The Oklahoma Sooners withstood a first half West Virginia onslaught to beat the Mountaineers 45-33. The Sooners debuted their new alternate uniforms, and they survived a game that many experts picked them to lose.
The game started slow for both offenses. West Virginia finally broke through with a 68 yard touchdown pass to Kevin White late in the first quarter, putting the Mountaineers up 7-3 going into the second.
After West Virginia added a field goal, OU would finally get into the end zone with 8:59 left in the first half. After a Samaje Perine led drive, offensive coordinator Josh Heupel opened up the playbook with the reverse pass. Durron Neal took the Perine pitch and found a wide open Trevor Knight to put the Sooners back in the game.
The fireworks continued on West Virginia’s next drive. Oklahoma’s corners consistently struggled with the wide receivers of the Mountaineers in the first half. Mario Alford managed to get one foot inbounds on the 30 yard touchdown from Clint Trickett, and West Virginia would lead 17-10.
Trevor Knight would have one of his best drives of the game on the Sooners’ next possession. Knight finished four of four passing for 49 yards. Perine would finish the drive off with his first of four touchdowns in the game to help tie the score for the Sooners.
Head coach Bob Stoops would try to catch the Mountaineers off guard with an onside kick. It looked like it was going to work until the ball bounced off a Sooner player and West Virginia ended up with great field position.
They would take advantage of the field position by scoring another touchdown. After a couple Sooners’ penalties, the Mountaineers would give the ball to their running back Rushel Shell the rest of the way. Shell scored on a three yard run, and West Virginia thought they would take the lead into halftime.
However, Alex Ross would take the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to not only help tie the game at 24, but he also gave the Sooners some serious momentum going into the locker room.
Oklahoma would turn the game around the second half on both sides of the ball.
Oklahoma came out of the locker room and struck quickly. First, Knight would find Sterling Shepard for a 37 yard gain that put OU deep into West Virginia territory. In what would become a recurring theme in the second half, Perine would score from nine yards out and OU would lead the rest of the way.
West Virginia cut the lead to four at 31-27 with a field goal but would not get any closer.
Alex Ross got a bulk of his rushing yards with a 34 yard run to start another Sooners’ touchdown drive. Perine once again found the end zone for the third time. Suddenly, the Sooners were up 38-27.
Oklahoma would put the game away in the fourth quarter. Perine would finish off his strong performance with his fourth touchdown of the night. The Mountaineers would add a late touchdown making the score 45-33.
The game ended up with over a thousand yards of offense between the two teams. Oklahoma finished with 510 yards while West Virginia had 513.
For Oklahoma, it was not Trevor Knight’s best performance. Knight finished 16-of-29 passing for 205 yards and an interception.
The rushing attack was strong for Oklahoma. The Sooners finished with 301 yards on the ground. OU was led by Perine, who rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns in his fourth collegiate game. Ross added 56 yards to that total.
Shepard had a big game receiving despite having a noticeable limp. He finished with 101 yards on six catches. Kicker Michael Hunnicutt became Oklahoma’s all-time leading scorer in the game, passing DeMarco Murray for first place.
Clint Trickett performed well in this game. He finished 25-of-41 in the air for 376 and two touchdowns and two interceptions. The beneficiaries were White and Alford. White finished with 173 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions. Alford had 101 yards receiving and a touchdown.
The Mountaineers rushed for 137 yards with Shell leading the way. He had 60 yards on the ground tor West Virginia.
Both of these teams have a bye next week. OU will be on the road at Texas Christian, while West Virginia stay home and play Kansas.