Live updates: West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech - WVU 27, VT 21 (F) (2024)

West Virginia and No. 15 Virginia Tech renew the fourth-longest rivalry in Mountaineer history with the 53rd edition of the game that awards the winner the Black Diamond Trophy. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on FS1. By the time the day is over, this will be the third-longest running rivalry for WVU and draw even with the Maryland series.

The Hokies have had possession of the trophy since a win in 2004. They maintained it a year later, which was the last time this matchup was played on a campus. The 2017 game was at FedEx Field, and Virginia Tech did not have to defend the trophy in a neutral-site game. The prize has resided in Blacksburg, Virginia, for 6,196 days now.

The Mountaineers are still a favorite despite losing three in a row in the series and losing six of the past seven to ranked teams. However,they've won 18 straight non-conference home games and 23 of the past 24. WVU was initially established as a three-point favorite. It's dropped half a point in some places. A loss today gives WVU its first losing record in regular-season non-conference play since 2003.

Pregame

-- Some notable names not in uniform for WVU today: Defensive back Charles Woods, linebacker Devell Washington, linebacker Eddie Watkins and offensive lineman Chris Mayo.

-- The Mountaineers are hopeful tight end Mike O'Laughlin plays today after sitting out the first two games. He practiced this week and was with the group of players who spent the night at the team hotel, a pretty good hint that he'll at least be in uniform.

-- The Bills, Chiefs, Saints, Lions and Rams have personnel in attendance today. Representing the Rams? Chance Trickett.

-- Orange Bowl reps are also here.

-- Update: O'Laughlin is in uniform. He will play but will be limited to a number of snaps.

-- Note for Virginia Tech: Running back Keshawn King is out. He's part of the committee and has 10 carries or 17 yards and one catch for 5 yards -- he was a promising player as a freshman in 2019 -- but he's a threat on kickoff returns and has two for 77 yards this season.

-- Captains for WVU: Winston Wright, Akheem Mesidor,Zach Frazier and Sean Mahone.

-- Captains for Virginia Tech include tight end James Mitchell, who's out for the season with a torn ACL.

-- WVU wins the toss and defers.

First quarter

-- Evan Staley with the opening kickoff, and it's a touchback. He's held onto the kickoff job. Kolton McGhee had three touchbacks on three kicks against LIU and earned a postgame shoutout from Neal Brown.

-- Exree Loe starts at Will linebacker.

-- Third-and-5 and pressure forces Braxton Burmeister to flee the pocket. Taijh Alston is there for a stop. The Hokies will punt into the end zone.

-- Doege overthrows James for what should have been an 80-yard touchdown. James was wide open.

-- SCORE: The miss doesn't matter. Leddie Brown for an 80-yard touchdown. Blocked perfectly up front. WVU LEADS 7-0.

-- Exquisite work from Frazier on this play.

LEDDIE BROWN TO THE ??@___lb4 with the BIG run for @WVUfootball pic.twitter.com/dPya7Y4PKA

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021

-- A three-and-out for Virginia Tech. WVU's defense is on all over the place right now. The crowd is electric. The Hokies better wake up of thiscould get away form them fast.

-- Uh oh ... abad punt and coverage sequence, a first down and a personal foul have WVU at the VT 29. Big moment here for Neal Brown.

-- SCORE: Doege to Bryce Ford-Wheaton, and the ball finds the receiver amid a misplay by the defensive back. WVU LEADS 14-0.

?? @DoegeJarret ?? @Brycewheat3@WVUfootball has a 14-0 lead in the first half against No. 15 Virginia Tech ?? pic.twitter.com/GeP5JnZ3OI

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021

-- Third-and-1 and Virginia Tech passes. Jackie Matthews blitzed and hurried Burmeister. A one-handed catch sets Raheem Blackshear up 1-on-1 with Daryl Porter, and Blackshear wins to move the chains. Circle it?

-- Virginia Tech's starting right tackle, Silas Dzansi, is helped off the field. His backup is Tyrell Smith, who is a seventh-year senior.

-- SCORE: Burmeister has settled. He sees receiver Tayvion Robinson running into the end zone and he sees Mahone's numbers. A 1-on-1 ball goes to the Hokies for a 23-yard score. WVU LEADS 14-7.

-- Eleven plays, yards and 6:00 of possession. The Hokies needed all of that.

The Hokies take one back! ??

Burmeister finds Tayvion Robinson to put @HokiesFB on the board pic.twitter.com/LYgIHJ9lu9

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021

-- Garrett Greene enters for the third possession. On second-and-3, he runs for 6 yards.

-- Doege returns.WVU punts. That was an uneven possession.

-- A 35-yard punt by Tyler Sumpter gives the Hokies possession at their 36. This is tilting back toward even now.

-- The quarter ends with Burmeister scrambling right and finding Robinson leaving that side of the field and heading toward the middle. He catches the pass and gains 25 yards. The officials will review the play to see if Burmeister's right foot was in bounds. This is close.

Second quarter

-- The review confirms that Burmeister was in. First down Hokies at the 34 to start the quarter.

-- Third-and-6 and it's a jet sweep to Robinson. He's tripped up after 5 yards, and Virginia Tech will go for it at the 26.

-- Rather than hand it off, they go for a QB run. Rather than use 6-5, 230-pound Connor Blumrick, who did good work last week, they use Burmeister. He's stuffed. Turnover on downs.

-- Illegal motion on Winston Wright, who was running ahead at the snap, sets up second-and-12. WVU dials up a deep ball, and Doege is too long for Wright, who ran a long way and had a step.

-- Third-and-12, and a screen to Brown gains 11. Neal Brown thinks it over and decides to punt. The crowd does not approve. And then WVU takes a delay of game.

-- Tyler Sumpter with a 68-yard punt. A rollout kick avoids Robinson, hits, rolls and is downed at the 3. The crowd does approve.

?? @SumpterTyler with a BEAUTY of a punt for @WVUfootball #ForTheBrand pic.twitter.com/QRDLzDI0Ku

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021

-- Three-and-out for the defense. Virginia Tech's punting from the back of the end zone, and Isaiah Esdale calls for a fair catch at his 44. Good sequence there for the Mountaineers.

-- Greene returns, and the offense could use a spark. He starts with a 12-yard gain on a power play.

-- Now he invited and evades danger. Goofy cadence before the snap hits him in the hands. He drops it, recovers and throws the ball out of play.

-- No gain on a second-down handoff, and Doege comes in for third-and-10. He has all day, and the protection lets Sam James cross from right to left and catch a ball in the soft spot of the defense. That's a 30-yard gain. First down at the 16.

-- SCORE: RPO from Doege to James. It's a short pass, but James makes defenders miss and finishes the 16-yard play. WVU LEADS 21-7.

Another one for the Mountaineers ??@WVUfootball continues to roll in the first half against Virginia Tech pic.twitter.com/0fzKnEq9Jl

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021

-- Third-and-1 for Virginia Tech, and it's a fumble. WVU has a shot, but the Hokies recover ... short of the first down. they'll punt with 5:40 to go in the half. Huge spot for WVU. First down at the 17.

-- Another RPO for Doege. He sticks it in Esdale's pocket, and Esdale spins away from the defense for a 32-yard gain.

-- Third-and-4 and Doege gets it to Wright shorts of the first down, but Wright shakes off a lazy hit and gets the first down.

-- WVU's threatening to blow this open here. It's first down at the 13 with 2:21 to go following a penalty for roughing the passer. WVU gets the second-half kickoff, too.

-- Brown motors inside the 3-yard line.

-- Bad snap, and Doege throws it out of bounds. Doege keeps and rolls right and is stopped for a loss of 3. Doege passes on third down and hits James in the back of the end zone, but James is out of bounds. Peculiar sequence there.

-- SCORE: Casey Legg kicks a 20-yard field goal. That's 12 plays, 79 yards and 5:34 for three points. WVU LEADS 24-7.

-- No more touchbacks. Blackshear breaks a return for 78 yards. First down at WVU's 22. Closest the Hokies have been all game.

-- First-and-goal at the 10, and Burmeister has Robinson open in the end zone. Low throw. Incomplete pass. It's reviewed and confirmed. WVU escaped there.

-- Burmeister scrambles for eight yards.

-- WVU calls two timeouts. Virginia Tech commits a false start. WVU calls a timeout. Burmeister misses an open Robinson. What a sequence.

-- Scottie Young is down on the play, and the backup spear is Charles Woods, who isnot playingtoday. Young appears to be OK, though.

-- Virginia Tech misses the field goal. That's a huge break for WVU. Should have been 24-14 at least once. Maybe twice. WVU will instead kneel and head to the locker room up 24-7.

-- Neal Brown is 38-3 when he leads at halftime. Justin Fuente is 10-36 when he trails at halftime and 5-19 with the Hokies.

Third quarter

-- WVU starts at its 18. No touchbacks for Virginia Tech, but not trouble with Winston Wright, either.

-- A tunnel screen outside to Leddie Brown is a 21-yard gain. First we've seen that version of that play this year.

-- RPO for Doege. He hits Sean Ryan, and his first catch is good for 18 yards. Add 15 yards for targeting on Tae Daley. This will be reviewed and probably overturned. Big hit but clean.

-- Officials say no targeting.

-- WVU tries the double pass with a flick to Esdale. He's looking for O'Laughlin, but it's covered. Loss of 7.

-- Third-and-10 ... and WVU runs because this is four-down territory. Brown gets 7 yards. The offense stays on the field and Doege hits O'Laughlin on the right side for a first down. WVU can end this game in a matter of moments with some clean plays. Virginia Tech can't stop WVU from moving forward.

-- Another bad snap is another loss of 7.

-- Third-and-12, and this may or may not be four-down territory. Tony Mathis runs for 4 yards, and WVU will kick a field goal.

-- SCORE: Legg's attempt from 44 yards out is good. WVU LEADS 27-7.

-- Burmeister's arm hasn't helped the offense today. That's a three-and-out at a bad time, and he had a first down but misfired on a pass out wide. Again, WVU can end this game any time now.

-- Third-and-1 at the Virginia Tech 48, and Brown gets 6 ... but O'Laughlin is called for holding. Third-and-11 now.

-- Pass to Brown, and Brown fumbles, but somehow Brown recovers. It's beenthatkind of day for WVU.

-- Luke Tenuta hold Jared Bartlett, but Bartlett gets loose and buries Burmeister. How he held onto the ball is anyone's guess. That was a big blindside hit.

-- Back-to-back first downs for Virginia Tech, including a 39-yard pass play to tight end Drake Deluliis. But Burmeister fumbles the snap and is then massacred by Alston and later Mesidor on second down. It's third-and-24. Absolutely nothing working for the Hokies.

-- Burmeister jukes defenders and gains 25 yards. First really badmoment for the defense today.

-- SCORE: Blackshear gets outside and races up the sideline for a 20-yard score with 1 second left in the quarter. WVU LEADS 27-14.

Touchdown Hokies! ??@HokiesFB pick up a much needed TD at the end of the 3rd quarter pic.twitter.com/nbhWMKgB4N

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021

Fourth quarter

-- WVU's picking up first downs and taking its time. The Hokies have to make something happen or they'll be out of time to make up two scores.

-- Welp! Third-and-4 at the Virginia Tech 46, and Doege is sacked and stripped. The Hokies recover at the 48 with 11:13 to go.

-- Second-and-10 and Virginia Tech intends to test Daryl Porter with a double move, but Bartlett gets through a running back for a sack and a loss of 7. That's as big of a play as the defense has made today.

-- Burmeister completes a pass for a gain of 11, and the Hokies have to go for it here.

-- First down with an 8-yard pass play. The ball is on the 25.

-- Fourth-and-goal at the 6, and Bartlett gets another sack. Lance Dixon recovers the fumble. West Virginia's going to win this one.

-- Soft possession for WVU, and Virginia Tech uses its timeouts to get the ball back.

-- Two completions move the ball to the WVU 22, but Bartlett gets inside and Jordan Jefferson and Alston share a sack. Six for WVU today.

-- SCORE: Second-and-18, and Burmeister hits Jalen Holston on a short pass. Some shoddy effort on the tackle lets Holston score on a 29-yard play with 3:10 to go. WVU LEADS 27-21.

-- The Hokies still have a timeout.

-- Brown is stopped for no gain, and Virginia Tech calls its final timeout.

-- Greene enters and keeps on a read. He slips up after a short gain. It's third-and-5, and Greene stays in.

-- Timeout WVU, but James Gmiter is called for a false start. That's eight penalties.

-- Oh boy. Doege throws an interception when he's way too high on a screen pass outside. First down at the 17 with 2:10 to go.

-- Two runs, and the ball is at the 3. WVU has a timeout to use with less than 2 minutes to go.

-- Fourth-and-goal. Incomplete. WVU survives.