College Sports

No. 14 West Virginia beats Baylor 24-21 to get to 10 wins

Posted December 03, 2016 6:00 am

By JOHN RABY

West Virginia running back Justin Crawford (25) is tackled by Baylor safety Orion Stewart (28) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson) The Associated Press

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Skyler Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and No. 14 West Virginia held on for a 24-21 victory over Baylor on Saturday night in their Big 12 regular-season finale.

Justin Crawford rushed for 209 yards to help the Mountaineers (10-2, 7-2) to their first 10-win regular-season since 2007. They came from 11 points down in the first half to hand Baylor (6-6, 3-6) its sixth straight loss after a 6-0 start.

Baylor held the momentum for nearly three quarters in the final regular-season game for acting coach Jim Grobe, but that changed on two plays.

Howard, having one of his worst games of the season, threw to Gary Jennings over the middle and he turned it into a 58-yard scoring play.

After Baylor got the ball back, Marvin Gross stripped quarterback Zach Smith, and Darrien Howard recovered for West Virginia. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Baylor gave the Mountaineers the ball at the Bears 6, and Howard scored on a 1-yard sneak on fourth down for a 24-14 lead.

Smith threw a 43-yard TD toss to Ishmael Zamora with 2:40 left in the game and the Bears got the ball back following a punt with 51 seconds left. But Smith was stripped of the ball on a pass attempt and West Virginia's Darrien Howard recovered at the Baylor 30 with 27 seconds left.

THE TAKEAWAY

Baylor: The heavy-underdog Bears led 14-3 midway through the second quarter but couldn't muster much on offense after that. A defense that had given up an average of 48 points and 576 yards during its losing streak held its own against West Virginia for much of the game.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers had already clinched third place in the Big 12. Despite the final home game for 21 seniors, West Virginia was sluggish on a cold night. Howard completed 10 of 26 passes for a season-low 111 yards.

UP NEXT

Both teams find out their bowl destinations Sunday.

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More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

West Virginia wide receiver Daikiel Shorts (6) looks to see if he caught the ball in bounds after beating Baylor safety Orion Stewart (28) for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson) The Associated Press

Baylor quarterback Zach Smith (4) makes a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against West Virginia, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson) The Associated Press

Baylor cornerback Ryan Reid (9) breaks up a pass to West Virginia wide receiver Jovon Durante (5) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson) The Associated Press

Baylor running back Terence Williams (22) runs the ball for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against West Virginia, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson) The Associated Press

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