West Virginia came up with a much-needed 32-28 win over Kansas on Saturday in their first conference matchup of the year.
A lengthy weather delay had teams sitting in the locker room for nearly two hours before what shaped up to be a thrilling ending in the fourth quarter.
WVU quarterback Garrett Greene struggled to throw the ball throughout most of the game, with two interceptions but turned it around in the fourth quarter with two late touchdown passes. His biggest impact came on the ground as he extended drives and plays. He finished 15 of 30 in the air for 295 yards and was West Virginia’s leading rusher with 87 yards on the ground.
Hudson Clement finished as West Virginia’s top receiver. He had 150 yards on seven catches. Kole Taylor and Rodney Gallagher hauled in touchdowns.
The Mountaineer defense held Jalon Daniels to under 200 yards in the air, picking him off once and sealing the game on a late strip sack. However, the Jayhawks had their way on the ground with nearly 250 rushing yards.
In their first drive, the Mountaineers moved the ball quickly. They ran what seemed like an up-tempo offense and eventually made it into Kansas territory. However, the drive stopped after an unsuccessful third, and long around midfield, they punted it away, pinning the Jayhawks back deep in their own territory.
Kansas picked up 14 yards and two first downs on their first down. TJ Jackson came up with a big sack on third down for West Virginia to force KU to punt the ball away. Halfway through the first, the two teams were deadlocked at 0 after two unsuccessful first drives.
Wasting little time, WVU put together a scoring drive in 1:10 following the Kansas punt. It started with back-to-back Hudson Clement receptions for 38 yards and 39 yards before Jahiem White punched in for a touchdown. It was three plays for 78 yards to get the Mountaineers on the board first.
Nearing the end of the first quarter, Tyrin Bradley picked off Daniels to give WVU the ball back and make their first interception of the year. After driving down the field, West Virginia was left with a decision on fourth and five to begin the second. They ultimately went for it and got it, but just a couple of plays later, Greene was picked off by Cobee Bryant.
Following the takeaway, Kansas gradually drove down the field and ended up with a touchdown to tie the game at seven. A first-down catch for Kansas in West Virginia territory that was initially ruled incomplete was overturned. On the very next play, Devin Neal took it up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown.
With under two minutes until halftime, Kansas punted it away, backed up in its territory. After a decent return, the Mountaineers were set up in excellent field position, looking to go up before heading to the locker rooms. In eight plays, they went 34 yards and scored on a five-yard Greene rushing touchdown to go up 14-7.
Kansas received the second-half kickoff and tied it up at 14. In just under six minutes, they went 75 yards on 10 plays. A seven-yard Luke Grimm touchdown grab capped the drive.
Looking to answer the score, West Virginia had a big chunk play on the next play from scrimmage, a 52-yard Traylon Ray reception. Nothing would come of it though, as WVU failed to pick up a first following that play and opted to attempt a field goal, which was successful.
On the next drive, the Jayhawks took the lead right back. Four of the five plays on the drive were rushing plays, making up for 68 of the 75 yards. Daniel Hishaw rushed in for an 11-yard touchdown to put Kansas up 21-17 with the third quarter winding down.
WVU was looking to answer the score but was unable to. After a big run, Greene was hit while throwing and threw an interception as he had Ray open. The Mountaineers’ defense made a big stop, forcing KU to punt the ball away.
The game was suspended at 2:46 p.m. with 10:43 left in the fourth quarter. It resumed at 4:44 p.m., the delay lasted just under two hours.
Coming out of the delay, West Virginia received a punt. The Mountaineers were unable to get anything going and went three-and-out giving the ball right back to Kansas.
Kansas was close to going three-and-out, but it converted on fourth and one. The run once again hurt West Virginia’s defense, as Grimm took an end-around for 32 yards.
Needing to respond, WVU got down the field and scored. Taylor reeled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Greene. The Mountaineers went for two to make it a field goal game and got it with somewhat of a trick play, making the game 28-25 Kansas.
After stopping Kansas, the Mountaineers got the ball back with around two minutes left to play. Greene helped the team down the field scrambling before he hit Gallagher for a big touchdown to put them up 32-28 late.
WVU sealed it with a fumble recovery and they took home the win. It was Tyrin Bradley on the knockout as Daniels was throwing. West Virginia left Saturday with a 32-28 victory.
The Mountaineers improve to .500, 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in Big 12 play. They have an upcoming bye week and then will travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to take on Oklahoma State.
