OK State rallies past No. 9 W. Va.
OKLAHOMA STATE 45, NO. 9 WEST VIRGINIA 41
STILLWATER, Okla. — Taylor Cornelius passed for 338 yards, ran for 106 more and threw a touchdown to Tylan Wallace with 42 seconds remaining to rally Oklahoma State past No. 9 West Virginia, 45-41, on Saturday.
West Virginia quarterback Will Grier led the Mountaineers down to the Oklahoma State 14-yard line but couldn’t connect with David Sills V on the final play. The loss all but ended West Virginia’s shot at the College Football Playoff and put a dent in Grier’s Heisman Trophy campaign.
Oklahoma State (6-5, 3-5) became bowl eligible with the victory. West Virginia (8-2, 6-2) faces Oklahoma on Friday and still has a shot at reaching the Big 12 title game.
Grier’s 6-yard touchdown run on fourth down in the fourth quarter gave West Virginia a 41-31 lead, but Cornelius’ 16-yard touchdown run and a stop by Oklahoma State’s defense put the Cowboys in position to win.
Oklahoma State now has Top 25 victories over Boise State, Texas and West Virginia this season. The Cowboys won despite leading rusher Justice Hill sitting out with a rib injury.
In other Top 25 games Saturday, Trevor Lawrence was 21 for 38 for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns and No. 2 Clemson overcame a slow start to beat Duke 35-6 to finish a perfect Atlantic Coast Conference season. … Ian Book returned to the starting lineup for No. 3 Notre Dame and threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns to beat No. 12 Syracuse 36-3 and help the Fighting Irish stay on target for a trip to the College Football Playoff. … Karan Higdon ran for a go-ahead touchdown early in the third quarter and Jake Moody set a school record with six field goals, helping No. 4 Michigan beat Indiana 31-20. … Kyler Murray accounted for two of his five touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help No. 6 Oklahoma survive Kansas freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr.’s big game in a 55-40 victory. … McKenzie Milton threw for 268 yards and accounted for 4 touchdowns to help No. 11 Central Florida remain unbeaten and extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 23 games with a 38-13 rout of No. 24 Cincinnati. … Trace McSorley threw two touchdown passes to tight end Pat Freiermuth and No. 14 Penn State’s defense set up two touchdowns with turnovers as they beat Rutgers 20-7. … Sam Ehlinger ran for a touchdown and passed for another before leaving with a shoulder injury, and No. 15 Texas smothered No. 16 Iowa State freshman quarterback Brock Purdy in a 24-10 victory that pushed the Longhorns closer to a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game. … Jake Browning threw 3 touchdown passes and Myles Gaskin rushed for 135 yards in the final home game of their careers, and No. 18 Washington scored 28 first-quarter points on its way to a 42-23 victory over Oregon State. … Jason Shelley threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the snow as No. 19 Utah moved closer to its first Pac-12 title game appearance by beating Colorado 30-7. … Deondre Francois threw a 74yard touchdown pass to Tamorrion Terry with 1:49 left and Florida State beat No. 20 Boston College 22-21 to keep its bowl hopes alive. … Isaiah Bowser rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns and No. 22 Northwestern beat Minnesota 24-14. … Collin Hill’s apparent 34-yard touchdown pass to Preston Williams with no time left was negated by penalty, giving No. 23 Utah State a victory over Colorado State 29-24 in a wild and stunning finish to a game played in snow and freezing rain.