West Virginia had the game won and then they didn’t.
After a miracle 50-yard touchdown on 4th and 10 from Garrett Greene to Hudson Clement, it seemed as though the Mountaineers had the game won.
West Virginia led Houston 39-35, and they were 12 seconds away from their fifth consecutive victory and improving to 3-0 in Big 12 play. 12 seconds later though, West Virginia was left devastated as Houston quarterback Donovan Smith connected on a 49-yard Hail Mary pass to Stephon Johnson to give the Cougars a 41-39 win.
It looked for a split second that the Mountaineers would survive on the road. West Virginia’s defense which had helped get the team out to a 4-1 start struggled throughout the second half. The offense, which had underperformed throughout the first month of the season seemed to be bailing the defense out, until the defense couldn’t make the final stop.
Houston quarterback Donovan Smith passed for 253 yards and four touchdowns on 21 for 27 passing, adding 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
West Virginia quarterback passed for a career-high 391 yards, as well as two touchdowns and an interception. Greene had 47 yards and two scores on the ground as well.
Greene would be called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the touchdown pass to Clement, putting West Virginia back 15 yards on the kickoff. The kickoff from Michael Hayes bounced over Stacy Sneed’s head originally, but he returned it 18 yards to the Houston 43 with seven seconds to play.
Smith found Dalton Carnes for a quick pass and catch for eight yards, setting up one chance at a Hail Mary pass. Smith then launched it down to a group of players at the goal line. The ball was bounced around before the ball ended in Johnson’s hands giving Houston their first Big 12 victory and former West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen a win in his first matchup against his former squad.
West Virginia was looking for a fast start on defense and to find their footing on offense. They did both of those things early in the game, as the defense forced a punt on the first drive of the game before the Mountaineer offense drove down the field.
West Virginia went 16 plays on their first drive, chewing up almost eight minutes of game time. Greene connected with Devin Carter for a 21-yard completion on third down, while Greene also rushed for 22 yards on the drive. WVU would settle for a 27-yard field goal from Michael Hayes to take a 3-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hayes would be unable to get the ball away from Matthew Golden. Golden fielded the kick at his own goal line and returned it up the right side of the field for a 100-yard kick return touchdown, giving Houston a 7-3 lead.
Greene and company would get the ball back and go right down the field again.
Greene used a third-down pass to Preston Fox for 31 yards to set West Virginia up in Houston territory. Five plays later, Greene would be the lead blocker, allowing CJ Donaldson to score a 5-yard touchdown, his fifth score of the season.
West Virginia entered the second quarter with a 10-7 lead, as their offense would be unable to move the ball for the remainder of the first half.
The Mountaineers had 41 yards of total offense in the second quarter, after registering 156 in the first quarter. Greene completed one pass for six yards, while WVU seemed to move backwards more often than not.
Houston’s offense would not look much different than West Virginia’s as they averaged 2.5 yards per play until their final drive of the half.
West Virginia took over with 3:29 to play at their own 10, but they went three and out, including a rush that went for a loss of two yards on third down. On the punt, Houston would be called for a penalty which knocked out a punt return touchdown, but they still had good field position, with the ball at their own 44.
Houston’s offense figured their first half struggles out, as quarterback Donovan Smith went 5 for 5 passing on the drive, ending it with a 2-yard touchdown rush after a pass interference penalty on the Mountaineers set the Cougars up at the WVU two.
Houston carried a 14-10 lead into halftime.
On the first drive of the second half, West Virginia faced a third and long. Greene would find Carter for a gain of 19. On the next play, Greene handed the ball off to Jaylen Anderson, who pitched it back to Greene, who then threw a 35-yard touchdown to Traylon Ray, the first of his career. WVU needed just 1:47 of time in the second half to retake the lead at 17-14.
Houston in the second half would score on three consecutive drives. They had a 15-yard touchdown to Manjack, an 8-yard touchdown to Sam Brown, and a 21-yard touchdown to Johnson.
West Virginia trailed 35-24 with 7:24 to play after the 21-yard score to Johnson. Greene led the Mountaineers down the field, using an 8-yard touchdown rush as well as a 7-yard pass to Ray to complete the two-point conversion as the Mountaineers were able to get back into the game.
West Virginia was penalized eight times for 84 yards, including the 15-yard penalty which helped aid the short field for the Cougars. West Virginia finished with 546 yards of total offense compared to Houston’s 393.
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