Virginia

Twelve seconds to victory. How UH beat West Virginia on Hail Mary

Published

1 year ago

October 13, 2023

Twelve seconds to victory. How UH beat West Virginia on Hail Mary

They will always remember the first Big 12 football win in University of Houston history.

They will remember that little patch of turf in the left corner of the end zone, where a prayer was answered and a season, at least for now, saved.

How the Cougars overcame what appeared to be a certain gut-wrenching loss and dialed up one of the school’s most improbable wins in years.

Three seconds left.

At the 49-yard line.

The Throw.

The Tip.

The Catch.

The Celebration.

West Virginia	10	0	7	22	—	39
Houston	7	7	7	20	—	41

First Quarter

WVU_FG Hayes 27, 4:16.

HOU_Golden 100 kickoff return (J.Martin kick), 4:03.

WVU_Donaldson 5 run (Hayes kick), :13.

Second Quarter

HOU_D.Smith 2 run (J.Martin kick), :28.

Third Quarter

WVU_Ray 35 pass from Greene (Hayes kick), 13:06.

HOU_Manjack 15 pass from D.Smith (J.Martin kick), 5:15.

Fourth Quarter

WVU_Greene 1 run (Hayes kick), 14:16.

HOU_Brown 8 pass from D.Smith (J.Martin kick), 12:02.

HOU_S.Johnson 21 pass from D.Smith (J.Martin kick), 7:28.

WVU_Greene 8 run (Ray pass from Greene), 3:42.

WVU_Clement 50 pass from Greene (Hayes kick), :12.

HOU_S.Johnson 49 pass from D.Smith, :00.

___

	WVU	HOU
First downs	26	21
Total Net Yards	546	393
Rushes-yards	44-155	26-140
Passing	391	253
Punt Returns	2-3	2-18
Kickoff Returns	5-92	5-184
Interceptions Ret.	0-0	1-0
Comp-Att-Int	20-38-1	21-27-0
Sacked-Yards Lost	0-0	2-13
Punts	4-39.5	6-41.167
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	0-0
Penalties-Yards	8-84	7-70
Time of Possession	36:43	23:17

___

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_West Virginia, Donaldson 17-66, Greene 12-47, White 7-23, Gallagher 2-11, Horton 1-4, Anderson 5-4. Houston, Sneed 7-78, D.Smith 12-34, P.Jenkins 6-24, Mathis 1-4.

PASSING_West Virginia, Greene 20-38-1-391. Houston, D.Smith 21-27-0-253.

RECEIVING_West Virginia, Carter 5-116, Taylor 5-62, Ray 3-43, Clement 2-59, Donaldson 2-25, Horton 1-45, Fox 1-31, Anderson 1-10. Houston, S.Johnson 4-96, Manjack 4-55, Golden 3-34, Brown 3-31, P.Jenkins 3-9, Carnes 2-17, O’Laughlin 1-8, Mathis 1-3.

MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.

Quarterback Donovan Smith heaved a pass from near midfield that was tipped into the hands of Stephon Johnson as time expired to give the Cougars a thrilling 41-39 victory over West Virginia on Thursday night at TDECU Stadium.

“I don’t know how that happened at the end,” coach Dana Holgorsen said. “I guess the football gods were on our side. We’ll take it.”

After lopsided losses to TCU and Texas Tech to begin Big 12 play, UH (3-3, 1-2) led 35-24 with 7½ minutes left following touchdown catches by Samuel Brown and Johnson.

Then the 11-point lead disappeared. West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene scored on an 8-yard run with 3:42 left and, following a UH punt, the Mountaineers marched 88 yards in 65 seconds. A 50-yard catch-and-run by Hudson Clement put West Virginia ahead 39-35 with 12 seconds left.

“I don’t think I could have been more mad and happier in a matter of less than a minute,” Holgorsen said.

On the touchdown, West Virginia was called for a celebration penalty, pushing the kickoff back 15 yards.

“The celebration penalty after the last touchdown is kind of a microcosm to me of the game,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “We don’t get that celebration penalty, which is completely asinine for us to take our helmets off. That gave them an opportunity to get into scoring position.”

On the sideline, Smith prepared for one last chance.

“There is 12 seconds on the clock,” he said. “A lot of people may think we’re out of it.”

All along, Smith said he leaned on his faith. He began to recite his daily devotional on the sideline.

“Do not fear, for I will help you.”

Then he remembered what his mother always told him.

“The game is not over until the fat lady sings,” he said.

Stacy Sneed took the kickoff at the UH 25-yard line and returned it 18 yards to the 43-yard line.

Seven seconds left.

Smith found Dalton Carnes near the sideline for an 8-yard gain — one of his 16 straight completions to end the game.

Three seconds left.

On the final play, Smith took the snap, avoided a defender and rolled to his left, twisting his hips to heave the ball as a Jared Bartlett closed in.

“I just saw my guys down there, so I just tried to put enough air on it and try and get it in the end zone,” Smith said.

“Just Hail Mary,” Johnson said when asked if the play had a name. “Go get the ball.”

The Hail Mary was designed with two jumpers, in this case Samuel Brown and Joseph Manjack IV, and Johnson and Carnes as trailers.

Manjack got past one defender and found himself near the goal line, surrounded by three other West Virginia players. Johnson, who cut across from the far side, was pushed from behind and briefly stumbled into safety Marcis Floyd. At that moment, Manjack jumped for the ball, along with the Mountaineers’ Anthony Wilson and Hershey McLaurin, and tipped it with his left hand at the goal line. Johnson, whose nickname is “Boogie,” turned at the last possible second, snagged the ball around the 1-yard line and stepped into the end zone for the game-winning catch.

“As soon I turned around, I just saw Manjack make a great play on the ball and tip it,” Johnson said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to grab it. It’s right there in my face.’”

Johnson took a few steps before he was mobbed by teammates.

“I still don’t know how to feel about it,” Johnson said.

Smith stood motionless near midfield.

“I was in shock,” he said. “There’s no way that just happened.”

Safety AJ Haulcy, who had a season-high 15 tackles, had an obstructed view on the sideline. Only when he saw the referee raise his arms to signal a touchdown did he know the Cougars had won.

“A helmet came flying down and almost hit me,” Haulcy said. “I ran onto the field to celebrate.”

UH’s student section spilled onto the field.

“I looked around and see people running past me,” Smith said. “I found Dana and started hugging him and jumping with him like we were little kids.”

Houston 41, West Virginia 39.

A season on the brink of collapse suddenly feels like it has life.

Plenty remains to fix.

But for one night, the Cougars could party. Just call it “Boogie Nights.”

“Our backs were against the wall,” Holgorsen said. “It was pretty unbelievable.”

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Virginia

VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game

Published

4 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game

With the game of year looming this weekend, members of the Virginia football team were made available to to the media after practice on Tuesday morning to talk about the regular season finale against Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday night in Blacksburg. Watch the video below to hear what UVA senior safety Jonas Sanker, graduate tight ends Tyler Neville and Sackett Wood Jr., and graduate defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter had to say ahead of the Virginia Tech game:

Sanker is the team’s leader in tackles with 89 total tackles and also leads the ACC in solo stops with 60 unassisted tackles. He has racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and an interception as part of a strong senior campaign that should earn Sanker some serious consideration for a First-Team All-ACC selection.

A transfer from Harvard, Tyler Neville is Virginia’s second-leading receiver with 35 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns. Sackett Wood Jr., meanwhile, has recorded three receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown this season. Between the two of them, Neville and Wood have combined to appear in 83 college football games and make 48 starts.

Saturday will be the 55th game in the five-year career of Jahmeer Carter, who has started nearly every game for the last four seasons at Virginia. This season, Carter has 30 total tackles, including nine solo stops, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass defender. For his career, Carter is up to 131 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.5 tackles for loss.

Saturday night will be the first time Virginia plays at Lane Stadium in front of fans since the 2018 season, as the 2020 edition of the Commonwealth Clash was played in front of only 250 fans due to COVID-19 restrictions and then the 2022 Virginia vs. Virginia Tech game was canceled due to the shooting tragedy at UVA.

Virginia is seeking its first road victory at Virginia Tech since 1998, as the Hokies have won the last 11 Commonwealth Clash games played at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech has won 17 of the last 18 overall games against Virginia and leads UVA 61-38-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1895.

Both Virginia and Virginia Tech bring a 5-6 overall record into the regular season finale and both need to win the game in order to reach the six-win threshold required for bowl eligibility. There is only one other game this weekend between FBS teams who are battling for bowl eligibility (Eastern Michigan vs. Western Michigan). Virginia and Virginia Tech played each other for bowl eligibility at the end of the 2014 season.

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Virginia

Virginia Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Night results for Nov. 26, 2024

Published

11 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 26, 2024, results for each game:

Mega Millions

Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.

05-22-24-39-42, Mega Ball: 03, Megaplier: 3

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 3

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 7-3-0, FB: 2

Day: 7-2-1, FB: 5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 4

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 1-6-6-8, FB: 5

Day: 7-4-5-8, FB: 4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 5

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 0-5-4-9-9, FB: 2

Day: 6-9-5-3-2, FB: 0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash4Life

Drawing everyday at 9 p.m.

04-11-13-30-39, Cash Ball: 02

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash Pop

Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.

Coffee Break: 04

After Hours: 05

Prime Time: 06

Rush Hour: 09

Lunch Break: 12

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash 5

Drawing every day at 11 p.m.

12-22-31-38-44

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Virginia

Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways

Published

19 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways

Virginia (4-2) got back in the win column with a 74-65 victory over Manhattan (3-3) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Here are our five quick takeaways from the Cavaliers’ win over the Jaspers.

Virginia was in serious need of a win after suffering those two humbling losses to Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. But a convincing and comfortable victory would have been even better and for a while, it seemed like the Cavaliers were on their way to doing just that. UVA led by as many as 15 points in the first half and opened up a 16-point advantage midway through the second half. But rather than putting the game away, Virginia let Manhattan hang around and the visiting Jaspers were in a situation where they were fouling to stop the clock in the final minutes, narrowing the deficit to as little as six points. A win is a win, but this was far from a confidence-boosting performance.

Virginia went with a new starting lineup on Tuesday night, as Andrew Rohde replaced TJ Power. Rohde has been playing very well recently, particularly with his resurgent outside shot, while Power came into this game shooting 25% from beyond the arc this season.

Power initially responded well to the benching, swishing a corner three shortly after he first entered the game, hitting the deck for a loose ball, and coming up with a steal to stop a Manhattan fastbreak. But he wound up playing only six minutes, fewest among Cavaliers who saw the floor in the game. That does not bode well for the Duke transfer.

Read Val’s Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.

Rohde, on the other hand, had another solid game and was perhaps the top performer for the Hoos on Tuesday night. Though he missed his only three-pointer, which was a desperation off-balanced heave at the end of the shot clock, Rohde finished with a season-high 14 points, two assists (with one turnover), two rebounds, and four steals. Rohde showed excellent feel for the game, getting exactly where he wanted to go and exhibiting some nice touch on a couple of floaters plus a short jumper off the glass. If Rohde is playing like this and his three-point shot continues to be there, this could be a big season for the former St. Thomas transfer.

The main reason why this game continued to be close deep into the second half is because UVA’s defense frequently broke down and gave up open shots to Manhattan, particularly from the perimeter. The Jaspers shot 11/26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc and and seven different players knocked down a three. A couple of those Manhattan triples were well-contested, but the vast majority of them were wide-open. That’s very concerning and shows that this Virginia defense, with its many new faces, is still very much a work in progress.

Virginia’s offense was pretty well neutralized by Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. Tuesday night against Manhattan was a small step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

Let’s start with the good. Five different Cavaliers scored in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from Isaac McKneely, who hit three of his four three-point attempts and went 5/6 from the free throw line. We still think McKneely needs to shoot way more, but we’ll leave that alone for now. Dai Dai Ames scored 10 points and dished out five assists, but fouled out of the game. Blake Buchanan made his first four shots and finished with 11 points and five boards. Cofie made five of his seven shots and finished with 10 points and five boards. The best part of the game was that Virginia had 15 assists on 29 made baskets and turned the ball over only eight times, a vast improvement over the team’s turnover issues in The Bahamas.

Virginia outscored Manhattan 42-22 in the paint. That looks like a good stat, but it’s also an inevitable stat because of UVA’s size advantage over the Jaspers, whose tallest player in the rotation is 6’8″. Still, Manhattan snared 10 offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points. In The Bahamas, UVA was dominated on the glass and was simply outmatched from a physicality and athleticism standpoint. Nothing we saw from the Cavaliers on Tuesday night did anything to alleviate those concerns.

Up next, Virginia remains at home for another (supposed) tune-up game against Holy Cross on Friday at 4pm at John Paul Jones Arena.

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UVA Basketball: Ten Things We Learned About Virginia in The Bahamas

Virginia Basketball Falls to St. John’s 80-55 | Key Takeaways

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