By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — No. 11 Texas combined a tried and true method with a little trickeration, and added a double shot of Jamison (D’Shawn, that is), for a rousing 42-31 win over West Virginia Saturday in Big 12 Conference play at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Quarterback Sam Ehlinger provided the tried and true, passing for 211 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two additional scores. The trickery came via fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns by players usually used in other roles, while Jamison’s two athletic interceptions set the table for the Longhorns.
The victory [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]helps set the stage for next Saturday’s AT&T Red River Showdown in Dallas between Texas (4-1 overall, 2-0 in Big 12 play) and No. 5 Oklahoma (5-0 overall, 2-0 in Big 12).
The Longhorns’ 42-point outburst marked the first time they have scored 35 or more points in their first five games of a season since 2012.
Ehlinger hit Malcolm Epps from 22 yards away for UT’s first score with 5:52 remaining in the first quarter. He then connected with John Burt for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 756 remaining in the second, and burst up the middle for a 13-yard running touchdown with 3:28 remaining in the first half as Texas built a 21-14 lead at intermission. Ehlinger added the Longhorns’ final points, sprinting through a huge hole in the middle of the field for a 23-yard touchdown with 3:03 to play.
From there, the Longhorns’ defense took charge, intercepting three Austin Kendall passes in the second half, two of them by Jamison in spectacular fashion.
Kendall had a 44-yard touchdown pass to Sam James on the game’s first possession and ran 1-yard for another score early into the second quarter.
Texas added to its lead in the fourth quarter with a 13-yard scoring run by Devin Duvernay and a lateral to Samuel Cosmi, the Longhorns’ former freshman All-America left tackle, who rumbled 12 yards for a touchdown in a play for those in the trenches.
Roschon Johnson, the Longhorns’ backup-quarterback-turned-running back, racked up a career-high 121 yards on 21 carries in the win. Duvernay hauled in six passes for 83 yards to lead the Longhorns in receiving.
WVU kicker Evan Staley kicked a 29-yard field goal for the only scoring in the third quarter after a missing two attempts in the second quarter, from 36 and 47 yards out. His chip shot, with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter, narrowed the Longhorns’ lead to 21-17.
Kendall, who passed for 367 yards and four interceptions, also hit T.J. Simmons for a 19-yard touchdown and Bryce Wheaton for a 12-yard score in the final minutes, but it was too little, too late.
The Mountaineers outgained Texas, 463-435, but were doomed by their four turnovers. The Longhorns scored 21 of their points after Kendall’s interceptions.
All eyes now turn toward Big D and the Sooners for the latest rendition of the rivalry between Texas and OU, the third matchup between the two teams since last October.
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