West Virginia leads Virginia Tech 13-7 at halftime.

Sep 23, 2022 - 1:21 AM

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The West Virginia Mountaineers lead the Virginia Tech Hokies, 13-7, at halftime on Thursday Night Football from Lane Stadium.

WVU received the opening kickoff, and the Hokies forced a three-and-out when safety Nasir Peoples stopped the Mountaineers for a loss on third down. Virginia Tech went to work on offense but found nothing and punted the ball back to West Virginia. Peter Moore boomed a 53-yard punt to the WVU two-yard line. The Hokies had a chance to get off the field, but cornerback Armani Chatman missed a tackle to keep the Mountaineers' drive alive.

Tech's defense did end up getting off the field, but not before the Mountaineers kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

Virginia Tech quarterback Grant Wells found wide receiver Kaleb Smith for a 28-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give the Hokies a 7-3 lead. The Hokies maintained that lead until late in the second quarter, when WVU hit another field goal to make it 7-6 with around two minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for the Hokies, after a couple of completions, the offense stalled, giving the Mountaineers the football back with around one minute remaining in the half. WVU quarterback JT Daniels found wideout Sam James for a 24-yard touchdown to give West Virginia a 13-7 lead.

The Hokies struggled to run the football in the first half, picking up 12 yards on 11 attempts. Wells completed 11 of 18 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. It was another penalty-filled half for the Hokies, who committed nine penalties for 53 yards. Tough to win if you are on pace for 18 penalties and averaging one yard per rushing attempt.

The Hokies will receive the second-half kickoff.