What a way for Houston to get its first Big 12 Conference win. (Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
West Virginia staged one of the wildest comebacks of the season on Thursday against Houston and its old coach Dana Holgorsen.
Then Houston did something even more stunning.
The fun began with West Virginia trailing 35-24 with less than four minutes to play. The Mountaineers capped an 11-play drive with a 7-yard score to cut the lead to five, then extended the lead to a field goal with a successful two-point conversion.
West Virginia stopped Houston from tying the game on its next drive, but only 2:17 into the game, leaving them 1:17 to score a touchdown and take the lead or kick a field goal. to achieve balance.
The Mountaineers reached the end zone in 1:05 to go up 39-35. But those remaining 12 seconds ended up being pretty important.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty delayed the ensuing kickoff, putting Houston the ball on its own 43-yard line with seven seconds left.
Houston quarterback Donovan Smith completed an 8-yard pass to Dalton Carnes to reach midfield, then uncorked a Hail Mary into the end zone as time expired. The ball was knocked away by running back Jaylen Anderson… into the arms of Stephon Johnson.
Ball game, Houston. State the field rush.
This is college football’s wildest comeback since last week and a pretty entertaining way to get your first conference win as a member of the Big 12.
Smith finished the game completing 21 of 27 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns. 57 of those yards came in the last two games. Johnson had four catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns.