Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Scotty Fox Jr. completed 17 of 28 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown as West Virginia held off Colorado 29-22 on Saturday afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Curtis Jones Jr. scored a pair of short touchdown runs on just three carries. Diore Hubbard added 64 rushing yards on 16 attempts and posted a team-high 95 receiving yards on six catches for the Mountaineers (4-6, 2-6 Big 12).
The victory marks the first time this season WVU has won back-to-back games.
“First off, I’m really proud of the guys to pull out a win. We didn’t really play well, but they stayed engaged,” head coach Rich Rodriguez said.
Colorado (3-7, 1-6) has now dropped three straight but kept this one close after being outscored 105-24 in its previous two contests.
Freshman quarterback Ju Ju Lewis impressed in his first start, throwing for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Fox threw two interceptions, with his second proving costly. His deep ball down the near sideline was intercepted by John Slaughter at the WVU 42 and returned to the 20. Three plays later, with 7:19 left in the third quarter, Lewis found Omarion Miller for a 23-yard touchdown to cut WVU’s lead to 19-16.
Jones later powered in from four yards out with 4:15 remaining to extend the Mountaineers’ lead to 29-19.
Colorado pulled within 29-22 on Alejandro Mata’s third field goal of the game, but WVU recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
West Virginia surrendered a blocked punt for a safety in the first quarter — its first since 2014.
The Buffaloes won’t be going to a bowl for the fourth time in five seasons, while the Mountaineers kept their postseason hopes alive with the win.
WVU travels to Arizona State next Saturday.
Photo Credit: Kelsie LeRose, WVSN
