After taking a two-score lead into halftime, West Virginia would trail Baylor 31-27 with 1:14 to play.
51 seconds later, Jahiem White was streaking up the right sideline, and Garrett Greene found him on a 29-yard touchdown connection as West Virginia used six plays to score a go-ahead touchdown drive, as the Mountaineers survived Baylor’s comeback effort 34-31 from McLane Stadium on Saturday night.
Entering their final drive, the Mountaineers were searching for any signs of life in the second half.
Prior to the final six plays, WVU’s offense had compiled only 74 yards of total offense. On that final drive, Greene and company went 80 yards, ending it with the game-winning touchdown.
Greene found Hudson Clement for a gain of 11 to start the drive, and then found Clement again for a gain of 23 yards to get the final drive started. Then, Greene used his legs to get inside the Baylor 30, before Greene ultimately found White.
It was another good start in the first quarter for Greene and the Mountaineer offense. After punting on their first drive, WVU cashed in on their second drive of the evening.
Greene found Traylon Ray for a 30-yard touchdown reception and would later added three more points with a Michael Hayes field goal early in the second quarter, to take an early 10-0.
Then, Baylor, and specifically Richard Reese, would flip the game upside down.
On the ensuing kickoff after the field goal, Reese returned it 96 yards for a touchdown, and WVU’s double-digit lead, turned to just three. The Mountaineers were quick to answer however on the next drive when Garrett Greene rushed to the right for a 23-yard touchdown, his first of two rushing touchdowns on the night.
Lightning would strike twice though, as, Reese returned his second kickoff in a row for a touchdown to pull the Bears within three, this time traveling 93 yards on the return.
West Virginia would make a field goal and score a touchdown before halftime to increase their lead to 13.
Greene led a two-minute drill right before half, as he found Kole Taylor for 26 yards, Preston Fox for 19 yards, and Greene ultimately finished things off with a 1-yard scoring rush as WVU led 27-14 at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, WVU struggled mightily with just two first downs before the miraculous final drive.
WVU’s offense continuously stalled, while Baylor backup quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who got the start found his rhythm after he struggled in the first half.
Robertson passed for 51 yards in the first half, but threw 164 yards in the second half. Robertson hit Ketron Jackson on a 38-yard touchdown on Baylor’s first possession out of halftime, and then Robertson would lead a six-play drive, as Baylor would take a 28-27 lead on a Dominic Richardson 2-yard touchdown rush with 5:45 to play in the third quarter.
The Bears kicker Isaiah Hankins would make his first field goal of the fourth quarter but miss the second allowing West Virginia to march down the field and score, leaving minimal time on the clock.
In the second half, West Virginia’s offense had five total drives. The first three ended in punts, while the fourth ended in Greene coming up short on a quarterback keeper on fourth down.
West Virginia gets to eight wins for the first time since 2018, and they now await to see what bowl game they will play in to end the 2023 regular season.
Greene finished the day going 16 for 25 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Greene added 103 yards and two scores on 14 rushes.
