Texas Upsets West Virginia
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ offense put the nail in place and the Longhorns’ defense hammered it home.
After Texas built a three-touchdown lead in the second quarter, No. 23 West Virginia was threatening to mount a fourth-quarter comeback.
But Texas defensive end Cedric Reed made perhaps his biggest sack of the season, dropping West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett for a safety and preserving the Longhorns’ 33-16 victory Saturday at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium.
By knocking off the Mountaineers (6-4, 4-3 Big 12), Texas posted the first win over a ranked foe in first-year coach Charlie Strong’s tenure.
The Longhorns’ defense came up with most of the plays it needed in crucial moments, holding West Virginia to 3-of-17 efficiency on third down. The Mountaineers gained 448 yards of total offense, but much of the yardage came in a desperate attempt to make the game competitive in the fourth quarter.
West Virginia faced a two-touchdown deficit when it took over at its own 1 in the
fourth quarter. But there was still 10:41 left in regulation and momentum was leaning in the Mountaineers’ favor.
Until Reed forced it the other way.
“Ced Reed, he came alive tonight,” Strong said. “He gets the one sack and the one before he gets the safety, we ran the same pressure and he kind of hesitated. He hit it at the right time when we get the safety.”
Trickett said he knew wide receiver Kevin White, who finished with 16 catches for 132 yards, would be open on the play but couldn’t get a pass off in time.
“We had a wide open receiver on a double move,” Trickett said. “We just didn’t have enough time to get it to him. It would’ve been a 99-yard touchdown.”
After his safety, Reed came back on West Virginia’s next offensive series and knocked the ball loose from Trickett’s grasp and defensive tackle Paul Boyette Jr. recovered for Texas (5-5, 4-3).
Texas running back Johnathan Gray provided what little flash Texas showed on offense as he rushed for 101 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries.
Texas took control in the second quarter as Gray began to drive the Longhorns’ offense.
Gray shook a tackler in the backfield on first-and-10 from the West Virginia 39 and then burst into the Mountaineers’ secondary running along the Texas sideline. Before the West Virginia pursuit could usher him out of bounds inside the Mountaineers’ 5, Gray touched the ball to the pylon as he was going to the ground, finishing off a 39-yard touchdown run.
“You look at the one run he made down the sideline and he dove for the pylon, that was an unbelievable run,” Strong said.
Gray’s score gave Texas a 14-3 lead with 8:56 left in the second quarter and signaled a clear momentum shift to the Longhorns.
West Virginia went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, allowing Gray and Texas to go right back to work.
After Texas running back Malcolm Brown ignited the drive with a 25-yard run up the middle, Gray again raced into the secondary on first-and-10 from the Horns’ 47. This time, Gray gained 40 before West Virginia cornerback Daryl Worley brought him down at the Mountaineers’ 13.
A defensive pass interference penalty moved Texas to the West Virginia 2 and Gray cruised in from there for his second touchdown of the quarter, putting the Horns up 21-3.
“The first half, we’d have been better off sitting on the bus,” West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. “It makes me want to puke. We just gave them 14 points by doing that.”
Despite Gray’s 85 yards on five carries to that point in the first half, Texas turned to freshman D’Onta Foreman on its final two offensive series of the first half. Foreman couldn’t break loose as Gray had done and Texas settled for kicker Nick Rose missing a 46-yard field goal attempt and making a 39-yarder.
Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs set up Rose’s made field goal with an interception and a 14-yard return to the West Virginia 22. But the Longhorns gained just 1 yard from there, failing to build on the momentum of the takeaway.
