WVU falls as time expires in 41-39 shootout against Houston
On Thursday night, West Virginia football was defeated in a high-scoring battle that came down to quite literally the last second at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Cougars completed a miraculous hail mary pass as time expired to snatch away a 41-39 win.
To begin the game, Houston (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) took the ball first and strung together three plays of nine yards or more but were forced to punt near midfield after freshman linebacker Ben Cutter made the stop in his first start.
In WVU’s first drive of offense, Greene completed a crucial 21-yard pass to convert a long third down play and the Mountaineers also ran for another 60 yards on the ground on the possession.
However, the Cougars’ defense stood strong in the red zone and held the Mountaineers to a 27-yard field goal from kicker Michael Hayes, as WVU (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) went ahead 3-0.
The Cougars didn’t take long to get their first lead, as wide receiver Matthew Golden took the following kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown for his second kick return touchdown of the season and lifted Houston ahead 7-3.
West Virginia immediately answered with its second strong drive of the game, as Greene passed for 49 yards and 31 yards on one play to Preston Fox before running back CJ Donaldson capped off the drive and reclaimed the lead with a rushing score from five yards out, as WVU led 10-7.
Houston only recorded one first down and punted in its next drive to end the first quarter, but the Mountaineers’ offense also faltered in the second quarter after a nine-play, 11-yard drive that was held back by a holding penalty and a botched handoff.
On the next two drives, each team was held to punt for the second-straight time as the Cougars booted away after one first down and a dropped screen pass on third down before WVU kicked the ball away after only three plays.
Late into the second quarter, West Virginia’s defense held strong on the way to its third-straight punt but Houston’s defense also made its third-straight stop and made a tackle for loss to set up another WVU three and out.
The Cougars did get a final chance at points to finish the first half and quarterback Donovan Smith capitalized after he scored the go-ahead touchdown on a two-yard quarterback keeper to cap off a 56-yard drive, putting Houston ahead 14-10 at the break.
WVU jumped out to a fast start in the second half and answered with a touchdown in only four plays, after a flea-flicker play left freshman wide receiver Traylon Ray wide open down the middle of the field and Greene hit him for the 35-yard scoring connection.
The Mountaineers took back a 17-14 lead with only minutes elapsed in the third quarter and then were able to stuff two plays behind the line of scrimmage and hold the Cougars to a punt on their opening second-half possession.
West Virginia then accumulated 53 yards through the air on its next drive, including a 45-yard completion to wide receiver EJ Horton but the possession was cut short after a pass down the sideline went off the hands of running back Jaylen Anderson and landed in the lap of Houston defensive back Isaiah Hamilton for an interception.
Feeding off the quick shift in momentum after a takeaway, the Cougars’ second play was a 58-yard carry for running back Stacy Sneed into WVU territory. Smith then connected with wide receiver Joseph Manjack IV for a 15-yard passing touchdown to cap off the go-ahead drive, as Houston jumped ahead 21-17.
West Virginia attacked the Cougars’ secondary on its next possession to end the third quarter, putting together a strong drive with 77 through the air, headlined by a 49-yard strike across the middle to wide receiver Devin Carter for his fourth catch of the night. Greene started the fourth quarter by finishing that drive with a one-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak.
Trailing 24-21, Houston took another trip down the field with four completions all of eight yards or more, including a 25 yarder. The former Mountaineer wide receiver, Sam Brown, was the player to finish off the drive by making a challenging eight-yard catch in the endzone to put the Cougars back ahead by four in a back-and-forth offensive battle.
After some self-inflicted mistakes in the passing game with a misfired throw, Houston got the ball back on a WVU punt. The Cougars kept up the heat on West Virginia’s fatigued defense, with big plays of 21 yards and 25 yards, the latter being a Smith touchdown pass down the seam to wide receiver Stephon Johnson Jr. to push them further ahead, 35-24.
In must-score territory for WVU, Greene stepped up in both phases with his arm and legs, leading the way with 41 passing yards on the drive before he took it in himself for an eight-yard rushing touchdown. Greene also extended the two-point conversion attempt outside of the pocket and found Ray in the back of the endzone for the extra two points, making the score 35-32 with just under four minutes.
On the next drive, a flag on the Mountaineers defensively awarded Houston a first down with a chance to end the game. However, WVU did manage to put together a stop after stuffing three run plays and using all three timeouts, getting a final chance to score while down three points with 1:20 left in the game.
West Virginia did the impossible and scored with no timeouts and under a minute to go. Greene fired a pass to freshman Hudson Clement on fourth and long and the wide receiver who was recently awarded a scholarship, broke two tackles and scored a touchdown from 50 yards out and put the Mountaineers ahead with 12 seconds.
That wasn’t enough to seal the game however, as with seven seconds remaining the game, Houston also completed its own miracle on a hail mary pass to the endzone, and Smith heaved from 49-yards away and Johnson Jr. came down with it steal the 41-39 win.
West Virginia will return home in its next game, hosting the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
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