Oklahoma vs. WVU: Score and Twitter Reaction

West Virginia gave Oklahoma a tough challenge early, but running back Samaje Perine made the difference in a 45-33 victory for the No. 4 team in the nation.

The true freshman finished with 242 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries. As Jake Trotter of ESPN.com noted, he put himself in rare company with the performance:

Head coach Bob Stoops is certainly excited for the future after this game:

Trevor Knight had a solid day as well with 205 passing yards, plus a rare receiving touchdown, but it was the running game that helped the Sooners move to 4-0 on the season.

West Virginia also saw key players put up big numbers like quarterback Clint Trickett (376 passing yards and two touchdowns) and receiver Kevin White (10 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown). However, the defense was not able to hold up its end of the bargain to complete the upset. 

With the win, Stoops added another milestone to his resume:

The coach remains one of the best in the sport and is hoping for even bigger things from this year's team.

Saturday's highly anticipated matchup featured plenty of excitement right from the start thanks to a number of huge plays for both sides.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

After Oklahoma took the 3-0 lead early, West Virginia answered before the end of the first quarter with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Trickett to White. After the play, Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout was one of many who liked what they saw from the receiver:

The Sooners were eventually able to answer, although it took some trickery to get the first touchdown of the game, as described by ESPN Big 12:

When Trickett was able to throw another impressive touchdown pass, this time to Mario Alford, Sports Illustrated was impressed:

Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer noted the strong effort for the Mountaineers defense early to keep it close in the first half:

Of course, this was not easy as the two sides once again traded blows to make it 24-17 in favor of the home team. Oklahoma then immediately tied it up with a 100-yard kickoff return by Alex Ross.

Fox Sports joked about the action of the game as the two sides went into halftime tied at 24-24:

"

Back and forth and back and forth! #OUvsWVU

— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) September 21, 2014"

The scoring continued early in the second half. Oklahoma needed less than three minutes to go 75 yards and finish with a Perine touchdown, which caught the attention of Bryan Fischer of NFL.com:

After the running back scored again to go up 38-27, David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest gave credit to the big men up front:

The Sooners also saw an improved effort from the defense, which forced multiple turnovers in the second half to slow West Virginia's attack. 

In the fourth quarter, the favorites once again turned to its star running back:

West Virginia added another score to make it 45-33 but it was too little, too late as the home team fell to 2-2 on the season.

Oklahoma came into the game preparing for a hostile environment in Morgantown, as Knight explained earlier in the week:

"

Their fans will be rocking. But it’s important to use some of their crowd’s energy to get you going, to get that momentum going and really just use it. Going on the road is difficult, especially with a team like West Virginia who has been playing great. So we just have to find that energy within ourselves and play for one another and stay even-keeled through it. 

"

Although there were certainly some scary moments, the sophomore quarterback handled the pressure and did enough to help his team pull out the win.

The national title contenders have a week off but could have another tough challenge on Oct. 4 in a road game against 2-0 TCU. After a close call in this one, the Sooners will likely have a lot to work on if they want to remain undefeated.

Meanwhile, this game represents the second "moral victory" of the year for West Virginia, which also had a 10-point loss to Alabama earlier in the season. Although this does not count for a win in the standings, it will certainly give the group a lot of momentum going forward.

The Mountaineers also have a bye week but will be able to return with a winnable matchup against Kansas at home on Oct. 4. After a 4-8 2013 season, this team appears on its way to a much better year this time around.

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