West Virginia averts upset, beats Marshall, 24-21

West Virginia rallied from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and Tyler Bitancurt’s 20-yard field goal in the first extra session lifted the No. 23-ranked Mountaineers to a 24-21 victory over Marshall on Friday night at Huntington, W.Va.

Brian Anderson threw three touchdown passes for Marshall (1-1) and the Thundering Herd appeared to have control after jumping ahead 21-6 early in the fourth.

West Virginia (1-1) twice drove more than 90 yards for a touchdown down the stretch, including Geno Smith’s five-yard touchdown pass to Will Johnson with 12 seconds left. Smith then threw to Jock Sanders in the back of the end zone on the two-point conversion try to send the game into overtime with a 21-21 tie.

After Bitancurt’s third field goal of the game, Marshall’s Tyler Warner missed a 39-yard attempt wide right to end it.

South Carolina players cleared

NCAA decisions continue to affect Saturday’s matchup between No. 24 South Carolina and No. 22 Georgia. South Carolina cornerback Chris Culliver and left tackle Jarriel King have been cleared by the NCAA to play. The school has not said what questions were being reviewed regarding Culliver and King.

Georgia receiver A.J. Green was docked three additional games by the NCAA on Wednesday for selling a game jersey for $1,000 to someone deemed an agent. A day later, South Carolina’s football program received a formal letter of inquiry that it was under NCAA investigation. Gamecocks tight end Weslye Saunders has met with the NCAA already this summer, questioned about potential agent contact. He has been suspended from the team since Aug. 23.

North Carolinastill waiting

North Carolina Athletic Director Dick Baddour said the school is still waiting to hear whether 13 players who missed the opener because of an ongoing NCAA investigation will return for a Sept. 18 game against No. 15 Georgia Tech.

The 13 players — including potential pro prospects Robert Quinn, Marvin Austin, Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams — didn’t play last week because of an inquiry into agent-related benefits and possible academic misconduct.