Replay: Texas cruises past West Virginia in Big 12 matchup

West Virginia holds a slight 6-5 advantage vs. Texas in their all-time series, including a 4-2 edge in Austin. There have been a couple of doozies played at Royal-Memorial Stadium — both Mountaineers victories: the 48-45 shootout in 2012 led by West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith and the dramatic 42-41 win in 2018 on Will Grier's winning 2-point conversion run with 16 seconds left.

Both the Longhorns and Mountaineers enter this game with identical records: 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12. Texas lost its conference opener last week at Texas Tech and West Virginia fell to Kansas in the second week of the season.

As has been the case for the last two weeks, quarterbacks dominate the list of Texas storylines. Quinn Ewers has been practicing, but Hudson Card has started the last two games in relief. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian on Thursday declined to say who'd start and whether Ewers would even play. But this much is sure: Texas, which is now a seven-point favorite, can ill afford another conference loss with No. 18 Oklahoma, Iowa State and No. 9 Oklahoma State next up.

Follow along below for live updates throughout the contest:

Texas cruises past Mountaineers

Texas has beaten West Virginia 38-20 in convincing fashion. Hudson Card had a 300-yard passing night, Bijan Robinson had a 100-yard rushing night, Xavier Worthy had a 100-yard receiving night and caught a couple of touchdowns and even threw a touchdown, and the defense finished with three sacks, seven tackles for loss and seven pass breakups. A complete victory. Up next for the Longhorns is Oklahoma next week (11 a.m. Saturday, ABC).

Another West Virginia touchdown (4th, 4:31)

West Virginia's Justin Johnson Jr. has made this a 38-20 game with a 4-yard run. The 2-point conversion pass failed. The Longhorns have been on cruise control this second half.

On Texas' last drive, the Horns went up 38-14 on Bert Auburn's 45-yard field goal with 10:22 left. It was his first try of the game.

Mountaineers cut into Horns' lead (4th, 14:56)

West Virginia has scored on Tony Mathis' 1-yard touchdown run, making this a 35-14 game. The extra point actually was deflected by Kitan Crawford but floated in anyway. It was a marathon 18-play, 65-yard drive that took up 7:31 but felt much, much longer. The game was delayed for more than 10 minutes on the drive when running back CJ Donaldson was injured on a short run. His head appeared to collide with Texas defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell's leg on the tackle. Donaldson, who's the Mountaineers' leading rusher this season, was carted off the field.

A rough drive for the O-line (3rd, 7:27)

Well, it can't be all sunshine and rainbows for Texas tonight. The Longhorns have just punted for the second time on a drive that was a rough one for the offensive line. A Hayden Conner holding penalty wiped out an 18-yard pass from Hudson Card to Xavier Worthy, and a 10-yard block in the back penalty knocked out a 9-yard pass to Ja'Tavion Sanders — on the very next play. That led to a first-and-30 situation, and Card — who's already limping — was sacked. Not a good drive for the O-line. Still, the Horns continue to lead 35-7.

Another Worthy play for Texas (3rd, 13:03)

Remember when West Virginia won the pregame coin toss and opted to get the ball first? Bad decision. Not only did the Mountaineers' offense sputter to the tune of four punts and one turnover on downs in six drives in the first half, Neal Brown's decision also gave Texas, leading 28-7 at the break, the ball to start the third quarter. Xavier Worthy made the Mountaineers pay with a 44-yard touchdown catch that was a brilliant grab off a tipped pass in the back of the end zone. Worthy now has five catches for 115 yards and two touchdown and also has that first-half touchdown pass. The Longhorns lead 35-7.

Texas is cruising at halftime

It's halftime. Texas leads 28-7 and will get the ball to start the second half. Will Quinn Ewers get any snaps to shake off some rust before Oklahoma next week? Will this become the Roschon Johnson and Keilan Robinson show? Jamier Johnson, a sophomore backup cornerback, is already getting snaps and making plays, so we may see more backups get in if things continue this way. Hudson Card is 13-of-17 for 223 yards and 2 TDs, Bijan Robinson has 11 touches for 51 total yards and a score, and Xavier Worthy (3-65-1 and a TD pass) and Ja'Tavion Sanders (4-68-2) are having big nights, but it's the defense that's really bringing it. Texas has forced four punts and a turnover on downs in five of WVU's six drives, and the Horns have two sacks, four tackles for loss and six pass breakups. The Longhorns look in total control heading into the second half.

There goes the shutout (2nd, :13)

West Virginia has gotten on the scoreboard with an 8-yard touchdown pass from JT Daniels to Kaden Prather on a slant pattern. Texas leads 28-7. Along the way, the Mountaineers converted a fourth-and-10 from Texas' 41 when Daniels connected with Sam James for 21 yards downfield. The Mountaineers entered this game having gone 8-of-9 converting fourth downs this season, though they whiffed on their first try in the first quarter. And the Longhorns gave up six first downs on eight fourth-down tries last week by Texas Tech.

What a start: Texas rolls to another score (2nd, 4:22)

This isn't the Mountaineers' night. Texas has gone up 28-0 and had a lot of help from the West Virginia defense on this six-play, 87-yard drive — a 15-yard facemask, a 15-yard late hit and a blown coverage for a 45-yard pass from Hudson Card to Xavier Worthy, who's having a really nice start to the night (3 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, plus a 33-yard touchdown pass) as is Sanders (4 catches for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns).

Another drive, another touchdown (2nd, 11:54)

Bijan Robinson has scored his first touchdown of the night from 1 yard out, and he had a couple of big blockers up front to clear the way for that yard — 6-foot-2, 344-pound defensive tackle Keondre Coburn and 6-foot-1, 302-pound defensive lineman Byron Murphy II. It was Robinson's 30th career touchdown. Hershey McLaurin, West Virginia's backup safety, made it all possible with a pass interference penalty on Casey Cain in the end zone. That set the Horns up at the 2. Horns now lead 21-0.

A pretty TD pass — from Xavier Worthy (End of 1st quarter)

Texas has gone up 14-0 on a trick play. On first-and-10 from West Virginia's 33-yard line, Hudson Card passed it back to Xavier Worthy right off the line of scrimmage, and then Worthy connected with Ja'Tavion Sanders for a 33-yard touchdown. It's been Texas' prettiest pass so far. It came three plays after Card overshot a wide-open Worthy, who was streaking past two defenders for what would have been a 44-yard touchdown. But no worries. ... Both quarterbacks have been evading pressure so far. Moro Ojomo recorded Texas' first sack at a great time — on third-and-8 to force West Virginia's second punt of the game.

Worthy puts Texas up early (1st, 6:08)

Hudson Card's 15-yard pass to Xavier Worthy in the end zone has the Longhorns up 7-0 midway through the opening quarter. It was a seven-play, 60-yard drive that started with the fourth down stop by the defense. So tip of the cap to Ryan Watts, who broke up WVU's fourth down pass. An 11-yard pass to Ja'Tavion Sanders and a 15-yarder to Roschon Johnson had Texas at WVU's 34, and Bijan Robinson took over from there to set up the score. It's Card's fourth touchdown pass of the season and it's Worthy's second touchdown catch.

A fourth down stop! A fourth down stop! (1st, 9:16)

Last week, Texas Tech went for it on fourth down eight times — and converted six of them. But tonight, the Longhorns passed their first fourth down test. On fourth-and-2 from Texas' 40-yard line, JT Daniels found Bryce Ford-Wheaton over the middle, but Texas cornerback Ryan Watts' well-timed hit with the catch knocked the ball loose and incomplete. The Longhorns took over, now 1-for-1 in stopping fourth downs tonight.

A game of punts (1st quarter, 10:40)

West Virginia has punted. And Texas has punted. The Horns made a quick first down on a quick pass from Hudson Card to Ja'Tavion Sanders, but the drive broke down on back-to-back plays where Card was pressured, the second one coming on a sack on third down. Card is making his fifth career start, though regular starter Quinn Ewers is available if needed. He's been practicing all week after getting knocked out of the Alabama game three weeks ago with a sprained clavicle. ... The Mountaineers won the coin toss and wanted the ball, and got one first down on a 27-yard pass from JT Daniels to Sam James, but punted it away.

Three Mountaineers to watch today

(1) QB JT Daniels — formerly of USC and Georgia — has thrown for 956 yards and 7 touchdowns in four games; (2) RB CJ Donaldson is averaging 95 yards a game, has scored 6 TDs and averages 7.3 yards per carry; and (3) DE Dante Stills leads the team in sacks and is second in tackles for loss, and has 46.5 career tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks.

One game to go: Texas-WVU

We're about 30 minutes away from kickoff at Royal-Memorial Stadium. This Texas-West Virginia game is the last Big 12 matchup of the day. Other scores: Kansas stays undefeated with a 14-11 win over Iowa State; No. 9 Oklahoma State beat No. 16 Baylor in Waco, 36-25; TCU sent No. 18 Oklahoma into an 0-2 conference hole with a 55-24 win in Fort Worth; and No. 25 Kansas State beat Texas Tech 37-28.

Looking at the Big 12

Texas hasn't started out 0-2 in the Big 12 since 2016, Charlie Strong's last year. The Horns lost 49-31 at Oklahoma State and then 45-40 to Oklahoma. Texas started that year out 0-3 and lost three of its first four conference games, actually. Oh, and later in the season the Horns also lost to West Virginia 24-20 in Austin. ... TCU (4-0, 1-0) pasted No. 18 Oklahoma today in Fort Worth, 55-24. The Sooners are now 0-2 in the conference and 3-2 overall. No. 25 Kansas State beat Texas Tech to stay on top of the conference standings. Kansas is leading Iowa State at home 14-11 early in the fourth quarter and No. 9 Oklahoma State is on top of No. 16 Baylor 33-25 early in the fourth, too.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Replay: Texas Longhorns cruise past West Virginia in Big 12 matchup