Jahiem White and CJ Donaldson Jr. each rushed for more than 100 yards to help West Virginia run over visiting BYU 37-7 Saturday night in Morgantown, W.Va.
White carried the ball 16 times for 146 yards and Donaldson racked up 102 yards and two touchdowns for the Mountaineers (6-3, 4-2 Big 12), who became bowl eligible with their sixth win.
The Mountaineers rushed for 336 yards and piled up 567 yards of total offense. Quarterback Garrett Greene threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-24 passing.
BYU junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff, starting for the injured Kedon Slovis, passed for 210 yards and completed 24 of 42 attempts in his first FBS action.
The Cougars (5-4, 2-4) lost their second straight conference road game after compiling only 277 yards of offense, including just 67 rushing.
West Virginia scored on its opening drive to seize control early. Moments after Donaldson prolonged the possession with a fourth-down conversion run, the sophomore’s 2-yard touchdown run put the Mountaineers up 7-0.
West Virginia then forced BYU to turn it over on downs near midfield and grabbed a 14-0 lead thanks to another Donaldson scoring plunge, this one from 1 yard out. That score was set up by a 30-yard pass from Greene to Traylon Ray.
Michael Hayes made it 17-0 with a 46-yard field goal early in the second quarter after the Mountaineers again forced BYU to turn it over on downs.
Greene hooked up with Preston Fox for a 12-yard touchdown reception and Hayes chipped in a 22-yard field goal for a 27-0 halftime lead as time expired in the second quarter.
BYU’s best scoring opportunity of the first half was thwarted when Aubrey Burks stripped the ball out of Parker Kingston’s hands on the West Virginia 18-yard line after a big pickup.
Hayes hit his third field goal, a 23-yarder, and Kole Taylor hauled in a 43-yard touchdown reception for a 37-0 lead.
BYU missed a 50-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
Aidan Robbins finally put the Cougars on the scoreboard with a 10-yard run with 6:24 left in the game. It was BYU’s first touchdown in 10 quarters, going back to its win over Texas Tech two weeks ago.
–Field Level Media
