The Big 12 Conference became even more top-heavy Thursday night, with just two teams, Oklahoma and Texas, standing either unbeaten (the Sooners) or with one loss (Texas).
That’s because Houston, looking for its first-ever win as a member of the conference, got it at home Thursday with a Hail Mary as time expired to top West Virginia, 41-39 (49-yard Hail Mary as time expires helps Houston beat W. Virginia 41-39, get 1st Big 12 win).
Stephon Johnson caught a ball from Donovan Smith that was thrown from midfield and then tipped, but caught by Johnson and in for the touchdown. Smith had a fantastic night, only missing six passes (21-of-27) for 253 yards, four touchdowns, and also ran for a touchdown.
Johnson had four catches for 96 yards.
Garrett Greene threw two touchdowns and scored two rushing touchdowns for the Mountaineers. Greene went 20-of-38 for 391 yards.
Houston is now 3-3 on the season, and 1-2 in the conference. The Cougars have a big one next Saturday, though, hosting once-beaten Texas.
West Virginia drops to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Mountaineers had won four straight before falling on the Hail Mary play. They’ll host Oklahoma State next Saturday.
Also Thursday night, SMU beat East Carolina, 31-10. On Wednesday night, UTEP beat Florida International, 27-14, and New Mexico State beat Sam Houston, 27-13.
On Tuesday, Middle Tennessee held off Louisiana Tech, 31-23, and Tech wide receiver “Smoke” Harris had 11 catches for 129 yards. Anyone who hasn’t seen Harris should make an effort to watch a Tech game.
Also Tuesday, Liberty beat Jacksonville State, 31-13, and Coastal Carolina edged by Appalachian State, 27-24.
There are three games Friday night: Memphis (4-1, 1-0 in the American Athletic Conference) hosts Tulane (4-1, 1-0) at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time on ESPN; Fresno State (5-1, 1-1 in the Mountain West) visits Utah State (3-3, 1-1), at 7 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network; and Stanford (1-4, 0-3 in the Pac-12) visits Colorado (4-2, 1-2), at 9 p.m.
