College football rankings, Week 7: Texas No. 15, Texas A&M No. 22 in latest AP Top 25 poll

Despite a 48-45 loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, the Texas Longhorns dropped just four spots in this week's AP Top 25 poll, coming in at No. 15. The Texas A&M Aggies, 30-27 winners over Ole Miss, have jumped back into the AP poll this week at No. 22.

West Virginia vs. Texas 2012: Longhorns can't contain the run in shootout loss

The West Virginia Mountaineers and Texas Longhorns had a shootout on Saturday, with the Mountaineers coming out on top 48-45. The loss was the first of the season for the Longhorns, dropping their record to 4-1.

The West Virginia offense proved to be too much for Texas to handle, racking up 460 total yards. Andrew Buie had a huge day for the Mountaineers, totaling 273 yards by himself. The writers at Burnt Orange Nation took a look at the defensive struggles, and had the following to say about the West Virginia gameplan:

"Even with top running back Shawne Alston out, the Mountaineers ran for nearly 200 yards, including sacks, with Andrew Buie gaining 207 yards on 31 carries. Holgorsen obviously saw something on film that he could exploit and kept after it, running the ball on all but one play on the game-winning touchdown drive following the missed field goal."

Longhorn fans also got their first look at new kicker Anthony Fera, who transferred from Penn State. He didn't exactly provide the fans with what they were expecting from him on Saturday:

"On his first field goal attempt as a Longhorn, he was responsible for the biggest miss in the Mack Brown era."

Up next for the Longhorns will be a trip to Dallas for the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma. That game will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Oct 13.

Texas vs. West Virginia final: Longhorns lose 48-45

The No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers beat the No. 11 Texas Longhorns, 48-45, on Saturday night in Austin.

The Mountaineers raced to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter after quarterback Geno Smith and the WVU offense took advantage of several short fields and a porous Texas defense. The Longhorns responded with 21 points in the second quarter, led by a defensive score and another balanced offensive attack to take a 28-27 lead into the halftime break.

West Virginia's offense proved to be too much for the Longhorns, with Smith leading two long touchdown drives in the second half. Texas had a prime chance to tie the game or take the lead late in the fourth quarter, when Smith's second fumble of the game gave Texas field position deep in Mountaineers territory.The Longhorns would fail to score, however, when Anthony Fera's 41-yard field goal attempt missed wide.

West Virginia scored on the ensuing drive, killing four minutes of the clock and giving Texas just 1:15 for a desperation comeback bid. Longhorns quarterback David Ash was 5-of-6 leading the offense down the field, hitting Marquise Goodwin with just 15 seconds remaining on the clock.

On the ensuing onside kick, the Mountaineers recovered to end the game.

Box Score Hero: Heisman favorite Geno Smith may get the attention, but running back Andrew Buie had 273 total yards of offense and two touchdowns, with 208 yards coming on the ground.

Rankings Ramifications: West Virginia will likely get a boost of a few spots thanks to the big win on the road, while Texas will likely fall four or five spots following the loss.

But Did They Cover? The Longhorns failed to cover, although the game was well over the 52-1/2 point line.

For More On This Game: For more on Horns football, visit Texas blogs Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival, plus SB Nation Dallas. For more on WVU football, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket, plus SB Nation Pittsburgh.

Next Week's Schedule: The Texas Longhorns travel to Dallas for the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma, with kickoff set for 12 p.m. ET. West Virginia will be in Lubbock, facing Texas Tech on Oct. 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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This story was originally published on SB Nation.com.

Texas vs. West Virginia score update: Longhorns leading 38-34 after 3 quarters

The Texas Longhorns lead the West Virginia Mountaineers 38-34, scoring 10 points in the third quarter thanks to another strong team rushing performance.

The No. 11 Longhorns, who led 28-27 coming out of the half, took the opening drive of the third quarter 54 yards on 13 plays. Anthony Fera's 38-yard field goal capped the drive, giving the Longhorns a 31-27 lead midway through the quarter.

No. 8 West Virginia would respond, however, with quarterback Geno Smith quickly leading the offense down the field and hitting Stedman Bailey for 9 yards and giving the Mountaineers a 34-31 lead.

Smith is 20-of-29 for 235 yards and three touchdowns so far in the game.

The Longhorns would use a balanced rushing attack between Joe Bergeron and Johnathan Gray on the next drive, going 58 yards on nine plays. Bergeron finished the drive with a 4-yard run to give Texas a 38-34 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.

Texas vs. West Virginia halftime score: Longhorns lead 28-27

Texas and West Virginia are in a shootout with the Longhorns leading 28-27 at the half.

Texas vs. West Virginia score update: Longhorns trail 14-7

After one quarter of play, Texas trails West Virginia 14-7.

Texas vs. West Virginia: Jordan Hicks among Longhorns out vs. Mountaineers

The No. 11 Texas Longhorns will be without starting linebacker Jordan Hicks at least when they host the No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers in a huge Big 12 clash Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns announced that Hicks would be out when they released their injury report Friday. Also not playing will be running back Malcolm Brown, junior kicker Anthony Vera and defensive tackle Brandon Moore (the last of which missed last week's game against Oklahoma State) probable.

The injuries on the defensive side of the ball are cause for concern amongst Longhorns fans, who by now have heard all about the guy West Virginia has at quarterback. Geno Smith has been the best player in the country for the first five weeks of the season, and last week threw for more touchdowns — eight — than incompletions (six).

Here's what SB Nation's Texas blog, Burnt Orange Nation, had to say about the injury situation:

Moore's presence should help the interior of the line by reducing the number of snaps everyone has to play, the absence of Hicks should compel (defensive coordinator) Manny Diaz to play a base dime defense, and Fera's listing of questionable suggests Texas won't take the chance on him suffering a setback with his groin injury.

This post first appeared on SBNation.com.

West Virginia vs. Texas 2012: Game time, TV schedule, odds and more

David Ash and Geno Smith will clash in a great quarterbacking battle when the Texas Longhorns host the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday.

Shawne Alston injury: West Virginia running back out against Texas

West Virginia will be without starting running back Shawne Alston when they take on Texas this Saturday.

Texas vs. WVU: David Ash becoming what Longhorns need

The sophomore QB is quickly becoming the trigger man Texas didn't think they would need this year.

Texas vs. WVU: Johnathan Gray starting to emerge

Freshman Texas Longhorns running back Johnathan Gray stepped in for injured starter Malcolm Brown during the team's 41-36 win last weekend over Oklahoma State. Gray wound up rushing for 68 yards on 12 carries, including 45 yards on a crucial scoring drive that put the Longhorns up in the fourth quarter. Coach Mack Brown said of Gray on that drive: "That saved us."

As the Forth Worth Star-Telegram writes, Brown's renewed confidence in Gray could be a boost to Texas' offense going forward. The No. 11 Longhorns will need all the offensive firepower they can get this weekend when they host Geno Smith and the high-powered No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers.

Much of Gray's damage came from direct snaps out of the "Wild" formation, an offense that Broffensive coordinater Bryan Harsin says suits Gray perfectly:

"He's explosive and powerful and he's got the ability when that hole opens up to take it [for a touchdown. He's just got a gear to him that if they want to bring a linebacker and go 1-on-1, he can shave that guy and get 2-plus yards. And if we get it blocked correctly and he's on a safety, he can get in space and make a guy miss."

Geno Smith is Heisman frontrunner

The current Heisman favorite will be on field of Texas Memorial Stadium when the Texas Longhorns take on the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday afternoon.

No, not David Ash; try some fella named Eugene "Geno" Smith.

Smith is the favorite for the illustrious award following his eight touchdown performance against Baylor last week, according the HeismanPundit/CBSSports.com Heisman Straw Poll.

West Virgina's senior quarterback received 10 out of the 11 possible first place votes from the panel in Tuesday's polling, making it the third consecutive week that he has lead this particular Heisman survey.

Ash was able to sneak into the top ten being tied for tenth along with another Mountaineer, WR Tavon Austin.

Smith has 1728 passing yards on the season to go along with a sparkling 20-0 touchdown to interception ratio. Ash is having a solid year in his own right but isn't anywhere close to Smith when it comes to jaw-dropping statistics (1007 yards, 10 TDs, one INT).

Kickoff for this highly-anticipated Big-12 matchup is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST with the game being televised on FOX.

College Football 2012 Schedule: Texas hosts Geno Smith, West Virginia

The Texas Longhorns host new Big 12 foe West Virginia and Heisman frontrunner Geno Smith

Malcolm Brown injury: Texas RB's 'proven patience and vision' to be missed

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West Virginia vs. Texas odds: Longhorns enter as favorites in predicted shootout

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Texas vs. West Virginia: Longhorns, Mountaineers collide in Big 12 showdown

The No. 11 Texas Longhorns will receive their first test of the 2012 season on Saturday night, when Mack Brown's team plays host to the No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers in a Big 12 showdown.