Watch: Houston wins on Hail Mary for school’s first conference victory in Big 12

Houston couldn’t have chosen a more dramatic way to earn its first conference win as a Big 12 member.

The Cougars, who led by 11 in the fourth quarter against West Virginia before the Mountaineers retook the lead with 12 seconds remaining, walked off with a win when Stephon Johnson caught a tipped Hail Mary pass from Donovan Smith for a 49-yard touchdown as time expired.

Houston had lost three of its previous four games heading into Thursday night’s contest, including two losses in Big 12 play by an average of 22 points.

Against West Virginia, though, Smith — who completed 21 of 27 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns — led a strong offensive effort that helped Houston (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) lead through much of the night in the 41-39 victory.

The loss was the Mountaineers’ first in Big 12 play, though just moments before the Hail Mary, it looked like West Virginia (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) would win on a last-minute miracle.

West Virginia, who fell behind 35-24 on a Smith-to-Johnson touchdown with 7:21 to play, rallied to make it 35-32 with just under four minutes left on a 75-yard touchdown drive.

Then, after stopping Houston near midfield, the Mountaineers took over possession at their own 12 with 1:17 to play.

West Virginia moved the ball to midfield, but faced a fourth-and-10 with 25 seconds remaining.

On its final offensive play, the Mountaineers’ Garrett Greene hit Hudson Clement in stride near the Houston 30, and Clement shook off a tackler before racing to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown with 12 seconds to play.

A 15-yard unsportsmanlike celebration on West Virginia that was assessed on the ensuing kickoff helped give Houston solid field position for its dramatic game-winning touchdown.

Following a short pass to get the ball just past midfield, Smith ran out of the pocket on the final play and launched the ball downfield, where Johnson made the play to win the game.