West Virginia hangs on to win after hot start against No. 15 Virginia Tech

West Virginia came out hot against Virginia Tech and then had to hold on for a 27-21 win against the No. 15 Hokies on Saturday.

The Mountaineers had a chance to close out the game with less than three minutes to go but Jarret Doege threw an interception on a third-down screen pass with 2:11 to go. Virginia Tech got the ball back in WVU territory and got inside the five, but West Virginia's defense held firm on the final four plays.

West Virginia stopped Virginia Tech on two runs before Braxton Burmeister threw two incomplete passes while on rollouts on third and fourth down and the comeback attempt was over.

Virginia Tech outscored West Virginia 14-3 in the second half after the Mountaineers rolled all over the Hokies in the first half.

The Mountaineers scored on their second offensive play of the game when RB Leddie Brown rushed 80 yards for a TD. WVU was then up 14-0 after forcing another Virginia Tech punt and scoring in just three plays after Jarret Doege found Bryce Ford-Wheaton for a 29-yard TD pass.

WVU was up 24-7 at halftime and looked set to cruise for an easy win in the second half after going up 27-7 early in the third quarter. But the Mountaineers punted twice and turned the ball over twice on its four ensuing possessions.

That allowed Virginia Tech to get back into the game. After Raheem Blackshear scored a TD to end the third quarter, Burmeister found Jalen Holston for a 29-yard TD pass with 3:10 to go to pull within six.

Burmeister finished the game 19-of-31 passing for 227 yards and two TDs, though he was sacked six times. Those sacks contributed to just a 2.5 yards per carry average for Virginia Tech’s running game. Doege was 15-of-26 passing for 193 yards and two touchdowns and that interception late while Brown finished the game with 161 yards rushing on 19 carries.