WVU leads Oklahoma, 20-6, at Fiesta Bowl halftime By Rick Starr
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
GLENDALE, Ariz. – No. 11 West Virginia shook off a month of turmoil on and off the field and took a 20-6 lead over No. 3 Oklahoma in the first half of the Fiesta Bowl Wednesday night at the Univeristy of Phoenix Stadium.
The Mountaineers proved they were ready to rumble when 260-pound fullback Owen Schmitt stampeded down the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown with 6:29 remaining in the first half.
Schmitt, who is rated the top fullback coming out of college by NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr., broke loose on a third-and-2 play to give WVU a 13-3 lead.
The Mountaineers extended the lead to 20-6 on their next drive.
WVU quarterback Pat White hit his mark when the Sooners blew the coverage in their secondary and left senior wideout Darius Reynaud open in the end zone.After faking a handoff, White tossed a 21-yard scoring strike when Reynaud broke open on a simple post route.
Reynaud tied the school record with his 12th touchdown catch of the season.
Few predicted a defensive struggle — or a battle between kickers — but it wasn’t until midway through the second quarter that Garrett Hartley put Oklahoma on the scoreboard with a 37-yard field goal.
Hartley added a 24-yard field goal before halftime.
The Mountaineers' defense held Oklahoma to 100 yards of offense in the first half.
West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee gave West Virginia a 6-0 lead with a pair of first-quarter field goals.
McAfee missed a 50-yard field goal attempt midway through the opening quarter, but punt returner Vaughn Rivers regained the momentum with a 51-yard punt return.
McAfee drilled field goals from 38 and 42 yards out before the end of the first quarter, snapping a streak of four consecutive misses.
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford struggled early and often against WVU’s blitz schemes. Linebacker Reed Williams sacked Bradford and forced a fumble, safety Eric Wicks batted a pass back in his face, and defensive end Johnny Dingle also sacked the redshirt freshman in the opening minutes of the game.
Bradford failed to gain a yard on his first two drives and ended the first quarter with one yard of total offense on 12 plays.
Sooners running back Allen Patrick provided field position when he broke loose on a 73-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter, but Mountaineers safety Quinton Andrews intercepted Bradford’s pass in the end zone to end the scoring threat.