Football takes down No. 24/25 WVU on road, 28-14

Saturday, November 18

Morgantown, W.V.

11 a.m. CT

University of Texas

6-5 , 5-3

West Virginia

7-4 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas

West Virginia

Football takes down No. 24/25 WVU on road, 28-14

11.18.2017 | Football

Box Score

The Longhorns became bowl eligible and improved to 5-3 in Big 12 Conference play.

Final Statistics | Texas notes | Photo Gallery | Gameday

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Sparked by freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger and a dominating defensive performance, The University of Texas Longhorns (6-5, 5-3) defeated the No. 24/25 West Virginia Mountaineers (7-4, 5-3), 28-14, at a rainy Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Longhorns are bowl eligible for the first time since 2014.

Ehlinger completed 12-of-19 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, and finished with 91 all-purpose yards, picking up 68 on the ground while also catching his first-career pass for 23 yards.

The Longhorn defense held the Mountaineers to season-lows of 295 total yards and 239 passing yards, yielding just 56 rushing yards, the sixth game this season in which UT has surrendered less than 100 rushing yards and the most since doing it six times in 2011.

In wet conditions, both teams struggled to move the ball on their first two possessions.

The Mountaineers looked to change that on their third drive, backing up the Horns defense as far it could go, with West Virginia pushing the ball from their own 18 to the UT 1-yard line. On third-and-goal from the one, WVU quarterback Will Grier ran around the left side of the line and raced for the front corner of the end zone. As he dove for the goal line, sophomore safety Brandon Jones beat him to the spot and knocked the ball out of his outstretched hand. The ball bounced out of the side of the end zone, giving Texas possession at their own 20 with 4:38 remaining in the first quarter. Grier injured a finger on his throwing hand and missed the remainder of the game.

After trading punts, the Longhorns regained possession at their own 9-yard line. Ehlinger entered the game for the first time and began the drive with a 15-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey. Freshman running back Toneil Carter then closed out play in the first quarter with a pair of carries for six yards.

Texas opened the second quarter in style, with Ehlinger hitting freshman wide receiver Reggie Hemphill-Mapps on a 50-yard pass, the longest reception of Hemphill-Mapps' career, moving the Longhorns to the West Virginia 20. After the Horns lost two yards on the following play, Ehlinger ran for five yards then completed a 5-yard pass to senior wide receiver Lorenzo Joe. On fourth-and-2 at the WVU 12, Ehlinger ran through a hole in the middle of the line, picking up eight yards for a first down at the Mountaineer 4-yard line. Three plays later, Ehlinger connected with graduate transfer tight end Kendall Moore for a 4-yard touchdown, giving UT a 7-0 lead with 10:55 remaining in the first half.

The Horns put on a show on their next drive, with an Ehlinger 15-yard run and a trick play setting up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to junior running back Chris Warren III to go up 14-0 with 2:29 remaining in the second quarter.

Starting at their own 13, UT picked up 15 yards on three plays to move to the 28. The next two plays netted the Horns only one yard, but on third-and-9, Ehlinger rolled left and took off down the sideline, picking up another 15 yards. On the next play, Ehlinger pitched the ball back to junior wide receiver Jerrod Heard. The former quarterback threw it right back to Ehlinger, who ran up field for a 23-yard gain to the WVU 31. Four plays later, Ehlinger found Warren over the middle, who took a big hit at the five then ran in, giving the Horns a 14-point lead they would take into the half.

Ehlinger completed 8-of-10 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, to go along with 46 rushing yards and a 23-yard reception, the first of his career.

Texas appeared on the verge of adding to their lead, marching to the WVU 5-yard line on their second drive of the second half, but an interception at the 6-yard line was returned 94 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Longhorn lead to 14-7 with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Sophomore running back Kyle Porter put Texas back up by 14 points, 21-7, with a 10-yard touchdown run with 1:23 left in the third quarter. The score closed out a quick 2-play, 46-yard drive that included a 36-yard run by Young.

The Mountaineers tried to answer on the ensuing drive, moving to the UT 24 and going for it on fourth-and-9, but junior safety DeShon Elliott, a Thorpe Award semifinalist, broke up a pass in the end zone to end the threat.

West Virginia's offense got on the scoreboard on their next drive, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-5 to narrow the Texas lead to 21-14 with 9:01 remaining in the fourth quarter.

On the next Mountaineer drive, junior linebacker Gary Johnson strip-sacked quarterback Chris Chugunov at the WVU 15 and junior defensive lineman Chris Nelson fell on it at the 6-yard line.

Young scored two plays later on 1-yard leap into the end zone, increasing the Texas advantage to 28-14 with 5:07 to play in regulation. Young finished with a career-high 85 yards on 12 carries.

Johnson, junior cornerback Davante Davis and junior linebacker Malik Jefferson registered seven tackles each for the defense.

Offensively, at least 10 Longhorn receivers came away with receptions in the game for the fifth straight week and seventh time this season.

The Horns close out the regular season slate at home next week as the play host to the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 24. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on FOX.