Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Michael Hawkins Jr. threw two touchdowns and rushed for 96 yards as West Virginia blasted UT Martin 52-7 on Saturday afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium.
The Mountaineers are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2018 and remain unbeaten all-time against teams from the FCS.
“I thought our offense played pretty sharp, particularly the first offense, and the defense almost had a shut out, and I didn’t think they played particularly well,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball.”
Hawkins finished with 155 yards while completing 5-of-7 passes. The Oklahoma transfer threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to DJ Epps on the opening drive. He also had runs of 71 and 5 yards as the Mountaineers built a 28-0 halftime lead. He threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ryan Ward on the first drive of the third quarter.
Cam Cook had 52 rushing yards and one touchdown.
The Skyhawks had just 318 total yards of offense. Tate Surber completed 19 of 28 passes for 137 yards for UT Martin (1-2).Â
John Betts III got the Skyhawks on the board with 3:25 left in the game, returning a fumble six yards for a touchdown.
WVU faces No. 25 Virginia in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday night.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
