West Virginia used four Houston turnovers and 403 yards of total offense to upset the 22nd-ranked Cougars 45-35 today at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n
It was the Mountaineers’ first road victory over a ranked foe since the Will Grier game at 15th-ranked Texas in DKR Memorial Stadium on Nov. 3, 2018.<\/p>\n
The Cougars, in the polls this week for the first time since 2022 after upsetting 24th-ranked Arizona State last Saturday, doubled their season turnover total this afternoon against West Virginia.<\/p>\n
They had just four coming into today’s contest.<\/p>\n
The WVU secondary picked off Cougar quarterback Conner Weigman twice, recovered Weigman’s fumble and also scooped up a muffed punt late in the game.<\/p>\n
“It’s good to have a happy locker room and I’m really proud of the guys,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez<\/a> said afterward. Rodriguez\u00a0is ranked ninth among active coaches with 23 career victories against Associated Press Top 25-ranked teams, 13 of those coming during his two different tenures at WVU. “They played hard, kept working at it and I was like, ‘Where has this been?’ But it’s been there and we just had to put it all together.”<\/p>\n True freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr.<\/a> built on last Saturday’s record-setting 301-yard passing performance against TCU by completing 13 of his 22 aerials for 157 yards and a touchdown, while also running 10 times for 65 yards and two scores.<\/p>\n His two rushing touchdowns today matched Fred Wyant’s two rushing scores done twice during his true freshman campaign in 1952.<\/p>\n “Our freshman quarterback is growing up,” Rodriguez said. “He was really poised seeing things out there and I was proud with the way he played.”<\/p>\n “Last week it was like, ‘We need to convert on third and short and fourth and short.’ Today we made it,” Fox said. “We had push up front and it was a great job by the guys up front running the ball this week, and of course that helps a lot.”<\/p>\n Redshirt freshman Diore Hubbard<\/a> contributed a season-high 108 yards on the 29 carries to help the WVU ground game churn out 246 yards on 53 attempts.<\/p>\n Weigman’s passing totals included 309 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n West Virginia (3-6 overall and 1-5 in Big 12 play) scored on its opening possession for the first time since the season opener against Robert Morris and led 21-7 before the Cougars finally woke up.<\/p>\n A questionable pass interference penalty on Michael Coats Jr.<\/a>, a third-and-18 completion to Amare Thomas and then Dean Connors’ 23-yard run set up Weigman’s 1-yard sneak.<\/p>\n Two possessions later, Liam Dougherty’s 47-yard punt was downed at the West Virginia 1. The Cougars forced a quick three-and-out possession before Oliver Straw<\/a> punted out to the 47. Five plays later, Houston knotted up the score at 21 when Thomas made a contested touchdown catch that covered 9 yards.<\/p>\n The Mountaineers began the game with two long touchdown drives, the first covering 75 yards in 12 plays and the second going 89 yards in 10 plays. Fox crossed the goal line first from the 6, and then six minutes later, Cyncir Bowers<\/a> scored on a 21-yard run.<\/p>\n Tight end Tanner Koziol made his fifth touchdown catch of the season with a 3-yard scoring reception to get Houston on the board late in the first quarter, while WVU’s second touchdown was set up by Weigman’s fumble that was recovered by Jimmori Robinson<\/a> at Houston’s 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hubbard’s 3-yard run preceded Fox’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Cam Vaughn<\/a>, who outfought Latrell McCutchin Sr. while coming back for an underthrown pass to make a pretty sliding catch.<\/p>\n The Mountaineers used a Derek Carter Jr.<\/a> interception and 14-yard return to the Houston 47 to get more points to begin the third quarter. Carter’s pick was the result of Coats deflecting the football off Koby Young’s foot and right into Carter’s arms.<\/p>\n A Fox keeper for 6 yards got first-down yardage to Houston’s 36 before the drive stalled at the Cougar 32. Kade Hensley<\/a> came on to convert a 50-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to give West Virginia a 24-21 lead.<\/p>\n Weigman’s next interception was even more costly.<\/p>\n His floating pass to the near side of the field intended for Thomas was intercepted by Jordan Scruggs<\/a>, who returned it 80 yards for a touchdown. It was West Virginia’s longest interception return for a touchdown since Kenny Robinson’s 94-yarder against Texas on Nov. 18, 2017. Anthony Wilson’s interception return and touchdown at Cincinnati last year covered 79 yards.<\/p>\n “I couldn’t believe he threw that and I just jumped it,” Scruggs said. “Coach (Zac) Alley was stressing that specific play and he ended up checking the ball to get what we got in and it was the perfect call for the play that they had. We definitely saw that in practice.”<\/p>\n The Cougars (7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12 play) responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that included two fourth-down conversions, the second coming from West Virginia’s 36 that netted 28 yards on Harvey Broussard’s reception to the Mountaineer 8.<\/p>\n Weigman’s next pass went to Thomas for a touchdown to reduce West Virginia’s lead to 31-28.<\/p>\n On the ensuing possession, West Virginia used its own fourth-down magic, catching the Cougars off guard with a quarterback run up the middle on fourth and 4 that saw Fox go untouched for a 34-yard touchdown.<\/p>\n Prior to that, Fox completed a third and 4 pass to tight end Ryan Ward<\/a> for first-down yardage to the Houston 44. Hensley’s conversion kick put the Mountaineers ahead once again by 10, 38-28.<\/p>\n Following Fred Perry’s<\/a> third-down sack of Weigman, forcing a Cougar punt, the Mountaineers’ lead swelled to 17.<\/p>\n The big play was Fox’s 53-yard, third-down completion to Jeff Weimer<\/a>, who made a double move on backup corner Zelmar Vedder, and Fox placed a throw perfectly over Weimer’s shoulder before he was hauled down at the Houston 17. Two plays later, Hubbard broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage and got free for an 11-yard touchdown run.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, it took Houston only 45 seconds to return the favor.\u00a0<\/p>\n Weigman completed a third-down pass for 26 yards to Jaquise Martin, and then Israel Boyce<\/a> was called for pass interference on a contested pass down the middle that gave the Cougars a first down at the WVU 27. Weigman’s next pass to the corner of the end zone was hauled in by Thomas before falling out of bounds for a touchdown.<\/p>\n West Virginia was unable to move the sticks, but Oliver Straw’s<\/a> 35-yard punt hit the back of Chance Bryant’s leg and long snapper Macguire Moss<\/a> recovered the muff at the Cougar 27.<\/p>\n Four Hubbard runs, his last one on fourth and 2, got the ball to the 17 and West Virginia was able to run out the clock for its first road win over a ranked opponent in seven years.<\/p>\n “We talked all week about coming off the ball. I know (the offensive line) is capable of doing it and they did it,” Rodriguez said. “To end the game by getting a key first down when everybody knows you are going to run it kind of embodies what we want up front.”<\/p>\n