AMES, Iowa - West Virginia dipped deep into its depth chart to claim its ninth victory of the season.
Fourth-string tailback
Martell Pettaway had his redshirt lifted and he responded with a 30-carry, 181-yard rushing performance to lead 19
th-ranked West Virginia to a convincing 49-19 victory over Iowa State here this afternoon.
"It was either Martell or Eli (
Elijah Wellman) because we had no one left," West Virginia coach
Dana Holgorsen said. "It was walking wounded for us with 10-to-15 guys standing on the sidelines unable to play. But our guys stepped up and I'm proud of them for the way we played today."
Pettaway was forced to get the bulk of the carries because senior Rushel Shell III was unable to go during pregame warmups,
Justin Crawford was wearing a walking boot by the third series of the first quarter and
Kennedy McKoy was shelved after two carries.
Meanwhile, quarterback Skyler Howard completed 12 of 21 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns, and an opportunistic Mountaineer defense came up with four turnovers, including senior corner Rasul Douglas' eighth interception of the season.
Two of Howard's TD tosses went to Shelton Gibson, who finished the game with three catches for 161 yards.
"Coach Holgorsen all week said play your role," Gibson said. "I know I'm not the best intermediate route runner, but when they need a big play I try to step up."
WVU was legitimately concerned about this afternoon's game against the Cyclones, as West Virginia was coming off a disappointing 28-point loss to Oklahoma and Iowa State had a modest two-game winning streak under 36-year-old coach Matt Campbell.
But those concerns were allayed by the end of the third quarter when the Mountaineers took control of the game.
Iowa State (3-9, 2-7) got the scoring started on its opening possession, following a short
Billy Kinney punt that traveled just 14 yards to the 50.
Jacob Park hit Trever Ryen for 26 yards to the WVU 24 on first down, but two holding penalties against the Cyclones forced Cole Netten to kick a 40-yard field goal.
West Virginia answered on its next possession after Iowa State unsuccessfully tried an onside kick and Nana Kyeremah fell on the ball at the 49.
Seven plays later, on third and five, Howard hit
Ka'Raun White in stride on a quick slant and he got loose for a 34-yard touchdown.
Mike Molina's point after kick gave the Mountaineers a 7-3 lead.
Later in the first quarter, West Virginia extended its lead when Howard threw a 50-yard pass to a diving Shelton Gibson, who caught the ball near the goal line and fell into the end zone. Replay confirmed the catch, but ruled Gibson down at the one.
Kennedy McKoy was thrown for a two-yard loss on first down, but got in from the three on his second try.
West Virginia's double-digit advantage was short-lived, however, when Kene Nwangwu took Molina's short kick at the three, broke to his right and then made a quick move beyond Molina to his left and broke free for a 97-yard touchdown. It was the first kickoff return allowed for a touchdown by the Mountaineers this season.
Iowa State added another Netten field goal, his one tfrom 28 yards, to pull within one with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
ISU was hunting for more points at the WVU 39, facing a fourth and four, but Maurice Fleming broke up Park's pass out in the flat to Allen Lazard and WVU took over from there.
Pettaway carried twice for minimal yardage and a holding penalty called on Daikiel Shorts Jr. moved the ball back to the 33.
Here, Iowa State's Evrett Edwards was called for interfering White on Howard's deep pass down the middle, giving West Virginia a fresh set of downs at the 48. Two plays later, Howard hit true freshman
Marcus Simms down the far sideline for a 48-yard touchdown - Simms' first as a Mountaineer.
Netten concluded the first half scoring with his third field goal - from 32 yards - with 3:29 remaining.
West Virginia's defense forced an Iowa State punt to begin the third quarter, and the Mountaineers turned it into quick points when Howard fired a high-arching pass to Gibson, who ran under the ball at the Iowa State 27 and sprinted the rest of the way into the end zone for a 71-yard touchdown - WVU's longest scoring play of the season.
Netten's fourth field goal, from 31 yards, pulled Iowa State to within 28-19 with 8:50 left in the third quarter.
The Mountaineers answered with an eight-play, 86-yard drive that came mostly on the ground keyed by Howard's 39-yard run to midfield. From here, Pettaway got all but 17 of the yards on the ground, the other coming on a Howard 17-yard pass to Simms.
Pettaway carried five times on the drive, including the final four to reach the end zone for the first time in his career. Molina's conversion made it 35-19.
Then, a heads-up play by West Virginia's defense made it possible for the Mountaineers to put more points on the scoreboard.
David Montgomery broke free for a 45-yard run down the far sideline, but as he was seeking additional yardage, Rasul Douglas came from behind to punch the football out of his arms and Fleming recovered the fumble at the WVU 12.
Immediately, West Virginia went back to work with Pettaway, the Detroit, Michigan, resident running for five, 23 and then three more as third-quarter clock expired.
When play resumed, West Virginia, facing a third and 12 at its 38, used a screen pass to Pettaway over the middle for 25 yards to the Cyclone 37. After Pettaway was dropped for a 3-yard loss, Howard fired his fourth touchdown pass of the day, this one going for 40 yards to Gibson.
Molina's conversion gave WVU a 23-point lead with 13:37 to go.
Another Iowa State fumble, by Park, set up West Virginia's seventh touchdown - a six-yard reception by tight end
Trevon Wesco with 10:23 still to play.
Iowa State finished the game with 561 yards of offense, but failed to score an offensive touchdown today.
"I know Gibby (West Virginia defensive coordinator
Tony Gibson) won't be happy with the 561 yards, but we did a great job of preventing touchdowns and we got turnovers and that's a winning formula in today's game," Holgorsen said.
WVU claimed its ninth victory of the season and its sixth in conference play - both highs since joining the Big 12 in 2012 with one regular season game remaining next Saturday against 6-5 Baylor.
"We're not done," Holgorsen said. "We've got a chance to get 10 wins next weekend against Baylor."
That contest will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FS1. Tickets are on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com or calling
800-WVU GAME.
