'Rough Riders' Trample Mountaineers

Oklahoma

West Virginia

Box Score

Quarter-by-Quarter
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Oklahoma	3	21	14	7	45
West Virginia	7	17	3	6	33

Team Stats
Stat	OU	WVU
First Downs	24	26
Total Play-Yards	76-510	81-513
Pass Attempts-Yards	30-209	41-376
Rushes-Yards	46-301	40-137
Penalties-Yards	8-82	5-55
3rd Down Conversions	8-16	7-15
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-1
Fumbles Forced-Recovered	1-1	1-0
Interceptions-Yards	2-0	1-0
Time of Possession	33:44	26:16

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (AP) -- Bruising freshman Samaje Perine rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 4 Oklahoma to a 45-33 win over West Virginia in their Big 12 opener Saturday night.

Alex Ross scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and quarterback Trevor Knight caught a 4-yard scoring pass on a trick play for the Sooners (4-0, 1-0).

Oklahoma pulled away from a 24-24 halftime tie to win its eighth straight game dating to last season and its 11th road game in 12 tries.

Clint Trickett threw for 376 yards and two touchdowns for West Virginia, (2-2, 0-1). But he was intercepted twice and lost a fumble.

Perine got the bulk of the carries in place of leading rusher Keith Ford, who is out for at least a week with a hairline fracture in his right fibula.

Perine became the first Sooner to surpass 200 rushing yards since DeMarco Murray in 2010.Blake Bell was the last Oklahoma player to have four rushing TDs in a game against Texas in 2012.

Perine was Oklahoma's No. 3 back entering the season. He's already built a reputation as a weight room beast, and his power showed against the Mountaineers.

He ran over two defenders and scored from 9 yards out early in the third quarter, then went up the middle for a 5-yard TD late in the quarter. His 19-yard scoring romp with 4:21 left in the game put Oklahoma ahead 45-27.

Knight overcame a shaky start and finished 16-of-29 for 205 yards. Sterling Shepard caught six passes for 101 yards.

Knight was wide open when wide receiver Durron Neal found him in the end zone after taking the ball on a double reverse in the second quarter.

knight neal celebrate

Trickett went 25-of-41 a week after throwing for a career-high 511 yards a week ago against Maryland. Kevin White had 10 catches for 173 yards and a score while Mario Alford caught seven passes for 173 yards and a score.

West Virginia outgained Oklahoma 513-500 but couldn't match Perine's power running. Rushel Shell had a team-high 60 yards and a touchdown.

Knight had early accuracy trouble and Oklahoma punted on four of its first five possessions before finding a rhythm with a pair of 75-yard touchdown drives.

Alford, who dropped a pass in the left corner of the end zone in the second quarter, caught a 30-yard pass near the same spot on West Virginia's next drive that initially was ruled out of bounds. The play was overturned after a review and ruled a touchdown.

Perine and Shell traded short scoring runs before Ross went the length of the field on a kickoff return. It marked the third time in four games that the Mountaineers allowed a score just before halftime.

Oklahoma, which wore its alternate "Rough Rider" uniforms for the first time, has a bye week before travelling to Fort Worth, Texas to face TCU. Stay with SoonerSports.com for the most comprehensive coverage of Oklahoma's win.