Trailing 20-13 late in the third quarter West Virginia wanted to try to find a way to keep momentum.

The Mountaineers had just gone three and out leaving them with a 4th and 4 on their own 34-yard line when head coach Neal Brown decided to create his own spark.

The punt team took the field, when wide receiver Sam James took a direct snap and moved to the right-side buying time until he was able to follow his blocks, cut up field and get enough to move the sticks. The play generated just enough to move the sticks and give the offense another crack at things.

It was a call that the Mountaineers have carried with them for a few weeks and considered pulling out against Iowa State but the back-and-forth nature of that contest never presented the opportunity.

The chance to avoid giving the Sooners a chance to go up by two scores was just that.

“I just felt we needed this play and the guys executed it,” Brown said.

The look wasn’t necessarily a favorable one considering Oklahoma had multiple guys at the second level, but once it was called Brown decided that James had the chance to out run the defenders for the first down. That’s exactly how it unfolded and gave West Virginia another shot at evening up the game.

“Just to see it and seeing it executed that was exciting,” safety Jasir Cox said.

Quarterback Garrett Greene didn’t even know the attempt was coming until he was pulled aside as he ran off the field as the coaches informed him that they were going to try the fake. James’ effort was enough to move the sticks and the Mountaineers didn’t waste the extra possession.

Ten plays later, the West Virginia offense cashed in on a red zone opportunity with a touchdown toss from Greene to Bryce Ford-Wheaton from eight yards out to even the score at 20-all.

From there, the Mountaineers would go on to generate two stops which included a missed Oklahoma field goal to go on a 15-play drive that ate up the final 6:34 of the game for the game winning kick by Casey Legg. It was the spark that the offense needed and one where the gamble paid off.

West Virginia had lost to Oklahoma nine consecutive times since joining the Big 12 Conference in 2012, but the Mountaineers made sure that it wasn’t going to be 10.

“The weather is crappy, but the outcome is pretty good. It was a good day to be a Mountaineer,” Brown said.

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