West Virginia takes advantage of turnovers, downs Cincinnati

The visiting West Virginia Mountaineers turned three turnovers by Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby into 17 points in registering a 31-24 win on Saturday.Despite being outgained 436-249, West Virginia (5-4, 4-2 Big 12 Conference) won for the second straight week on the road and drew to within a game of bowl eligibility while Cincinnati (5-4, 3-3) fell for the second straight outing.Leading 24-21, West Virginia’s Trey Lathan forced a backward pass with a hit on Sorsby and Tyrin Bradley Jr. picked up the ball and ran 14 yards for the game-clinching score with 3:30 left in regulation.Cincinnati drove for Nathan Hawks’ 29-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining, but West Virginia recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.West Virginia quarterback Nicco Marchiol completed just 9 of 15 passes for 156 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Cincinnati’s Sorsby completed 25 of 36 for 279 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing for 48 total yards, including a 12-yard score.The Bearcats gained the early momentum when the defense stopped West Virginia on downs on its opening drive, then marched 68 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead.Corey Kiner capped the drive with a 2-yard run to the left outside pylon for his second touchdown of the season.Already up, 7-0, the Bearcats were driving for another score when they faced fourth-and-1 from the West Virginia 20 early in the second quarter. Kekoura Tarnue broke free rushing Sorsby and was bringing him to the ground when Sorsby flipped the ball in desperation toward running back Evan Pryor.

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