MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Due to thunderstorms, West Virginia and Duquesne endured a weather delay that lasted 1 hour and 54 minutes on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.
As the storm passed through Morgantown, the final lightning strike would be in the form of Hudson Clement. Clement caught five passes for 177 yards and scored three touchdowns in WVU’s 56-17 win over Duquesne.
The delay was called with 11:38 to play in the second quarter and WVU leading 14-10. Things were tight early on for the Mountaineers, who hurt themselves in the first quarter.
Following the delay, West Virginia’s offense put things out of reach, as they went on three more drives to end the second quarter, all ending in touchdowns.
The first came on a 70-yard pass from Garrett Greene to Clement, his second touchdown of the day. Clement would not be done as on the next drive for the Mountaineers, Greene found Clement again. This time it was a 46-yard connection for a score.
The West Virginia defense then forced a three and out, as the Mountaineers got the ball back with 2:50 to play.
Greene would be in a true two-minute situation and faced a fourth down. Greene gave it to CJ Donaldson, who picked up the first, before Greene scrambled for an 18-yard rush on the next play.
Greene would connect with Morgantown native Preston Fox on a 22-yard score, giving West Virginia a 35-10 lead to end the second quarter.
The three drives from WVU after the delay lasted a total of 4:50, and WVU used 13 plays to go 195 yards, and score three touchdowns. Greene’s day would also end at the same point as he finished the day passing for 240 yards on 10-for-18 passing, with four touchdown passes. He added 33 yards on the ground as well.
Greene’s four touchdown passes were the first time a WVU quarterback has thrown four touchdown passes in a game since Will Grier did it on Nov. 23, 2018, against Oklahoma.
WVU hurt themselves early on in the game, as they forced a stop on the opening possession of the game. Duquesne punted, but WVU’s Jacolby Spells touched the ball as the Dukes recovered in WVU territory.
Duquesne didn’t fumble the opportunity, scoring on a 38-yard touchdown to take a early 7-0 lead. WVU got on the board through Clement, who scored on a 14-yard reception from Greene. Jaylen Anderson tallied the second score for the Mountaineers, on an 8-yard scoring rush.
After redshirting last season, the Martinsburg, West Virginia, native Clement’s catch was his first-career reception, and it was also his first-career touchdown catch.
Duquesne was able to find open receivers early in the game, with Andrew Wilson-Lamp in coverage on the first touchdown. Prior to Duquesne making the field goal, they had scored a touchdown, but it was called back due to offensive pass interference.
The Dukes would add a score late in the third quarter, as quarterback Darius Perrantes found Tedy Affu on back-to-back passes. They connected on a 45-yard pass as Affu found a soft spot in WVU’s defense, before scoring on a 16-yard touchdown.
Perrantes threw for 220 total yards and two touchdowns, completing 45 percent of his passes, while also throwing two interceptions.
Backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol got all the offensive snaps in the second half for the Mountaineers, which was expected after WVU took control of the game.
Marchiol was up and down, completing 50 percent of his passes for 75 yards, while rushing for 22 yards a score.
Marchiol led a short touchdown drive as Avery Wilcox recorded one of WVU’s two interceptions on the evening. Marchiol faced a fourth and one from inside the one yard line, and he kept it for a touchdown. The other was from Beanie Bishop.
WVU starting punter Oliver Straw would be hurt in the first quarter and would be seen roaming the sidelines in a walking boot in the second half. Wide receiver Devin Carter did not play for the Mountaineers.
