November 17, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Kenny Stills (4) catches an eleven yard touchdown pass against West Virginia Mountaineers safety Ishmael Banks (34) during the third quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Oklahoma Sooners won 50-49. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE
Not a second goes by in the Big 12 without a touchdown being scored. Don’t believe me? Because time was the only thing not on West Virginia’s side tonight.
In a tight Big 12 showdown, Oklahoma escaped Morgantown with a 50-49 victory over Geno Smith and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
It was not the prettiest game, but Oklahoma grinded out a victory. Many people love to question this team’s toughness, but give credit to Landry Jones. He showed exactly what he is capable of doing in gut check time.
This one was back-and-forth, and whoever had it last would have a chance. Thankfully for Oklahoma, they strung together late drives to stay in the game, and with less than three minutes to go, the Sooners pulled off a Morgantown Miracle.
On fourth down, Jones threw a beautiful pass straight to Kenny Stills in the end zone to give Oklahoma a one-point lead. The Sooners went for two, but failed.
The Mountaineers had under half a minute, but in Tavon Austin time, it might as well have been an eternity.
WVU got up field, and approached toward field goal range. However, a defense that was torn apart all night finally made a stop that truly counted.
Oklahoma intercepted a Geno Smith hail mary pass, and it capped off a crazy night on the road for the Sooners.
Despite the victory, Oklahoma’s defense was destroyed by Tavon Austin. The senior receiver did most of his damage on the ground, rushing for 344 yards and two touchdowns. It was Stedman Bailey who racked up the air miles with Geno Smith.
Bailey ended the night with 205 receiving yards and caught all four of Geno’s touchdown passes.
While OU’s defense has some explaining to do, give credit to the offense. Landry Jones had a career game.
The ‘Stache completed 38-of-51 passes, tossed for 554 passing yards, and found the end zone six times.
His favorite target, Kenny Stills, did not piled on the receiving yards, but he did catch four touchdown passes. Trey Millard and Jalen Saunders caught the other two, but they were both easy to forget with all of the scoring Saturday night.
This game was certainly one ruled by offense, and turned out to be an instant classic. This was the type of game people expected heading in to the year, but let us not forget, West Virginia is now 5-5 with tonight’s loss.
They have struggled in their first season in the Big 12, and this one could have been all OU had the Mountaineers not moved Tavon Austin to running back.
Thankfully for Oklahoma, the Sooners made a big play with time running out and they now turn their attention to Bedlam. Oklahoma State has managed to pick themselves up after early season losses to Arizona and Texas, and could be a tough test on Senior Day.
The Sooners need a win desperately if they want their not-so-bleak Big 12 title hopes to stay alive. With Baylor’s stunning upset of Kansas State, Oklahoma will be the outright Big 12 champs with a Texas win over the Wildcats and if the Sooners can defeat both the Pokes and TCU Horned Frogs.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 Saturday, and will be televised on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2.