Make no mistake about it: the Texas defense won this game. It stopped the Mountaineers twice on fourth downs inside its own 17 in the fourth quarter and twice made them settle for field goals in the red zone in the third quarter.
It had a bend-but-don’t-break feel about it in the second half, but the UT defense got the job done and that’s all that matters. The resulting 17-13 victory boosted Texas (5-2 overall, 4-2 in games against Big 12 opponents) back into the race for a spot in the Big 12 championship, and lifted the Longhorns to No. 21 in the new Associated Press top 25 rankings.
As a whole, Texas kept the Mountaineers to 360 yards of offense, which in today’s age of Big 12 football is phenomenal. The Longhorns’ run defense was exceptional, making the West Virginia rushing game non-existent by holding the Mountaineers to 43 yards on 26 carries. Following Leddie Brown’s 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the Mountaineers had no notable plays on the ground.
Linebackers Juwan Mitchell and DeMarvion Overshown had… (cont. Page 2)
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