Tavon Austin, perhaps the most elusive ballcarrier in WVU football history, caught a 64-yard touchdown pass against the New York Giants Sunday on the third play of the game that the Dallas Cowboys won, 20-13.
I still remember his TD against Oklahoma in Mountaineer Field in 2012. The first defender fell down trying to match Tavon’s fakes. The second one just stood there while Tavon flew into the end zone.
My son-in-law said the 2nd defender “didn’t want to look stupid” so his eyes just glazed over and his jaw dropped and he didn't move, saving his jockstrap a lot of embarassment.
Tavon set a school record with 344 yards rushing on 21 carries (16.4 yards per carry), 4 catches for 82 yards, 8 kick returns for 146 yards to give him 572 all-purpose yards. Tavon was only 8 yards short of breaking the NCAA record for all-purpose yards in a single game.
Dana had switched Tavon into the backfield for the game against the ranked Sooners and used the flip pass (a 1-foot forward lateral) time and time again and just let Tavon zig and zag, stop and start for yardage. Tavon had the best stop-on-a-dime, then speed to 66 mph in 2 steps, of any WVU players I’ve ever seen.
It was the most magnificent performance I’ve ever seen by a Mountaineer, and I’m 85 years old.
Oklahoma won, 50-49, against a 5-5 WVU team. But left muttering about the ghost ballcarrier Tavon Austin who scored from 74 and 4 yards away and nearly singlehandedly upset the Sooners.
I still remember his TD against Oklahoma in Mountaineer Field in 2012. The first defender fell down trying to match Tavon’s fakes. The second one just stood there while Tavon flew into the end zone.
My son-in-law said the 2nd defender “didn’t want to look stupid” so his eyes just glazed over and his jaw dropped and he didn't move, saving his jockstrap a lot of embarassment.
Tavon set a school record with 344 yards rushing on 21 carries (16.4 yards per carry), 4 catches for 82 yards, 8 kick returns for 146 yards to give him 572 all-purpose yards. Tavon was only 8 yards short of breaking the NCAA record for all-purpose yards in a single game.
Dana had switched Tavon into the backfield for the game against the ranked Sooners and used the flip pass (a 1-foot forward lateral) time and time again and just let Tavon zig and zag, stop and start for yardage. Tavon had the best stop-on-a-dime, then speed to 66 mph in 2 steps, of any WVU players I’ve ever seen.
It was the most magnificent performance I’ve ever seen by a Mountaineer, and I’m 85 years old.
Oklahoma won, 50-49, against a 5-5 WVU team. But left muttering about the ghost ballcarrier Tavon Austin who scored from 74 and 4 yards away and nearly singlehandedly upset the Sooners.