September 20, 2014 Week 4 · Regular Season Belt defended

Oklahoma defends the belt, 45–33, on the road at West Virginia.

Home · Challenger

West Virginia 33

Away · Defending Holder

OklahomaAP No. 4 45

AP poll, week 4: Oklahoma No. 4 at West Virginia unranked · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Oklahoma came in 287 days into reign #287, which began with a win over Oklahoma State, with 4 defenses already behind it; this was its 5th defense. It was the last defense: TCU took the belt in the very next belt game, on October 4, 2014.

For West Virginia this was its 10th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.

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

AI-Written

Recap

Oklahoma's defense held up just enough to preserve the belt in a wild shootout at Morgantown, winning 45-33 despite being out-gained in total yards and time of possession. West Virginia's explosive passing attack, led by Clint Trickett and featuring a 68-yard touchdown to Kevin White in the first quarter, kept the Mountaineers in striking distance throughout, but Oklahoma's ground game proved decisive down the stretch. Samaje Perine was relentless for the Sooners, scoring four rushing touchdowns including the backbreaker with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter, while Trevor Knight orchestrated four scoring drives in the first half to build an early cushion. Despite West Virginia's defensive efforts and a late touchdown from Rushel Shell, Oklahoma's ability to convert on third down (8-for-16) and control the clock in the second half allowed them to hold off the home team's comeback attempts and maintain their championship status.

Kevin White's 68-yard touchdown pass in Q1 0:39 -- West Virginia's opening punch that set the tone for their high-octane offense
Samaje Perine's four rushing touchdowns, particularly the 2-yard score in Q2 3:09 and the 19-yard clincher in Q4 4:30 -- Oklahoma's ground game wearing down West Virginia's defense
Clint Trickett's interception to Zack Sanchez at Q2 0:02 -- a critical turnover that prevented West Virginia from tying the game late in the half
Oklahoma's time-of-possession advantage (33:24 to 26:15) -- the Sooners controlled the game's tempo and kept West Virginia's offense off the field in crucial moments

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

West VirginiaOklahoma

Total yards513510

Rushing yards137301

Passing yards376209

First downs2624

3rd down conv.7/158/16

Turnovers31

Penalties–yards5–558–82

Time of possession26:1533:24

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

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 7:20	Oklahoma	+20 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to K.J. Young for 20 yds to the WVirg 38 for a 1ST down
Q1 4:20	Oklahoma	+42 yd	Michael Hunnicutt 42 yd FG GOOD
Q1 0:39	West Virginia	+68 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Kevin White for 68 yds for a TD, (Josh Lambert KICK)
Q1 0:39	West Virginia	+31 yd	Michael Molinari kickoff for 65 yds , Alex Ross return for 31 yds to the Okla 31
Q2 11:00	West Virginia	+54 yd	Josh Lambert 54 yd FG GOOD
Q2 8:58	Oklahoma	+4 yd	Durron Neal pass complete to Trevor Knight for 4 yds for a TD, (Michael Hunnicutt KICK)
Q2 10:55	Oklahoma	+31 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Sterling Shepard for 31 yds to the WVirg 44 for a 1ST down
Q2 10:26	Oklahoma	+38 yd	Samaje Perine run for 38 yds to the WVirg 6 for a 1ST down
Q2 7:45	West Virginia	+30 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Mario Alford for 30 yds for a TD, (Josh Lambert KICK)
Q2 7:57	West Virginia	+25 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Jordan Thompson for 25 yds to the Okla 30 for a 1ST down
Q2 3:09	Oklahoma	+2 yd	Samaje Perine run for 2 yds for a TD, (Michael Hunnicutt KICK)
Q2 5:14	Oklahoma	+23 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to K.J. Young for 23 yds K.J. Young fumbled, forced by Karl Joseph, recovered by Okla for a 1ST down
Q2 1:20	West Virginia	+5 yd	Rushel Shell run for 5 yds for a TD, (Josh Lambert KICK)
Q2 0:02	West Virginia	+0 yd	Clint Trickett pass intercepted Zack Sanchez return for no gain to the Okla 32
Q2 1:08	West Virginia	+100 yd	Alex Ross 100 Yd Kickoff Return (Michael Hunnicutt Kick)
Q2 0:00	Oklahoma	+22 yd	Samaje Perine run for 22 yds to the WVirg 46 for a 1ST down
Q3 14:05	Oklahoma	+37 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Sterling Shepard for 37 yds to the WVirg 21 for a 1ST down
Q3 12:22	Oklahoma	+9 yd	Samaje Perine run for 9 yds for a TD, (Michael Hunnicutt KICK)
Q3 8:34	West Virginia	+37 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Wendell Smallwood for 37 yds to the Okla 18 for a 1ST down
Q3 6:28	West Virginia	+31 yd	Josh Lambert 31 yd FG GOOD
Q3 4:58	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Trevor Knight pass intercepted Wes Tonkery return for no gain to the Okla 47
Q3 4:25	West Virginia	+0 yd	Clint Trickett pass intercepted Quentin Hayes return for no gain to the Okla 26
Q3 1:00	Oklahoma	+5 yd	Samaje Perine run for 5 yds for a TD, (Michael Hunnicutt KICK)
Q3 4:14	Oklahoma	+34 yd	Alex Ross run for 34 yds to the WVirg 40 for a 1ST down
Q4 4:30	Oklahoma	+19 yd	Samaje Perine run for 19 yds for a TD, (Michael Hunnicutt KICK)
Q4 6:21	Oklahoma	+21 yd	Samaje Perine run for 21 yds to the WVirg 31 for a 1ST down
Q4 2:12	West Virginia	+11 yd	Dreamius Smith run for 11 yds for a TD, (Clint Trickett failed )

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

West Virginia

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Clint Trickett	25/41	376	9.2	2	2	49.9

Oklahoma

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Trevor Knight	16/29	205	7.1	0	1	37.7
Durron Neal	1/1	4	4.0	1	0	100.0

Rushing

West Virginia

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Rushel Shell	15	60	4.0	1	18
Dreamius Smith	5	38	7.6	1	11
Wendell Smallwood	9	38	4.2	0	7
Andrew Buie	4	16	4.0	0	6
Dustin Garrison	2	6	3.0	0	5
Jordan Thompson	1	-2	-2.0	0	0
Clint Trickett	4	-19	-4.8	0	3

Oklahoma

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Blake Bell	1	2	2.0	0	2
Samaje Perine	34	242	7.1	4	38
Alex Ross	8	56	7.0	0	34
Sterling Shepard	2	3	1.5	0	3

Receiving

West Virginia

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Kevin White	10	173	17.3	1	68
Mario Alford	7	101	14.4	1	30
Wendell Smallwood	2	44	22.0	0	37
Jordan Thompson	2	34	17.0	0	25
Daikiel Shorts	1	15	15.0	0	15
Rushel Shell	2	10	5.0	0	6
Elijah Wellman	1	-1	-1.0	0	-1

Oklahoma

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Sterling Shepard	6	101	16.8	0	37
K.J. Young	5	57	11.4	0	23
Durron Neal	2	28	14.0	0	15
Alex Ross	3	19	6.3	0	10
Trevor Knight	1	4	4.0	1	4

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

West Virginia

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Wes Tonkery	1	0	0

Oklahoma

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Quentin Hayes	1	0	0
Zack Sanchez	1	0	0

Kick Returns

West Virginia

No recorded stats in this category.

Oklahoma

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Alex Ross	2	131	65.5	100	1
Sterling Shepard	1	4	4.0	4	0

Kicking

West Virginia

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Josh Lambert	2/2	100.0	54	3/3	9

Oklahoma

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Michael Hunnicutt	1/1	100.0	42	6/6	9

Punt Returns

West Virginia

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jordan Thompson	1	5	5.0	5	0

Oklahoma

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Sterling Shepard	1	5	5.0	5	0

Punting

West Virginia

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Nick O'Toole	5	206	41.2	0	3	52

Oklahoma

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jed Barnett	6	287	47.8	2	1	70

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 400547858) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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