NCAAF Game Recap - Texas at West Virginia
Sat Nov 18, 2017 12:00 PM EST

Mer
0
Bama
56
F
UVA
28
MiaFL
44
F
Okla
41
Kans
3
F
Cit
3
Clem
61
F
Mich
10
Wisc
24
F
ULMon
14
Aub
42
F
KY
13
UGA
42
F
Ill
14
OSU
52
F
Navy
17
ND
24
F
K St
45
OkSt
40
F
TCU
27
TxTch
3
F
UCLA
23
USC
28
F
Neb
44
PSU
56
F
UCF
45
Temp
19
F
Utah
30
Wash
33
F
MissSt
28
Ark
21
F
SMU
45
Mem
66
F
Cal
14
Stan
17
F
LSU
30
Tenn
10
F
MD
7
MSU
17
F
Tuls
20
SoFL
27
F
Tex
28
WVU
14
F
NCSt
24
Wake
30
F
C Mi
42
Kent
23
F
Ohio
34
Akr
37
F
WestMI
31
NIU
35
F
E Mi
27
MiaOH
24
F
Toled
66
BGSU
37
F
Buff
40
Ball
24
F
TnSt
6
JacSt
36
F
MidTN
38
W Ky
41
F(2OT)
UNLV
38
NM
35
F
Cin
20
ECU
48
F
Lib
19
ChaSo
20
F
JMU
31
Elon
3
F
MIN
0
NW
39
F
Rut
0
Ind
41
F
DelSt
6
FlaSt
77
F
Pitt
14
VaTec
20
F
Fres
13
Wyo
7
F
HBU
33
SamHu
53
F
Rice
21
OD
24
F
IASt
23
Bayl
13
F
Hawaii
0
UtSt
38
F
TxSt
12
ArkSt
30
F
SoAl
0
GaSo
52
F
AzSt
40
OreSt
24
F
LT
42
UTEP
21
F
UMass
16
BYU
10
F
UNCC
21
SMiss
66
F
WCU
10
UNC
65
F
SJSU
14
ColSt
42
F
Purd
24
Iowa
15
F
Syr
10
Lou
56
F
GATec
20
Duke
43
F
Hou
17
Tul
20
F
Wof
10
SCar
31
F
UAB
7
Fla
36
F
CoCar
13
Idaho
7
F
NMS
34
ULLaf
47
F
Army
49
NorTx
52
F
Ariz
28
Oreg
48
F
Marsh
7
UTSA
9
F
TxAM
31
Miss
24
F
FLInt
24
FlAtl
52
F
BC
39
UConn
16
F
MIZ
45
Vand
17
F
AF
19
Boise
44
F
NEV
23
SDSU
42
F
BGSU
31
E Mi
34
F
MiaOH
28
Ball
7
F
Kent
14
Akr
24
F

Nov 18, 2017, 12:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Texas (6-5)

0

14

7

7

28

(24) West Virginia (7-4)

0

0

7

7

14

Ehlinger leads Texas over No. 24 WVU 28-14; Grier injured
Sat Nov 18, 2017 4:44 PM

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) Sam Ehlinger helped Texas get that elusive win over a ranked opponent.

Ehlinger threw two touchdown passes and the Longhorns became bowl eligible under first-year coach Tom Herman with a 28-14 win over No. 24 West Virginia on Saturday in a game in which the Mountaineers lost quarterback Will Grier to injury.

Texas (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) qualified for a bowl for the first time since 2014, which was former coach Charlie Strong's first season. The Longhorns also beat a ranked opponent for the first time in five tries this season.

"We know we've got one left, but this was a big one," Herman said. "This was a big hurdle - to get another road conference win, to beat a top 25 team, and make sure that our seniors are bowl eligible. These guys are ecstatic."

Texas didn't give up a sack and the running game had its best effort in more than two months. The Longhorns entered with 13 touchdown passes, and Ehlinger got two in the second quarter.

"Coach kept saying just keep swinging and keep swinging, it's going to pay off," Ehlinger said. "I think we did an excellent job of that as a team - just keep moving forward."

Ehlinger's 50-yard pass to Reggie Hemphill set up Ehlinger's 4-yard TD toss to Kendall Moore. Ehlinger did most of the work on the Longhorns' next drive. He went from sideline to sideline for a 17-yard gain on third down, ran 23 yards after catching a pass from wide receiver Jerrod Heard, then found Chris Warren for a 23-yard score just before halftime for a 14-0 lead.

"He's tough. He's a competitor," Herman said of Ehlinger. "He gives us a dimension in the run game - 7.6 yards per carry. That's a pretty good day at the office. We knew it would be difficult throwing the football against this defense."

Grier left the game in the first quarter with an injured throwing hand when he landed awkwardly as he dove for the end-zone pylon on a run. The middle finger of his right hand was bent backward and he did not return.

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said Grier had a broken finger.

"Injuries are a part of college football," Holgorsen said. "When that happens, guys need to step up. We've talked a lot about that. Guys need to step up and go in there and they need to play."

Backup Chris Chugunov couldn't get much going. He threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Ka'Raun White early in the fourth quarter to pull West Virginia within 21-14. But the Mountaineers (7-4, 5-3) didn't score again.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas: Ehlinger looked comfortable mixing runs and passes on a damp day. He finished 12 of 19 for 136 yards and ran nine times for 68 yards. Shane Buechele started for the Longhorns but played only two series in the first quarter.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers struggled to get first downs without Grier. Chugunov, a sophomore who played in two previous games this season, finished 14 of 26 for 189 yards. West Virginia was held to a season-low 295 yards of offense.

RUNNING FINE

With left tackle Connor Williams returning from a seven-game layoff because of a knee injury, Texas piled up 233 rushing yards, the most since it gained 406 against San Jose State in the second week of the season. Freshman Daniel Young had a season-high 85 yards, including a 1-yard TD run.

ROBINSON'S RETURN

Midway through the third quarter, Ehlinger was hit by linebacker Dylan Tonkery as he threw near the West Virginia goal line. Freshman safety Kenny Robinson grabbed the floater and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown. It was Robinson's second pick six this season.

HAGER EJECTED

Texas linebacker Breckyn Hager was ejected for targeting on a fourth-quarter hit on Chugunov. Hager flashed a "Hook `Em Horns" sign to the booing crowd as he was escorted off the field. Earlier in the week, he was asked what made Morgantown a tough venue for opponents. Recalling a 2015 trip, Hager told reporters, "It's a bunch of hillbillies drinking moonshine."

UP NEXT

Texas finishes the regular season at home next Friday against Texas Tech.

West Virginia plays at No. 10 Oklahoma next Saturday.

---

More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Tex Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
S. Ehlinger 19 12 63.2 2 136 50 1 97.7
S. Buechele 7 4 57.1 0 28 11 0 66.4
WVU Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
C. Chugunov 26 14 53.8 1 189 32 0 90.1
W. Grier 8 6 75.0 0 50 34 0 90.6

Rushing

Tex Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
D. Young 12 85 7.1 36 1
S. Ehlinger 9 68 7.6 17 0
WVU Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Crawford 15 64 4.3 13 0
K. McKoy 9 18 2.0 11 0

Receiving

Tex Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
R. Hemphill-Mapps 2 58 29.0 50 0
L. Humphrey 4 28 7.0 15 0
WVU Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
G. Jennings Jr. 10 78 7.8 19 0
K. White 6 63 10.5 30 1

Fumbles

Tex F FL
S. Ehlinger 1 0
WVU F FL
W. Grier 1 1
C. Chugunov 2 1

Returning

Tex KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
R. Hemphill-Mapps 0 0 0 2 7.5 0 14
WVU KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
M. Simms 3 26.0 0 28 1 16.0 0 16

Punting

Tex Punt Yds Avg LgPu
M. Dickson 7 301 43.0 59
WVU Punt Yds Avg LgPu
B. Kinney 8 323 40.4 54

Takeaways

WVU Int Yds InTD
K. Robinson Jr. 1 94 1

Team Stats Comparison

Tex WVU
Points For 28 14
Total Yards 420 295
Rushing Yards 233 56
Passing Yards 187 239
Passing Completions / Attempts 17/27 20/34
Turnovers 1 2
Interceptions Thrown 1 0
Fumbles - Lost 1/0 3/2
First Downs 18 17
Penalties - Yards 6/75 6/49
Time Of Possession 34:34 26:26
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 6/15 4/16
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/1 1/2
Punts - Average Yards 7/43 8/40

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Tex WVU
No scores this quarter
2nd Quarter Tex WVU
Tex 04:05 TD Kendall Moore 4 yd pass from Sam Ehlinger (Mitchell Becker kick) 7 0
Tex 12:31 TD Chris Warren III 20 yd pass from Sam Ehlinger (Mitchell Becker kick) 14 0
3rd Quarter Tex WVU
WVU 09:31 TD Kenny Robinson 94 yd interception return (Evan Staley kick) 14 7
Tex 13:37 TD Kyle Porter 10 yd run (Mitchell Becker kick) 21 7
4th Quarter Tex WVU
WVU 05:59 TD Ka'Raun White 12 yd pass from Chris Chugunov (Evan Staley kick) 21 14
Tex 09:53 TD Daniel Young 1 yd run (Mitchell Becker kick) 28 14

Game Information

Stadium: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
Attendance: 53,133
Game Time:
Weather: