West Virginia Mountaineers Defeat Texas Longhorns with Overpowering Offense

The West Virginia Mountaineers had been putting up video game-like numbers all season on offense, yet not everybody was convinced that they were the real deal. 

The main knock was that the Mountaineers hadn't played any solid defenses yet, and that their offense would be brought down to size against the formidable Texas Longhorns defense this week. 

Both the haters and a packed Darrel K Royal Stadium were quieted Saturday, as West Virginia racked up over 450 yards of offense and outgunned the Longhorns in a 48-45 shootout. 

Heisman front-runner Geno Smith had another solid performance for West Virginia, going 25-of-35 for 269 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.  He did have two fumbles in his own red zone, however, leading to Texas scores. 

Running back Andrew Buie showed on national television that the Mountaineer offense is about more than just the passing game, as he rushed 31 times for 208 yards and two touchdowns.  On a day where Smith's rushing abilities were virtually non-existent, Buie kept the offense from becoming one-dimensional and proved too much for the Longhorn defense to handle. 

Wide receivers Tayvon Austin and Stedman Bailey once again had solid performances—Austin had 10 receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown, while Bailey hauled in three touchdown receptions.  Kicker Tyler Bitancurt also had a big game, going two of three on field-goal attempts in a game that wound up being decided by only one field goal. 

The Texas offense tried its best to keep up, especially running back Joe Bergeron, who had four rushing touchdowns. But they proved to be simply overmatched at the end of the day. 

The West Virginia Mountaineers proved today that a great offense can indeed beat a great defense, proving too much for the Texas Longhorns to handle.