The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2012 season / Reign #282 · Game 1,453 of 1,643
October 6, 2012 Week 6 · Regular Season Belt defended

West Virginia defends the belt, 48–45, on the road at Texas.

Home · Challenger
TexasAP No. 11 45
AT
Away · Defending Holder
West VirginiaAP No. 8 48

AP poll, week 6: West Virginia No. 8 at Texas No. 11 · No. 1 that week: Rutgers. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

West Virginia came in 276 days into reign #282, which began with a win over Clemson, with 4 defenses already behind it; this was its 5th defense. It was the last defense: Texas Tech took the belt in the very next belt game, on October 13, 2012.

For Texas this was its 7th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 4 times before.

This is the only time Texas and West Virginia have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

West Virginia's defense held firm in a wild shootout at Texas to retain the belt with a 48-45 victory. The game was an offensive showcase early, with both teams trading touchdowns in the first quarter before Texas took control in the second quarter, scoring three times including a defensive touchdown when Alex Okafor's sack forced a fumble recovered by Jackson Jeffcoat in the endzone. West Virginia kept pace despite the turnovers, with Geno Smith connecting on scoring passes to Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin while Andrew Buie rushed for two touchdowns, and a crucial 37-yard field goal from Tyler Bitancurt in the second quarter proved to be the difference. Texas mounted a late drive in the final minutes but ultimately fell short, with Joe Bergeron's three rushing touchdowns not quite enough to overcome West Virginia's balanced attack.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 TexasWest Virginia
Total yards404460
Rushing yards135192
Passing yards269268
First downs2126
3rd down conv.8/143/12
Turnovers12
Penalties–yards4–355–47
Time of possession29:3429:14

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 12:53West Virginia+8 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 12:53West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q1 13:15West Virginia+30 ydAndrew Buie rush for 30 yards to the Texas 8 for a 1ST down.
Q1 10:30Texas+46 ydDavid Ash pass complete to Daje Johnson for 46 yards to the WVirg 8, WEST VIRGINIA penalty 9 yard Face Mask on Darwin Cook accepted for a 1ST down.
Q1 9:22Texas+2 ydJoe Bergeron rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 9:22Texas+0 ydAnthony Fera extra point GOOD.
Q1 9:22Texas+67 ydNick Rose kickoff for 64 yards returned by Tavon Austin for 67 yards to the Texas 32.
Q1 7:16West Virginia+42 ydTyler Bitancurt 42 yard field goal BLOCKED.
Q1 1:55West Virginia+40 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 40 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 1:55West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 12:22West Virginia+4 ydAndrew Buie rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 14:21West Virginia+23 ydAndrew Buie rush for 23 yards to the Texas 31 for a 1ST down.
Q2 12:22West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 12:22West Virginia+48 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 59 yards returned by Marquise Goodwin for 48 yards to the WVirg 46.
Q2 8:45Texas+0 ydAnthony Fera extra point GOOD.
Q2 8:45Texas+2 ydJoe Bergeron rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 9:51Texas+49 ydJohnathan Gray rush for 49 yards to the WVirg 1 for a 1ST down.
Q2 7:37West Virginia+0 ydGeno Smith sacked by Alex Okafor for a loss of 9 yards, fumbled, forced by Alex Okafor, recovered by Texas Jackson Jeffcoat in the endzone for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 7:37Texas+0 ydAnthony Fera extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:51West Virginia+37 ydTyler Bitancurt 37 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 2:00Texas+24 ydDavid Ash pass complete to M.J. McFarland for 24 yards to the WVirg 5 for a 1ST down.
Q2 2:48Texas+26 ydDavid Ash pass complete to D.J. Grant for 26 yards to the WVirg 29 for a 1ST down.
Q2 1:14Texas+1 ydJoe Bergeron rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 1:14Texas+0 ydAnthony Fera extra point GOOD.
Q2 0:20West Virginia+24 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Andrew Buie for 24 yards to the Texas 19 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:00West Virginia+41 ydTyler Bitancurt 41 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 14:18Texas+20 ydDavid Ash pass complete to Jeremy Hills for 20 yards to the Texas 49 for a 1ST down.
Q3 7:35Texas+38 ydAnthony Fera 38 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 4:32West Virginia+9 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 5:55West Virginia+26 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Andrew Buie for 26 yards to the Texas 31 for a 1ST down.
Q3 4:32West Virginia+37 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 60 yards returned by Marquise Goodwin for 37 yards to the Texas 42.
Q3 4:32West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 4:11Texas+23 ydDavid Ash pass complete to Jaxon Shipley for 23 yards to the WVirg 35 for a 1ST down.
Q3 0:29Texas+4 ydJoe Bergeron rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 0:29Texas+0 ydAnthony Fera extra point GOOD.
Q4 10:50West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:53West Virginia+23 ydAndrew Buie rush for 23 yards to the Texas 44 for a 1ST down.
Q4 10:50West Virginia+6 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 10:38Texas+20 ydDavid Ash pass complete to Jaxon Shipley for 20 yards to the WVirg 49 for a 1ST down.
Q4 5:25Texas+41 ydAnthony Fera 41 yard field goal MISSED.
Q4 1:18West Virginia+5 ydAndrew Buie rush for 5 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 1:18West Virginia+25 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 39 yards returned by Ryan Roberson for 25 yards to the WVirg 49.
Q4 1:18West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q4 2:45West Virginia+22 ydAndrew Buie rush for 22 yards to the Texas 25 for a 1ST down.
Q4 0:15Texas+8 ydDavid Ash pass complete to Marquise Goodwin for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 0:15Texas+0 ydAnthony Fera extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Texas

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
David Ash22/292699.31060.0

West Virginia

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Geno Smith25/352687.74076.6

Rushing

Texas

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Johnathan Gray14876.2049
Joe Bergeron17452.6412
David Ash4102.508
Daje Johnson284.006
Marquise Goodwin111.001

West Virginia

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Geno Smith6-33-5.508
Andrew Buie312076.7230
Dustin Garrison3134.307
Tavon Austin166.006

Receiving

Texas

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Jeremy Hills66711.2020
Jaxon Shipley55811.6023
Daje Johnson14646.0046
D.J. Grant23015.0026
Marquise Goodwin4246.0111
M.J. McFarland12424.0024
Mike Davis3206.709

West Virginia

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Tavon Austin1010210.2140
Stedman Bailey8759.4316
Andrew Buie36622.0026
J.D. Woods22412.0015
Jordan Thompson210.504
Show more stats (4 more categories)

Kick Returns

Texas

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Marquise Goodwin310234.0480
Ryan Roberson23216.0250
D.J. Monroe11010.0100

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Tavon Austin311137.0670
Stedman Bailey11616.0160
Garrett Hope11212.0120
Andrew Buie188.080

Kicking

Texas

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Anthony Fera1/250.0386/69

West Virginia

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Tyler Bitancurt2/366.7416/612

Punt Returns

Texas

No recorded stats in this category.

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Tavon Austin133.030

Punting

Texas

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Alex King14747.00047

West Virginia

No recorded stats in this category.

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 322800251) · This game in the downloadable dataset