Texas Outlasts West Virginia In Overtime

Last season, four teams were able to overpower Texas – Kansas State, TCU, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Saturday night the Longhorns got their last bit of revenge, knocking out the fourth of those opponents, the Mountaineers, in a 47-40 overtime thriller.

Despite the stress, Texas was able to escape x with its sixth consecutive win to remain atop the Big 12 alongside undefeated Baylor.

Texas’ trip to Morgantown marked the first time in school history the team travelled north to the Mountain State. There, the Longhorns were met with the challenge of not only the cold weather, but also the fact that Milan Puskar Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the nation. Reason being is that West Virginia is one of the few college campuses to sell alcohol inside its stadium, giving fans plenty more ways to get, um, louder.

The hostile environment proved tough for Texas to start as the Longhorns commenced their first four drives with a safety, a fumble, an interception, and a punt.

Things didn’t get interesting until the second half, when Texas rallied from a 10-point deficit to gain their second lead of the game at the end of the third quarter. Go ahead scores were exchanged for the final 15 minutes of play before Case McCoy summoned another in his series of late-game heroics with a 57-yard drive to tie the game at 40.

The contest concluded in overtime, just Texas’ second extra time play in school history, where fullback Alex De La Torre snatched the first reception of his Longhorn career in the end zone to give Texas the 47-40 lead. Greg Robinson’s defense then produced a goal-line stop to give the Longhorns the win.

McCoy remained consistently inconsistent in his fifth straight start, completing 27 of his 49 pass attempts. His offense was less than impressive on third down conversions, completing just one in the first half and 10 through the whole 60 minutes. Twice the Longhorns had first-and-goal from the seven yard line, and both times they failed to score a touchdown.

Robinson and his defensive squad forced five Mountaineer turnovers and held the home team under 400 yards of total offense. The Longhorns have now won the turnover game in every competition this season, on track to keep Mack Brown’s goal.

Not all good news came out of Morgantown Saturday night, however. The Longhorns lost two of their impact players due to injuries: running back Johnathan Gray (achilles) and defensive end Chris Whaley (knee). Texas announced on Sunday that both will be out for the season, which creates a large hole in production on both offense and defense.

While Texas keeps its spot atop of the Big 12, arguably the toughest part of conference play has yet to be played. The Longhorns’ final three games feature two ranked crews (OSU and Baylor) and a Texas Tech team that’s always proved tough. Before the Longhorns have a chance to celebrate a conference title, they’ll return to their home state to try and close out a tough league schedule without two of their key assets.