarterback Jalon Daniels and forced a fumble that he also recovered on the Mountaineers’ 48-yard line with 8 seconds left.
“I had a beat on the snap count maybe the start of the second half,” Bradley said. “I knew if I could get off the ball, I was going to be able to make a play. The right side is my favorite side to rush on.”
After the Jayhawks (1-3, 0-1) gained the first two-possession lead of the game at 28-17 courtesy of Luke Grimm’s 32-yard touchdown run on a reverse, things looked bleak at best for WVU, which had 5:39 to make up an 11-point deficit.
The Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0) then put together a 75-yard drive in 2:12, getting a 26-yard pass from Greene to Gallagher on the series, which ended with Greene throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to uncovered tight end Kole Taylor. Trailing by five, WVU went for two and converted it when wideout Traylon Ray threw a pass to Taylor, who made a nice catch and managed to stay inbounds.
“Garrett was special in the 2-minute drill,” Brown said. “I can’t really say it any different.”
KU got the ball back and had a chance to seal the victory by gaining multiple first downs. Instead, tailback Devin Neal carried three times for 5 yards, including a 1-yard loss on third-and-4.
That led to Damon Greaves’ fifth punt of the contest, and the Mountaineers drove the necessary 67 yards to take their first lead since 17-14.
“Garrett was up and down until it was winning time,” Brown said, “and when it was winning time, he won.”
The game went to a lightning delay (WVU’s second in three home games this year) with 10:43 remaining and the Jayhawks facing fourth-and-7 from their 49.
However, the Mountaineers were unable to record a first down on their first series after the delay, while Kansas rushed six times for 54 yards when it regained possession, including Grimm’s dash to the end zone for the 11-point lead.
WVU produced the game’s first points on its second offensive sequence on Jahiem White’s 1-yard touchdown run. It followed completions of 38 and 39 yards, respectively, from Greene to receiver Hudson Clement.
Bradley recorded the Mountaineers’ first interception on the ensuing possession when Daniels was picked off for the seventh time this season at the WVU 27.
West Virginia had a chance to take control of the matchup early, but instead Greene’s pass to Ray was intercepted by Cobee Bryant on second-and-13 from the KU 21.
The Jayhawks then marched 83 yards for their first points, scoring a touchdown on Neal’s 11-yard run to pull even at 7 with 7:31 left in the opening half.
Following an exchange of punts, the Mountaineers appeared to take the lead on Greene’s 19-yard touchdown run, but it was negated by a holding penalty on Brandon Yates — the second time in as many games WVU had a touchdown called back for holding.
This time, the Mountaineers overcame it and scored anyhow as Greene connected with Ray for 18 yards on third-and-14, before the quarterback ran for a 5-yard touchdown 25 seconds before halftime.
The lead was gone by the end of the opening second-half series, which Kansas drove 75 yards in and got even at 14 on Daniels’ 7-yard touchdown pass to Grimm on third-and-goal.
Greene’s 52-yard pass to Ray on the first play of the next possession led to Michael Hayes’ 40-yard field goal and a 17-14 Mountaineer lead.
But Kansas answered immediately with a five play, 75-yard drive, and gained its first lead on Daniel Hishaw’s 11-yard touchdown run that put the visitors in front 21-17 with 4:30 left in the third quarter.
Greene completed 15-of-30 passes for 295 yards and rushed for 87 yards on 17 attempts. The quarterback was responsible for all but 61 of WVU’s rushing yards.
“It’s not something that I go into the week thinking I’m going to scramble more. It kind of just happens,” Greene said.
Clement caught seven passes for 150 yards, including five for 123 in the first half.
“I had a good year last year, but I’m trying to be better going into this year. Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself and try to be perfect,” Clement said. “That’s unrealistic and you just have to go out there and play.”
Gallagher added 41 receiving yards and 12 rushing yards, while playing only offense. Brown noted the wideout/defensive back did not practice defense throughout the week. Instead, he focused solely on offense and found the end zone for the first time in his career.
“I was super excited. It’s hard to take it all in during a moment like that,” Gallagher said. “It was one of the biggest moments of my life.”
The Jayhawks had all sorts of success on the ground as Neal rushed for 110 yards and Hishaw 72, while Kansas totaled 247 rushing yards on 47 attempts.
“They’re the best running team we’ve played,” Brown said. “There’s some give and take committing to more guys being in coverage. We wanted to keep the ball in front of us.”
Daniels completed 15-of-25 passes for 184 yards.
WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley, normally on the sidelines, moved to the coaches box upstairs.
“It was Jordan’s idea,” Brown said. “I thought it was good. When you go in the box, it takes the emotion out of the game and you can see.”
Aubrey Burks left the game for good during the second quarter when he was taken off the field on a stretcher. Burks was on the sideline at the time he was removed from the field, but Brown provided a positive update on the experienced safety.
“He had an upper body injury and it must’ve happened during a play, but he didn’t have the symptoms until he came out,” Brown said. “He’s back and was in the locker room. He’s in good spirits and all the tests were clear, so very thankful for that.”