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.
