MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia's Curtis Jones Jr. said he's available to play running back whenever he's needed.

Jones normally lines up at a hybrid linebacker position, but the sophomore who played on both sides of the ball in high school has been given more practice time in the offensive backfield in recent weeks due to numerous injuries to others.

On Saturday, Jones had two short TD runs on his three carries and West Virginia held off Colorado 29-22.

“He could be a weapon,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said.

Jones was the only back who weighed more than 180 pounds available for the Mountaineers after backup Tyler Jacklish got hurt in practice on Wednesday.

“I had to shake the dust off a little bit in practice,” Jones said, adding that it doesn't matter what side of the ball he's playing on.

“I'm just trying to help my team in any situation I can.”

West Virginia (4-6, 2-6 Big 12) has won two straight for the first time this season.

Colorado (3-7, 1-6 Big 12) has lost three straight. The Buffaloes kept this one close after being outscored 105-24 in their previous two contests.

Colorado freshman Ju Ju Lewis threw two touchdown passes in his first start in place of Kaidon Salter. He brought the Buffaloes within 19-16 with a 23-yard scoring toss to Omarion Miller midway through the third quarter. But Colorado never held the lead.

Jones punched in a 2-yard run for a score in the second quarter, then scoring on a 4-yard run with 4:15 left in the game for a 29-19 lead.

After Alejandro Mata's third field goal brought Colorado within 29-22 with 1:16 left, West Virginia recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

West Virginia running back Diore Hubbard’s 69-yard reception in stride down the left side line set up tight end Ryan Ward’s first touchdown catch, a 3-yarder from freshman Scotty Fox Jr. for a 16-3 lead late in the second quarter. Both teams then moved quickly down the field for scores before halftime. Lewis hit Joseph Williams with an 8-yard TD strike, and Kade Hensley followed with a 41-yard field goal as time ran out to give West Virginia a 19-9 halftime lead.

But Fox threw interceptions on consecutive pass attempts in the third quarter to give Colorado a chance at a comeback.

Lewis, who has thrown passes in a backup role twice this season, was 22 of 35 for 299 yards. Miller finished with a season-high 131 receiving yards on six catches.

"It felt amazing playing football again,” Lewis said. “But of course, it hurts to lose. We have to play better.”

Special teams magic

West Virginia had its first blocked punt for a safety since 2014 when Israel Boyce got in front of punter Damon Greaves and the ball went through Colorado’s end zone in the first quarter.

The takeaway

Colorado: The Buffaloes won’t be going to a bowl for the fourth time in five seasons. The loss dropped third-year coach Deion Sanders to 16-19 at Colorado.

West Virginia: Fox finished 17 of 28 for 202 yards. The Mountaineers sacked Lewis seven times.

Up next

 

Colorado has a bye next Saturday and hosts Arizona State on Nov. 22

West Virginia plays at Arizona State next Saturday.

Cromwell runs for 2 TDs, Katsis has 100-yard KOR; NAU beats Northern Colorado 49-10

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Seth Cromwell had two of Northern Arizona's five rushing touchdowns, Kolbe Katsis scored on a 100-yard kickoff return, and the Lumberjacks beat Northern Colorado 49-10 on Saturday.

Ty Pennington threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jayson Raines to open the scoring about seven minutes into the game, Darvon Hubbard scored on a 4-yard run late in the first quarter and Quran Gossett ran for a 7-yard TD that made it 21-3 with two minutes left in the second.

Brandon Johnson's 3-yard touchdown run for Northern Colorado (3-6, 1-4 Big Sky Conference) capped a 10-play, 73-yard drive with 23 seconds left in the first half but Katsis returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD that gave the Lumberjacks a 28-10 lead at halftime. It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a Northern Arizona (5-4, 2-3) player since 2017, also against the Bears.

Cromwell scored on third-quarter runs of 2 and 7 yards before Ryan Fontaine capped the scoring with a 7-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Pennington was 19-of-22 passing for 255 yards.

Eric Gibson Jr. completed 17 of 28 passes for 151 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions for the Bears.

Szarka accounts for 3 TDs, leads Air Force over San Jose State 26-16

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Liam Szarka accounted for three touchdowns and Air Force held off San Jose State for a 26-16 victory on Saturday night.

Szarka's 12-yard touchdown pass to Quin Smith capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive that stretched the Air Force lead to 23-13 with 9:11 to play.

San Jose State's Denis Lynch kicked a 34-yard field goal with 5:43 left, but then Air Force (3-6, 2-4 Mountain West Conference) chewed up most of the remainder before Reagan Tubbs sealed it for the Falcons on a 33-yard field goal with 34 seconds left.

Szarka completed 5 of 10 passes for 41 yards and added 87 yards rushing on 25 carries that included a pair of short-yardage touchdown runs in the second quarter. Owen Allen ran 20 times for 109 yards for Air Force.

Walker Eget was 27-of-42 passing for 334 yards but threw two interception for San Jose State (3-6, 2-3). Leland Smith had nine catches for 144 yards and Kyri Shoels had six catches for 93 yards. Steve Chavez-Soto had an 8-yard touchdown run that pulled the Spartans to 16-13 early in the fourth quarter.

McCubbin's 19, Brookshire's 16 lead Austin Peay 74-54 past Air Force

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Tate McCubbin scored 19 points and Anton Brookshire added 16 points in Austin Peay's 74-54 win against Air Force on Saturday.

McCubbin added five assists and four steals for the Governors (2-0). Brookshire was 5 of 10 from the field and 4 for 7 from 3-point range. Zyree Collins finished with 14 points, eight of which came at the free-throw line.

Ethan Greenberg led the way for the Falcons (0-2) with 21 points. Wesley Celichowski added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Eli Robinson also put up nine points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

Austin Peay took the lead with 11:20 remaining in the first half and did not trail again. McCubbin led with 14 points in the first half to help put them up 33-22 at the break.

Austin Peay pulled away with an 8-0 run in the second half to extend a 12-point lead to 20 points. They outscored Air Force by nine points in the second half, as Brookshire led the way with a team-high 13 second-half points.

Meyer scores 18 off the bench, Wyoming downs CSU Fullerton 92-82

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Nasir Meyer helped lead Wyoming over CSU Fullerton on Saturday with 18 points off of the bench in a 92-82 victory.

Meyer also contributed five rebounds for the Cowboys (2-0). Damarion Dennis scored 16 points while going 4 of 7 from the floor, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and 6 for 6 from the line. Khaden Bennett had 15 points and shot 5 of 12 from the field, including 2 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 4 from the line.

Jefferson Monegro and Bryce Cofield each scored 21 points for the Titans (1-1). Landon Seaman finished with 12 points.

Wyoming entered halftime tied with CSU Fullerton 38-38. Meyer's 3-pointer with 13:14 remaining in the second half gave Wyoming the lead for good at 56-55.