WVU football escapes Baylor with close victory

A win is a win. The WVU football team almost let a sure-fire win slip away, but it did enough to beat Baylor on Saturday.

The WVU football team led by as many as 25 points late in the fourth quarter, but the Bears rallied back for an impressive final frame. The Mountaineers clung to a 38-36 win in Waco that came down to the final minute.

The defense of West Virginia unravelled in the fourth quarter, but it held on when needed as Baylor mishandled a two-point conversion in the final minute that would have tied the game.

All in all, the Mountaineers were again impressive on offense. Quarterback Will Grier continued to amaze as he had another 300-plus throwing performance. Grier finished with 375 passing yards by completing 26 of 37 passes. He did not throw an interception and he finished with five touchdown passes.

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Two wide receivers caught more than 100 yards for the WVU football team as David Sills and Gary Jennings each had great days. Sills, the nation’s leader in touchdown receptions, brought his yearly total up to 15 scores as he caught three touchdowns passes against Baylor. Sills ended up with 132 yards on seven catches. Jennings caught eight passes to lead all receivers and he finished with 116 yards, though he did not reach the end zone.

Marcus Simms and Ka’Raun White each caught touchdown passes and finished with 71 and 33 yards, respectively. Baylor also had two receivers tally more than 100 yards and Denzel Mims (132) and Trestan Ebener (109) both passed the mark.

The West Virginia running game came up with 118 total yards, though the team again did not have a rusher individually go for more than 100 yards. Kennedy McKoy led the way with seven carries for 55 yards. Justin Crawford had 10 carries for 30 yards.

Related Story: David Sills is having an All-American season for Mountaineers

In the first quarter, the WVU football team amassed a 10-0 lead and led 38-13 at the end of the third quarter. The Bears had 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter as the Mountaineers had no answer late in the game.

Baylor capped the scoring with a nine-yard pass from Charlie Brewer to Ebener with 17 seconds remaining to bring the score to 38-36. On the two-point conversion attempt, Xavier Preston saved the day with a sack of Brewer.

The Bears still had a last chance to try for the win with an onside kick attempt. It was recovered by WVU’s Hakeen Bailey and the Mountaineers were able to run out the clock to get out of Waco with a win.

Next: 30 best games in WVU football history

Baylor is still winless on the year at 0-7. The WVU football team improved to 5-2 and 3-1 in the Big 12 Conference. The Mountaineers are the No. 22 team in the country, according to the Associated Press. West Virginia is back in action on Saturday against Oklahoma State.