West Virginia Goes Flat Out, 51-13 : Harris Gets No. 4 Mountaineers Rolling After Slow Start

It was anything but West Virginia’s best day in its best season.

The fourth-ranked Mountaineers started out flat but wound up flattening Cincinnati, 51-13, Saturday.

West Virginia, coming off an emotional victory over Penn State, struggled through a ragged first half before overwhelming the Bearcats.

“We kind of went through the motions today,” West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen said. “I think we weren’t very sharp early.”

Major Harris threw three touchdown passes as the Mountaineers (9-0) used the big play to make up for their emotional letdown after the 51-30 victory over Penn State. West Virginia’s record is the best since the school started playing football in 1891.

Harris threw touchdown passes on plays of 14 yards and 68 yards to Reggie Rembert and a 40-yarder to Grantis Bell as the Mountaineers took a 24-13 halftime lead.

“We were lackadaisical in the first half,” said Harris, who left the game with a bruised hip in the third quarter. “Once we got going in the second half, look out.”

West Virginia put the game out of reach with a 24-point third quarter. Anthony Brown went 41 yards with a pitchout from Harris to score, and Rembert sprinted 51 yards on an end around for a 38-13 lead midway through the quarter.

Cincinnati (2-7) has lost its last 6 games by a combined score of 243-54.

“We didn’t make enough big plays,” Cincinnati Coach Dave Currey said. “We run a reverse and get 6 yards; they run a reverse and get a touchdown.”

Cincinnati pestered Harris by blitzing heavily in the first half, but he ended up getting burned twice on long touchdown passes.

After Phil Insalaco opened the scoring with a 36-yard field goal on Cincinnati’s first possession, Harris hit his first three passes to put West Virginia ahead to stay. His 14-yard toss to a wide-open Rembert capped a 7-play, 64-yard drive.

Alvoid Mays’ interception set up a 40-yard touchdown pass play from Harris to Bell on West Virginia’s next play. Bell slipped past the Bearcat secondary to get open by 10 yards.

Cincinnati surprised the Mountaineers by tightening on defense and using Al McKinney’s rushing to cut the lead to 17-13 midway through the second quarter. McKinney rushed for 94 yards in 17 first-half carries.

After Insalaco and Charlie Baumann traded field goals, Leonard Cry took a short pass from Don Hoog and slipped four tackles on a 16-yard touchdown play. Cincinnati’s heavy blitzing then held West Virginia to three plays and a punt on each of its next two possessions.

But Cincinnati’s secondary collapsed again just before the half. Harris lobbed a long pass on third-and-27 to Rembert, who got behind Cincinnati’s two deep safeties to complete a 68-yard touchdown play with 42 seconds left.

West Virginia has topped 50 points in its last three games and five times this season.