2023-11-12 05:03:18
West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene (6) hands off the ball to West Virginia running back CJ Donaldson Jr. (4) on a play once morest Oklahoma during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Dillon Gabriel accounted for a school-record eight touchdowns to help No. 17 Oklahoma roll past West Virginia 59-20 on Saturday night.
Gabriel passed for 423 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 50 yards and three scores. He surpassed the previous touchdown record of seven set by Baker Mayfield in 2016 and matched by Kyler Murray in 2018.
Drake Stoops had career highs of 164 yards and three touchdowns receiving, Gavin Sawchuk had a career-best 135 yards rushing and Nic Anderson added four catches for 119 yards for Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2 Big 12, No. 17 CFP), which bounced back from a loss to rival Oklahoma State the previous Saturday.
West Virginia’s CJ Donaldson ran for 79 yards and a touchdown before going down with a left leg injury in the third quarter. Devin Carter added three catches for 67 yards and a score for the Mountaineers (6-4, 4-3).
This was a critical game for positioning in race to qualify for the Big 12 championship game. Both teams entered the day a game behind conference co-leaders Oklahoma State and Texas. Oklahoma State was blown out at UCF earlier Saturday, adding to this game’s significance.
Gabriel ran for a pair of 2-yard touchdowns in the first quarter to help the Sooners take a 14-7 lead. He threw touchdown passes of 3 yards to Austin Stogner and 32 yards to Jayden Gibson in the second quarter to help the Sooners go up 31-7.
West Virginia drove to the Oklahoma 1-yard line late in the second quarter, but the Sooners stopped Donaldson on a shovel pass on fourth and goal.
The Mountaineers got one more possession before halftime. With help from two pass interference penalties, they got into the end zone. Kole Taylor’s 3-yard touchdown catch from Garrett Greene with 7 seconds left in the first half trimmed Oklahoma’s lead to 31-14 at the break. Oklahoma outgained West Virginia 371 yards to 212 in the first half.
On Oklahoma’s opening possession of the second half, Gabriel connected with Stoops for a 60-yard catch and run for a touchdown to put the Sooners up 38-14. It was the longest reception of Stoops’ career.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Lopsided losses by Oklahoma State and Tennessee, who were both ahead of the Sooners in the latest poll, are among the events that should help the Sooners move up several spots.
THE TAKEAWAY
West Virginia: The Mountaineers are having a better season than expected, but they weren’t quite ready to step up when the chance to be a championship contender arose. Greene completed just 10 of 27 passes for 154 yards, and he ran for just 24 yards on 10 carries.
Oklahoma: The Sooners appear to have found a clear No. 1 running back. Several players had been splitting carries for much of the season, but Sawchuk has taken the top role with back-to-back games with at least 100 yards rushing.
UP NEXT
West Virginia: Hosts Cincinnati on Saturday.
Oklahoma: Visits BYU on Saturday.
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