West Virginia Beats Cincinnati 45-42 on a Last-play Field Goal
Six ties, one lead change, and the lead change came on the last play. West Virginia beat Cincinnati 45-42 when Jack Cassidy kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired.
Cincinnati scored first and was ahead every time the two teams were not level, which was most of the game. JC French IV threw a 4-yard touchdown to JV Gibson, and West Virginia tied it at 7. Then it went back and forth: 14-7, 14-14, 21-14, 21-21, 28-21, 28-28, 35-28, 35-35, 42-35 and 42-42. Michael Hawkins Jr. ran for two touchdowns before the half, threw to Josh Sapp from 4 yards, to DJ Epps from 37 and to Cam Cook from 40 with 3:44 left to tie it for the last time. Cole Tabb had scored three touchdowns for Cincinnati, including a 6-yard run with 5:35 left that made it 42-35.
Neither team turned the ball over. The totals are silly: Cincinnati had 622 yards and West Virginia 598, with West Virginia throwing for 464 and Cincinnati for 389. French threw for 389 yards and 3 touchdowns, and it was not enough, which is a rough one for a quarterback who also ran for a score.
West Virginia moves to 4-3 and Cincinnati falls to 4-2.
Fantasy owners had a field day. Hawkins's 56.3 points were the most of anyone, French had 44.8 and Tabb had 38.9. If you had any of them, you won your week. Epps added 163 receiving yards and a score, and Isaiah Johnson caught a 51-yard touchdown on only 3 catches, so there were plenty of points to go around (1,220 yards, to be exact).