AUSTIN, Texas — It’s a play no West Virginia fan is likely to forget for a long, long time — the culmination of a perfect marriage between gutsy coach and ultra-talented quarterback.
Dana Holgorsen’s faith in Will Grier paid off in a big way as the No. 13 Mountaineers converted a 2-point conversion on Grier’s decision to tuck the ball and run for the burnt orange end zone with 16 seconds remaining, resulting in a 42-41 win over No. 17 Texas in front of 100,703 fans at Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium.
“We had four options on that play,” Grier said of the pass-first design. “I was the fourth.”
There was good reason not to expect Grier to run. He was banged up early in the game, forced to leave for a play at the end of the first quarter when he wrenched his knee after Texas linebacker Malcolm Roach yanked him down on a horse-collar penalty.
Technically speaking, the play was West Virginia’s fifth option in the do-or-die situation. The Mountaineers appeared to have already executed their first, an easy slant pattern from Grier to fellow senior David Sills. But Texas head coach Tom Herman raced onto the field to call a timeout milliseconds before the snap — meaning the play never actually happened.
“That was a pretty good timeout on his part,” Grier said. “They made a couple of adjustments, and I took it upon myself. What’s going through my head was ‘I’m doing whatever I have to do to get past that line.’ ”
Herman said the Longhorns got precisely what they wanted out of the adjusted play, which was designed with the idea of turning Grier into a runner.
“I think we all kind of knew what was happening, especially after they didn’t snap the ball after we had called timeout,” Herman said. “I was actually surprised they ran the same play. But we thought we could defend the slant and still get to the QB draw, and the kid kind of jumped up and wheeled back around, made a great run. That’s why he’s going to be a first-rounder.”
The Mountaineers’ decision to go for 2 was not made at the spur of the moment. As soon as Texas scored on a 48-yard pass from Sam Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay to take a 41-34 lead with 2:34 left, Holgorsen decided West Virginia would go for the win should it have the opportunity.
“It was an easy decision,” Holgorsen said. “If you put the fate of the game in No. 7’s hands, I feel pretty good about it. We had that decision made before we even took the field.”
Though Grier decided the game, the drive itself was a credit to West Virginia’s play-calling diversity.
Even with the clock ticking, Holgorsen and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital decided to get the first chunks of land on the ground. Running back Kennedy McKoy picked up eight yards before a sideline pattern to Gary Jennings gained seven more. WVU then turned to running back Martell Pettaway, who picked up seven yards to get the Mountaineers near midfield.
Later, as the clock continued to tick down, Pettaway picked up another first down on second-and-1 from the Texas 38. That five-yard gain set up the defining throw of Grier’s college career.
Throwing the ball some 45 yards through the air off the wrong foot, Grier lofted a rainbow to Jennings in the back of the end zone.
“I don’t think anybody else in the country can make that pass,” West Virginia wide receiver David Sills said. “He threw that ball off his back foot and put it right on the money. He can be unconventional, but he makes it work.”
Jennings, who got a step ahead of Texas safety Caden Sterns, planted his right foot down just before leaving the back of the end zone.
Not even Jennings was sure if it was time to celebrate.
“I took a peek back at the ref to make sure he signaled,” said Jennings, who quickly received confirmation that he had scored a 33-yard touchdown.
But even then, the celebration was muted. The Mountaineers went into the drive knowing they were playing to win, and needed to get back to work promptly in order to do so.
“When we scored, everybody’s excited, but we have to calm everyone down and execute one more play to win this game,” Grier said. “It’s win or lose. That’s a fun situation to be in. We came out on top, and it speaks to execution and playing hard.”
