Tag: WVU

Nov 23, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III (24) makes a catch for a touchdown against the UCF Knights during the second quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

West Virginia knocks off UCF for second straight season

Posted on | by Field Level Media

CJ Donaldson Jr. rushed for two touchdowns as West Virginia became bowl eligible with a 31-21 win over UCF Knights in the Big 12 matchup Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va.

The third-leading rusher for the Mountaineers (6-5, 5-3 Big 12), Donaldson scored twice in just over a half, giving him a team-high nine touchdowns, as the home team forged a 28-7 lead that the Knights (4-7, 2-6) couldn’t overcome.

The junior running back from Miami carried 19 times for 96 yards. Jahiem White had 12 carries for 54 yards and a score.

In his team’s second consecutive win against the Knights, Garrett Greene went 13 of 21 passing for 118 yards with a score to Rodney Gallagher III. The senior quarterback rushed 18 times for 49 yards.

The Mountaineers became bowl eligible for the fourth time under coach Neal Brown.

Eliminated from bowl contention for the first time since 2015, UCF received a game-high 130 yards on 16 carries from conference-leading rusher RJ Harvey, who scored two touchdowns.

Dylan Rizk was 11 of 21 passing for 172 yards and a touchdown toss to Kobe Hudson.

On its first possession, the Mountaineers traveled 68 yards on eight plays, capping it when Donaldson plunged in from 1 yard out at 10:34. White later produced a short scoring run inside the quarter’s final two minutes.

UCF came alive in the second quarter and got a key fourth-and-3 conversion from backup quarterback Jacurri Brown on a 4-yard run. On the next play, Harvey rambled in from 2 yards at 8:37.

However, with just 15 seconds remaining in the half, a 71-yard drive ended with Greene connecting with Gallagher from 12 yards for a 21-7 cushion.

The home side tacked on another score to open the second half when White’s 35-yard scamper set up Donaldson’s second score from 1 yard out at 12:10 for a three-score edge.

UCF turned to the air trailing 28-7, and Rizk lofted a perfect 45-yard strike to Hudson at 5:38.

At 12:15 of the fourth, West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes II nailed a 35-yard field goal, but Harvey’s second tally, a 9-yarder, made it 31-21 with 5:20 remaining.

A failed onside kick then allowed the Mountaineers to run out the clock.

–Field Level Media

Oct 26, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats running back Quali Conley (7) fumbles the ball during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Backup QB Nicco Marchiol leads West Virginia past Arizona

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West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol, playing in place of injured Garrett Greene, led the Mountaineers to a 31-26 victory Saturday over Arizona in a Big 12 game at Tucson, Ariz.

Greene and starting left tackle Wyatt Milum, both of whom suffered upper-body injuries in last week’s loss to Kansas State at home, did not make the trip to Tucson.

Marchiol, from nearby Chandler, Ariz., completed 18 of 22 pass attempts for 198 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Arizona (3-5, 1-4) has lost four straight games.

West Virginia (4-4, 3-2) took its biggest lead of the game, 31-13, on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Marchiol to Traylon Ray with 13:31 remaining.

Noah Fifita completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to All-American candidate Tetairoa McMillan on Arizona’s next possession.

McMillan’s first touchdown reception since the season opener against New Mexico cut the lead to 31-19 with 8:52 remaining.

McMillan finished with 202 yards on 10 receptions.

Fifita compiled 133 of his 294 passing yards in the fourth quarter. He completed 21 of 32 pass attempts with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

After a three-and-out for West Virginia, Arizona cut the lead to 31-26 on Fifita’s 3-yard scramble for a touchdown with 4:35 left.

Fifita completed a 49-yard pass to McMillan in the drive.

West Virginia was able to run out the clock after Marchiol completed a 9-yard pass to Jaylen Anderson on a third-and-7 play at the Mountaineer 39 with 2:02 left.

Marchiol led West Virginia to 17-7 halftime lead completing 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards with a touchdown.

West Virginia built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter behind a Michael Hayes II 45-yard field goal and a successful fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown.

The holder Leighton Bechdel took the snap and ran 14 yards for the score with 31 seconds left in the first quarter.

Arizona put together a 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 7:57 off the clock.

Quali Conley, who fumbled away the ball at the West Virginia 27 to end the previous possession, finished the lengthy drive with a 1-yard scoring run that cut the lead to 10-7 with 7:34 left in the second quarter.

–Field Level Media

Oct 12, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Iowa State Cyclones running back Carson Hansen (26) is tackled by West Virginia Mountaineers safety Jaheem Joseph (3) during the second quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

No. 11 Iowa State pulls away in 4th to beat West Virginia

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Carson Hansen rushed for three touchdowns Saturday night and Rocco Becht threw for 265 yards as No. 11 Iowa State improved to 6-0 with a 28-16 win over West Virginia in Morgantown, W. Va.

Hansen picked up 96 yards on 20 carries for the Cyclones, who improved to 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference. Becht completed 18 of 26 passes with a touchdown on the night the Mountaineers honored his father, Anthony, by inducting him into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Garrett Greene completed 18 of 32 attempts for 206 yards and a 10-yard touchdown strike to Jahiem White with 1:10 left in the game. But Greene threw two damaging interceptions that Iowa State cashed in to break the game open during the fourth quarter.

The Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1) were on the move late in the third quarter at the Cyclones’ 29 when Greene forced a pass over the middle that Jamison Patton intercepted. Ten plays later, Hansen powered in from the 3 to give Iowa State a 21-10 advantage with 11:57 left in the game.

Greene then threw his next pass to the Cyclones’ Jontez Williams, teeing up the visitors for a short field at the West Virginia 33. Hansen sealed the outcome by bulling in from the 2 with 4:42 remaining.

Coming off consecutive conference wins, including a 38-14 pasting at Oklahoma State last week, the Mountaineers got off to a promising start. They opened the game with a 14-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes, scoring on White’s 8-yard run.

But the Cyclones figured things out in the second quarter. Becht tied the score less than two minutes into the period when he found Jaylin Noel for a 60-yard touchdown pass. Iowa State unfurled a 17-play, 91-yard drive on its next possession that Hansen capped with an 11-yard run at the 2:39 mark.

West Virginia answered right before halftime when Greene hit Kole Taylor for 24 yards and Traylon Ray for 13. That set up Michael Hayes II for a 43-yard field goal with 32 seconds left, cutting the Cyclones’ lead to 14-10 at the break.

–Field Level Media

Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel (8) warms up before a Bedlam college football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.

QB uncertain No. 17 Oklahoma will respond vs WVU

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With three games to play, West Virginia and Oklahoma are on the edge of the race for a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Even so, the teams are in much different places entering a matchup Saturday in Norman, Okla.

West Virginia (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) has built some momentum in recent weeks, winning back-to-back games.

“I think we’re starting to hit our stride,” Mountaineers coach Neal Brown said. “I think the story of this season is far from written.”

It’s a significant turnaround from West Virginia’s two-game losing streak in October.

No. 17 Oklahoma (7-2, 4-2) dropped back-to-back, one-possession games — a 38-33 loss to Kansas on Oct. 28 and a 27-24 loss to Oklahoma State last weekend in the expected finale of the Bedlam series.

Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel said he hopes the team will respond after falling out of the College Football Playoff race.

“I don’t know yet,” Gabriel said. “I think we’ll know come Saturday. That’ll be a big deciding factor in how we respond.”

For the Sooners, the biggest recent difference has been turnovers.

During its 7-0 start, Oklahoma had five turnovers.

In the consecutive losses leading into this matchup, the Sooners have six giveaways — four fumbles and two interceptions.

“When you turn the ball over, everything else just gets highlighted all the other mistakes that are there, even through 7-0 – nobody’s seeing that,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said.

West Virginia comes in with the No. 7 rushing offense in the country, averaging 218 yards per game.

In their previous two games, the Mountaineers have averaged 311 rushing yards. West Virginia leading rusher CJ Donaldson has rushed for 223 yards in that span while Jaheim White has rushed for 231.

“They have good chemistry out there on the field when you watch them,” Venables said, noting his belief that the Mountaineers’ line is the strength of its offense.. “They have a lot of pre-snap communication. They don’t turn people loose. They do a great job of protecting the passer.”

Last season, West Virginia beat the Sooners for the first time in the Big 12 era, 23-20, in Morgantown on a last-second field goal. Oklahoma is 7-1 all-time against the Mountaineers in Norman.

The Mountaineers have been without starting right tackle Doug Nester and wide receiver Hudson Clement in recent weeks.

Brown said Nester was closing in on returning while Clement, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, could’ve been used against BYU had it been absolutely necessary but that he still wasn’t fully healthy.

Oklahoma has it own injury concerns.

Weakside linebacker Danny Stutsman, the Sooners’ leading tackler, missed last week’s game with an ankle injury while running back Tawee Walker played sparingly against the Cowboys. He suffered a leg injury the week before against Kansas.

Venables was hopeful both would be ready Saturday, along with cornerback Gentry Williams, who suffered a shoulder injury against Oklahoma State.

–Field Level Media

Oct 12, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene (6) hands off the ball to running back CJ Donaldson Jr. (4) during the first quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

WVU and UCF both looking to establish the run

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West Virginia coach Neal Brown succinctly summed up Saturday’s Big 12 Conference road game against UCF in Orlando, Fla.

“Both teams need a win,” Brown said during his weekly press conference Monday.

That is an understatement, given that both the Mountaineers (4-3, 2-2) and Knights (3-4, 0-4) are riding losing streaks and are desperate to get back on track with the regular season approaching its final month.

West Virginia enters Saturday’s game as a loser of two straight — at Houston on Oct. 12 and at home last weekend to Oklahoma State.

The Mountaineers have been especially leaky on defense the past two weeks, giving up 41 to the Cougars and 48 to the Cowboys.

The task won’t get easier for West Virginia against a UCF offense that is fifth in the Big 12 at an average of 34.1 points per game.

Brown said UCF’s rushing attack, which is second in the conference at 232.4 yards per game, is among the best in the country.

“They’re creative with it, and you’ve got to defend the whole field,” he said. “They are going to use a lot of different motions and things like that to get the receivers involved in the run game. We’ve got to handle tempo.”

In its first season in the Big 12, UCF is still looking for its first conference win after four straight losses.

The Knights came close last week in what might have been their best performance of the season, falling 31-29 at unbeaten and sixth-ranked Oklahoma.

Knights coach Gus Malzahn hopes that performance can catapult his squad to bowl contention for the rest of the season.

While UCF has had success running the ball this year, Malzahn said West Virginia has a formidable rushing attack of its own.

The Mountaineers are fifth in the Big 12 at 191.4 yards per game on the ground.

“They are No. 7 in the country in time of possession,” Malzahn said. “They run the football, they get off the field, and they are good on third down. They’re No. 15 in the country in penalties, so they are a disciplined team.”

West Virginia swept the previous two meetings in 2003 and 2004.

–Field Level Media

Oct 12, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars wide receiver Matthew Golden (2) runs the ball back for a touchdown on a kick off during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Hail Mary TD pass on final play lifts Houston over West Virginia

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Donovan Smith hit Stephon Johnson Jr. with a 49-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass on the game’s final play to lift Houston to a 41-39 win over visiting West Virginia on Thursday in a wild Big 12 Conference game.

The scoring play came after the Mountaineers’ Garrett Greene found Hudson Clement on a 50-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 12 seconds to play.

Smith had just seven seconds to work with after a kickoff return to the UH 43. After an 8-yard completion, Smith threw to the end zone as time expired, where Houston’s Joseph Manjack IV leaped and tipped the ball to Johnson, who fell across the goal line for the winning points.

The Cougars (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) won their first game as a member of the Big 12 Conference after two league losses to begin their inaugural season in the conference. Smith finished with 253 yards and four touchdowns passing.

Greene ended up passing for 391 yards and two touchdowns and added 47 yards and two scores on the ground as West Virginia (4-2, 2-1) had a four-game winning streak snapped.

The Mountaineers struck first on a 27-yard field goal by Michael Haynes at the 4:16 mark of the first quarter. Houston needed just 13 seconds to respond, the time elapsed in a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Matthew Golden.

West Virginia went back to the front with a 5-yard scoring run by CJ Donaldson with 13 seconds to play in the opening quarter. Houston’s offense finally broke through on Smith’s 2-yard TD run that gave the Cougars a 14-10 lead with 28 seconds to go until halftime.

Greene hit Traylon Ray with a 35-yard scoring pass on the Mountaineers’ opening possession of the third quarter to push West Virginia to a 17-14 advantage. Houston answered with a 15-yard TD pass from Smith to Manjack with 5:15 to play in the third.

West Virginia made it 24-21 with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Greene with 14:16 remaining in the game.

A Smith 5-yard scoring throw to Samuel Brown with 12:02 left pushed the Cougars into the lead, 28-24, and a 21-yard Smith-to-Johnson TD pass with 7:28 to play added to the advantage.

But West Virginia responded, cutting the lead to three points, 35-32, on an 8-yard touchdown run by Greene and a two-point conversion pass from Greene to Ray with 3:42 to play, setting the stage for the furious finish.

–Field Level Media

Sep 2, 2023; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) drops back to throw against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Drew Allar shines as No. 7 Penn St. downs West Virginia

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Drew Allar threw for a career-best 325 yards and three touchdowns as No. 7 Penn State captured a 38-15 victory over West Virginia in State College, Pa., on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.

In his first collegiate start, Allar completed 21 of 29 passes and didn’t turn the ball over. His favorite target was Harrison Wallace Jr., who caught seven passes for 72 yards.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith provided big-time playmaking for the Nittany Lions, hauling in four catches for 123 yards and two scores. Nicholas Singleton paced the Penn State rushing attack with 70 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Garrett Greene completed 16 of 27 passes for 162 yards for the Mountaineers. CJ Donaldson Jr. powered West Virginia’s running game with 81 yards and a score on 18 carries.

After WVU’s opening series ended in a punt, Penn State got on the board quickly as Allar found Lambert-Smith, and the wideout scampered 72 yards for a touchdown. The Mountaineers responded after an exchange of possessions with a nine-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a goal-line dive from Donaldson for a touchdown.

But then Penn State scored 24 straight points, taking a commanding lead midway through the fourth quarter after Allar found Malik McClain for a 25-yard touchdown.

West Virginia finally responded after that score, with Greene finding the end zone on a 1-yard keeper. However, with just 3:34 left to play, there wasn’t enough time left for the Mountaineers to erase what was then a 16-point deficit. With backups in for the final series, Penn State scored once more, as Beau Pribula rushed for his first career touchdown.

It was the first meeting between Penn State and West Virginia since 1992. The two sides played each other in almost every year between 1940 and 1992, but the series stopped when Penn State joined the Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions will visit the Mountaineers in a return game next season on Aug. 31 in Morgantown, W.Va.

–Field Level Media

OSU's Spencer Sanders (3) walks off the field after an interception during a Bedlam college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Oklahoma won 28-13. osujournal -- print1

Oklahoma State, WVU, try to finish strong, end lulls

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The last few weeks certainly haven’t been what West Virginia and Oklahoma State had in mind in terms of finishing the season strong.

Both have been stumbling to the finish line of the 2022 season, but one at least will have a chance to end Big 12 play on a winning note when the teams meet on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.

West Virginia (4-7, 2-6 Big 12) enters having lost four of its last five games, including a 48-31 home loss to Kansas State last week.

Defense has been the main problem in that stretch for the Mountaineers, who have given up an average of 37.6 points per game in those contests.

West Virginia has managed to put up more than 31 points a game this season behind quarterback JT Daniels, a transfer from Georgia who completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 2,107 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

However, Daniels was benched for last week’s game against Kansas State in favor of Garrett Greene. It’s not clear yet who will be starting at QB against Oklahoma State.

West Virginia coach Neal Brown said a big reason for his team’s offensive production has been improvement along the team’s offensive line.

“We’ve gotten to where we are playing pretty well up front,” Brown said. “We blocked (Kansas State) well.”

On the other side, Oklahoma State has lost three of its last four games to see a season that at one time had promise of a Big 12 title and possible berth in the College Football Playoff go to one that’ll result in a mid-tier bowl game.

The Cowboys (7-4, 4-4) are coming off a 28-13 loss at rival Oklahoma in what was the continuation of offensive struggles over the past four games.

A traditionally prolific Oklahoma State offense has averaged just 12.3 points a game in its last four contests.

“There’s times when you watch them on tape (and) they’re playing as good as most teams in this league,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “And then there’s times I’m sure that Neal would wish they would play better, (same with) our team.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 12, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers athletic director Shane Lyons celebrates with West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: West Virginia fires AD Shane Lyons

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West Virginia fired athletic director Shane Lyons on Monday and named Rob Alsop interim AD, according to reports.

Lyons, the school’s athletic director since 2015, hired embattled football coach Neal Brown, whose job status is also considered tenuous. Brown is 21-24 as head coach of the Mountaineers. WVU is 4-6 this season.

Alsop comes from outside the athletic department as university vice president for strategic initiatives and is not viewed as a candidate for the permanent job.

Budget issues were a major factor, ESPN reported, noting Brown’s in-season buyout is around $20 million.

The likely approach for WVU would be allowing Brown to coach the final two regular-season games: Saturday in Morgantown vs. Kansas State and Nov. 26 at Oklahoma State.

–Field Level Media

Pitt begins life without quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) on Thursday night (file photo/Imagn).

No. 17 Pitt draws big backing in Backyard Brawl

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No. 17 Pitt opens the season Thursday night in the first playing of the Backyard Brawl rivalry with West Virginia since 2011.

Host Pittsburgh is favored by 7 to 7.5 points and getting big backing from the public in a meeting of former USC quarterbacks.

The primetime Thursday game is the most wagered-on event this week at both BetRivers and BetMGM ahead of Saturday’s matchup of Top 5 teams in Columbus between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame.

Thursday’s game is the debut of former Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis, the chosen replacement for NFL draft pick Kenny Pickett (Steelers). He draws West Virginia’s new starting QB — and fellow former Trojans signal-caller — JT Daniels.

The Pitt money line (-275 as of Thursday morning) is the most popular bet by ticket count at BetRivers, while Pitt to cover -7.5 is the most popular wager by total handle.

Pitt -7 is the most bet game and bet type (spread) at BetMGM.

–Field Level Media