MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Exactly one week after allowing two touchdowns in the final period against Pitt in a 38-34 loss, West Virginia turned it around in its Big 12 Conference opener against Kansas on Saturday.

Trailing by 11 points, the Mountaineers outscored the Jayhawks 15-0 in the final 3:27, rallied to win 32-28 despite the game being delayed for 1 hour and 58 minutes due to a lightning strike early in the fourth quarter.

“Most things work out. We had a game last week that we should have won 10-0 by less than 5, and we came back and flipped the script this week,” West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said. “That’s just how sports work.”

The winning touchdown came on a 15-yard pass from Garrett Greene to Rodney Gallagher, the first career touchdown for the sophomore from nearby Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

It capped a 67-yard drive that gave the Mountaineers a four-point lead with 26 seconds left.

The score wasn’t known until Tyrin Bradley tackled KU quarterback Jalon Daniels, forcing a fumble that he recovered at the Mountaineers’ 48-yard line with 8 seconds left.

“I had a beat on the snap count maybe early in the second half,” Bradley said. “I knew if I could get the ball, I could make a play. The right side is my favorite side to rush.”

After the Jayhawks (1-3, 0-1) took their first lead of the game with two possessions (28-17) thanks to a 32-yard touchdown run from Luke Grimm on a reverse, things looked bleak at best for WVU, which had 5:39 to erase an 11-point deficit.

The Mountaineers then mounted a 75-yard drive in 2:12, receiving a 26-yard pass from Greene to Gallagher in the series, which ended with Greene throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to uncovered tight end Kole Taylor. Trailing by five, WVU went for two and cashed in when wideout Traylon Ray threw a pass to Taylor, who made a nice catch and managed to stay inbounds.

“Garrett was special in the 2-minute drill,” Brown said. “I can’t say it any other way.”

KU got the ball back and had a chance to secure the win by getting multiple first downs. Instead, tailback Devin Neal carried three times for 5 yards, including a 1-yard loss on third-and-4.

That led to Damon Greaves’ fifth point of the game, and the Mountaineers covered the necessary 67 yards to take their first lead since 17-14.

“Garrett was inconsistent until it was time to win,” Brown said, “and when it was time to win, he won.”

The game was delayed 10:43 minutes into the game (the second time this year for WVU in three home games) and the Jayhawks faced a fourth-and-7 situation from their 49-yard line.

However, the Mountaineers failed to record a first down on their first series after the delay, as Kansas ran six times for 54 yards once it regained possession, including Grimm’s sprint to the end zone for an 11-point lead.

WVU produced the game’s first points on its second offensive series on Jahiem White’s 1-yard touchdown run. It followed completions of 38 and 39 yards, respectively, from Greene to receiver Hudson Clement.

Bradley recorded the Mountaineers’ first interception on the ensuing possession, when Daniels was intercepted for the seventh time this season at the WVU 27-yard line.

West Virginia had an early chance to take control of the game, but instead Greene’s pass to Ray was intercepted by Cobee Bryant on second-and-13 from KU’s 21-yard line.

The Jayhawks then ran 83 yards for their first points, scoring a touchdown on an 11-yard run by Neal to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:31 left in the first half.

After an exchange of points, the Mountaineers appeared to take the lead on a 19-yard touchdown run by Greene, but it was negated by a holding penalty on Brandon Yates. It was the second time in as many games that WVU had a touchdown returned for holding.

This time, the Mountaineers overcame it and scored anyway when Greene ran 18 yards with Ray on third-and-14 before the quarterback converted a 5-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left before halftime.

The lead was gone late in the second half of the series, when Kansas racked up 75 yards and tied it within 14 yards on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Grimm on third-and-goal.

Greene’s 52-yard pass to Ray on the first play of the next possession led to a 40-yard field goal by Michael Hayes and a 17-14 Mountaineer lead.

But Kansas responded immediately with a five-play, 75-yard drive, taking its first lead on an 11-yard touchdown run by Daniel Hishaw to give the visitors a 21-17 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter.

Greene completed 15 of 30 passes for 295 yards and rushed for 87 yards on 17 attempts. The quarterback accounted for all but 61 of WVU’s rushing yards.

“It’s not something I go into the week thinking I’m going to run more. It just happens,” Greene said.

Clement caught seven passes for 150 yards, including five for 123 in the first half.

“I had a good year last year, but I’m trying to be better this year. Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself and try to be perfect,” Clement said. “That’s unrealistic and you just have to go out there and play.”

Gallagher added 41 receiving yards and 12 rushing yards while playing only offense. Brown noted that the wideout/defensive back didn’t practice defense all week. Instead, he focused solely on offense and found the end zone for the first time in his career.

“I was super excited. It’s hard to take it all in at that moment,” Gallagher said. “It was one of the greatest moments of my life.”

The Jayhawks had plenty of success on the ground, with Neal rushing for 110 yards and Hishaw for 72, while Kansas totaled 247 rushing yards on 47 attempts.

“They’re the best running team we’ve ever played,” Brown said. “There’s a little give and take to put more guys in coverage. We wanted to keep the ball in front of us.”

Daniels completed 15 of 25 passes for 184 yards.

WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley, who normally stands on the sidelines, moved to the coaches box upstairs.

“It was Jordan’s idea,” Brown said. “I thought it was good. When you go into the box, you take the emotion out of the game and you can see that.”

Aubrey Burks left the game for good during the second quarter when he was carted off the court on a stretcher. Burks was on the sideline when he was carted off the court, but Brown gave a positive update on the veteran safety.

“He had an upper-body injury and it must have happened on a play, but he didn’t have the symptoms until he came out,” Brown said. “He’s back and was in the locker room. He’s in good spirits and all the tests came back clear, so I’m very thankful for that.”