True freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. accounted for three touchdowns, and the visiting West Virginia Mountaineers scored 17 points off turnovers while completing a 45-35 upset of the 22nd-ranked Houston Cougars on Saturday.
Fox passed for 157 yards and a touchdown and added two scoring runs for West Virginia (3-6, 1-5 Big 12). Jordan Scruggs had an 80-yard interception return in the third quarter that allowed the Mountaineers to reclaim a two-score lead after Houston (7-2, 4-2) had almost erased a 14-0 deficit.
Houston quarterback Conner Weigman passed for 309 yards and four touchdowns, including three scoring passes to Amare Thomas, who had 10 receptions for 99 yards. But Weigman tossed a pair of interceptions and lost one of his three fumbles to fuel the Mountaineers’ upset bid.
Fox had a 34-yard touchdown run on fourth down that lifted West Virginia to a 38-28 lead with 12:54 left to play. His 53-yard pass to Jeff Weimer on fourth-and-9 set up an 11-yard Diore Hubbard touchdown that extended the margin to 17 points with 7:15 left. West Virginia rushed for 246 yards.
The Mountaineers were quick out of the gate, producing touchdown drives of 75 and 89 yards on their first two possessions. Fox capped a 12-play march with a 6-yard scoring run that yielded a 7-0 lead at the 10:31 mark of the first quarter. On the ensuing West Virginia drive, Fox completed a 26-yard pass to Rodney Gallagher III that set the table for Cyncir Bowers’ 21-yard run that extended the margin to 14-0.
Weigman responded with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Koziol that shaved the deficit in half with 58 seconds left in the opening period, but his fumble early in the second quarter enabled the Mountaineers to reclaim their two-score advantage. Jimmori Robinson recovered the Weigman fumble at the Houston 27 and, two plays later, Fox hit Cam Vaughn for a 24-yard scoring strike. The Mountaineers’ 21 first-half points were a season high and more than they had scored in each of their last two complete games.
Weigman pulled the Cougars even at the break by capping an eight-play, 75-yard march with a 1-yard scoring run before Houston capitalized on a short field and knotted the score at 21-21 when Thomas snagged a 9-yard touchdown pass with 3:03 remaining in the first half.
