Texas Overcomes West Virginia Hot Start for 42-31 Win
With the big match up in the Cotton Bowl next weekend against Oklahoma, this could have been the perfect time for West Virginia to catch the Longhorns napping. With two weeks to prepare for this game, both teams looked hungry to remain undefeated in conference play.
West Virginia wasted no time taking their deep shot as quarterback Austin Kendall found Mr. Do-It-All Sam James for a 44-yard touchdown strike to go up 7-0. Texas would sputter on their first drive with a missed field goal, but thanks to an Austin Kendall interception, Texas benefited from great field position as Sam Ehlinger found Malcolm Epps for a 22-yard touchdown connection to tie the game up at seven.
Both offenses would trade a pair of punts before the Mountaineers would punch in another score that was set up by a 44-yard pass from Austin Kendall to T.J. Simmons, and then Kendall would waltz into the end zone to put his team up 14-7. But Sam Ehlinger would not be outdone. Texas responded with back-to-back touchdown drives thanks to a 13-yard pass to John Burt and a 13-yard run by Ehlinger to help the Longhorns lead 21-14 at the half.
The two teams would beat up on each other in the third quarter thanks to a couple of interceptions as we just saw one field goal by West Virginia before the offensive fireworks would explode in the fourth.
West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall threw back-to-back picks to start the fourth quarter and unfortunately for him, Texas would capitalize off those turnovers scoring two touchdowns with Devin Duvernay scoring as well as offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi, off a trick play, to give Texas a 35-17 lead with 10:31 left in the game.
Then with just 3:57 left to play, Austin Kendall found T.J. Simmons for a quick score to pull within eleven but on the very next Texas drive, quarterback Sam Ehlinger ripped off a 23-yard touchdown run to seal the deal. The Mountaineers would score again late but the turnovers were just too much to overcome as Texas left Morgantown with a 42-31 victory.
Both teams are back in action next week. The Longhorns will face Oklahoma in the highly-anticipated Red River Rivalry and the Mountaineers will host Iowa State.
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