“I was really happy with the way the guys responded,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. “There is nothing easy with Big 12 football, I can assure you that, and we knew this Iowa State team wasn’t going to quit and keep playing. And they made it hard for us at the end.”

 

The Mountaineers (7-5, 5-4) outscored the Cyclones 30-3 over the remaining 42 minutes of the game after Iowa State took a 21-7 lead on Tad Ecby’s 29-yard touchdown reception from Sam Richardson with 11:57 remaining in the second quarter.

 

West Virginia immediately responded on the ensuing possession when Skyler Howard found Jordan Thompson for 28 yards to the 50, and then three plays later, Howard located Mario Alford in the corner of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown.

 

A Howard-to-Alford TD hookup on West Virginia’s next drive tied the game at 21.

 

Thompson was once again the catalyst, taking a reverse 29 yards to move the ball to the 45. A Howard scramble for 24 got the ball to the 21. A pass interference call on Kenneth Lynn attempting to cover Kevin White moved the ball to the 6 and two plays later, Howard fired a bullet right into the arms of Alford for a 4-yard score.

 

Two Josh Lambert field goes at the end of the first half of 46 and 32 yards gave West Virginia a 27-21 advantage at halftime.

 

"We didn't play well in the first half and I don't know why," said Holgorsen.

 

In the second half, Iowa State possessed the ball for most of the third quarter but was only able to come up with three points, those the result of Cole Netten’s 34-yard field goal.

 

West Virginia had the ball just twice in the third quarter, those two possessions netting only two first downs. Lambert's two 40-plus-yard field goals today gives him an NCAA record 15 for the season.

 

A key moment in the game came following a successful fake field goal by holder Austin Fischer when he took off for five yards and a first down at the WVU 21. Aaron Wimberly ran for five yards, DeVondrick Nealy was stacked up for no gain, and then on third and 5 at the 16, Richardson tried to fit in a pass down the near side of the field to Jarvis West that Terrell Chestnut was able to pick off in the end zone.

 

The Mountaineers were not able to score on their next possession, but got the breathing room they needed on the following possession when Howard avoided pressure, scrambled out to his left and found a wide open Daikiel Shorts standing in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown.

 

Three plays earlier, Alford was able to haul in a third-and-five pass at the Mountaineer 34 that he bobbled momentarily before securing and racing 36 yards to the Iowa State 30. The total play covered 40 yards and would have been a touchdown had Alford not juggled the pass.

 

Later in the fourth quarter, Lambert knocked in a 43-yard field goal with 5:35 remaining to make it a two-possession game.

 

West Virginia continued to make it interesting, first allowing a couple of fourth-down pass completions – one at the Iowa State 7-yard line – and then Howard fumbled at the West Virginia 29 when the Mountaineers were trying to run out the clock and win the game.

 

Rushel Shell, who scored the game’s first touchdown on a 54-yard burst up the middle, finished the day with a season-high 146 yards on 22 carries.

 

Howard, making his first career start in place of injured starter Clint Trickett, completed 21-of-40 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. Howard was also effective running the football, the sophomore finishing the day as West Virginia’s second leading rusher with 69 yards on seven carries.

 

“He’s a competitor,” said Holgorsen. “He’s pretty calm. He’s pretty collected. He’s pretty cool under pressure. I was really proud with the way he came out and played. Nothing rattled him. He can fumble or throw an interception and he just comes to the sidelines and keeps playing, and that’s got the makings of a great player.”

 

Overall, the Mountaineers were perfectly balanced offensively – 285 yards rushing and 285 yards passing for 570 yards.

 

Alford led all pass catchers with five catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin White didn’t have a great day statistically, snaring just four catches for 48 yards, but he did become just the third player in school history to catch more than 100 passes in a season. He now shows 102 catches for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns.

 

Alford’s regular season ended with 62 catches for 888 yards and a team-best 10 touchdowns.

 

"We didn't finish against them last year and our guys took that to heart and wanted to make sure we finished this year, so I'm proud of the guys and the way they attacked the week and we will start getting ready for the bowl game here starting next week," said Holgorsen.

 

Richardson completed 26-of-50 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns; D’Vario Montgomery led the Cyclones with five catches for 71 yards, while Wimberly was Iowa State’s top ground gainer with 77 yards on 22 attempts.

 

Iowa State, which falls to 2-9, will conclude its season next Saturday at TCU.

 

West Virginia’s regular season ends with a 7-5 mark, including a 5-4 record in Big 12 play – its first winning record in conference action since joining the league in 2012. The Mountaineers will learn their bowl destination following next Saturday’s games, possibly to the Liberty Bowl to face an SEC team.