MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Freshman running back Samaje Perine ran for 242 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead fourth-ranked Oklahoma to a 45-33 victory over West Virginia Saturday night at Milan Puskar Stadium.

 

West Virginia (2-2, 0-1) battled Oklahoma toe-to-toe in the first half before the Sooners’ big offensive line and powerful running game wore down the Mountaineers in the second half.

 

OU finished the game with 301 yards on the ground – 180 of those coming after intermission.

 

"They came out and beat us on all three sides of the ball," said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. "We got out-played; got out-coached. My congratulations to Oklahoma. They're a good football team."

 

Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0) drew first blood, scoring on its second possession, driving from its own 5 to the West Virginia 25 before the drive stalled. Michael Hunnicutt’s 42-yard field goal easily sailed through the uprights to make it 3-0, Sooners.

 

Then after an exchange of punts, West Virginia struck quickly from its own 32 when Zack Sanchez bit on a double move by Kevin White and Clint Trickett hit him in stride down near sideline for a 68-yard touchdown.

 

Josh Lambert’s point after made it 7-3, Mountaineers.

 

Lambert added three more early in the second quarter when he nailed a career long 54-yard field goal. Lambert actually made his first try from 44 yards, but Russell Haughton-James got called for holding, forcing Lambert’s second attempt from the Sooner 44.

 

Oklahoma immediately answered on the ensuing possession, driving 75 yards in just five plays – most of it coming from Perine – whose 38-yard burst down the near sideline got the ball to the WVU 6.  Two plays later, Trevor Knight scored on a 4-yard reverse pass from Durron Neal. Hunnicutt’s point after tied the game at 10.

 

West Virginia responded with a 75-yard drive that once again ended in the end zone when Trickett located Mario Alford down the near sideline for a 30-yard touchdown hookup. Initially Alford was ruled out of bounds, but instant replay clearly showed that he had one foot in before sliding out of bounds.

 

Oklahoma tied the game at 17 on its next possession when the Sooners once again marched 75 yards, mixing Knight passes to Neal, Young and Ross, with more Perine runs. The 245-pounder eventually crossed the goal line from the 2 on a third-and-goal run.

 

At this point, it was a matter of West Virginia’s offense being able to keep up with the OU offense. The Mountaineers did on their next possession, getting help from the Sooners on a pair of penalties on Julian Wilson and Charles Tapper to move the ball to the OU 26. From there, Rushel Shell ran 18 yards to the 8, and two more Shell runs got West Virginia back into the end zone, his second one coming from the 5.

 

The Mountaineers’ 24-17 lead lasted only 12 seconds, however, or the amount of time it took Alex Ross to run right through West Virginia’s kickoff coverage unit for a 100-yard touchdown. Last week, the Mountaineer punt coverage team gave up a 69-yard punt return for a score against Maryland.

 

The teams went into the locker room tied at 24.

 

Oklahoma’s opening possession of the second half once again ended with points, the Sooners mixing runs from Perine with a couple of Knight throws to Sterling Shepard, the big one being a 37-yard hookup down the near sideline to the Mountaineer 21. Three plays later, Perine was able to shake free for a 9-yard touchdown.

 

Following a Lambert 31-yard field goal, Perine got touchdown run No. 3 with one minute remaining in the third quarter. Following a Quentin Hayes interception at the Oklahoma 26, Alex Ross got the Sooners right back in business with a 34-yard run to the West Virginia 40. Then, OU converted a big third down to the Mountaineer 29 when Knight hit K.J. Young on a quick slant for seven yards.

 

Oklahoma made another third down at the 21 when Blake Bell took a direct snap and ran for two to the 19. Meanwhile, Noble Nwachukwu was flagged for a personal foul on the play, moving the football half the distance to the goal to the 9. From there, two Perine runs, the second coming from the 5, put Oklahoma ahead 38-27.

 

Perine’s fourth rushing touchdown with 4:30 left in the game went for 19 yards, and this time Oklahoma’s scoring drive was all Perine. He had runs of 9, 4, 21, 12 and 19 yards against a spent Mountaineer defense.

 

West Virginia added a late touchdown when Dreamius Smith scored from 11 yards out with 2:12 remaining. Trickett’s two-point conversion pass to White sailed high, making the score 45-33. After Shepard recovered Michael Molinari’s onside kick, Perine ran out the clock.

 

Knight finished the game 16-of-29 passing for 205 yards, and Shepard caught five passes for 101 yards.

 

For West Virginia, Trickett completed 25-of-41 passes for 376 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions and fumbled once.

 

White had another exceptional game, catching 10 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. The senior has now had 100-yard receiving performances in all four games so far this season.

 

Alford also produced 101 yards receiving on seven catches, making it the second consecutive week the Mountaineers had dual 100-yard receivers.

 

West Virginia actually outgained Oklahoma, 513-510, but the Sooners had the bigger number where it counted most – on the scoreboard.

 

"They blocked well, they tackled well, they covered well and they played with more effort than we did in the second half," said Holgorsen. "They're a good team."

 

An announced crowd of 61,908 attended tonight's game.

 

West Virginia is idle next weekend before resuming Big 12 action on Saturday, October 4, against Kansas at Milan Puskar Stadium.

 

Oklahoma is also off next week. The Sooners are back in action on Saturday, October 4 at TCU.