WATCH: Houston Wins on Miracle Hail Mary vs. West Virginia Before Hosting Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns are set to play a Houston Cougars team that won on a crazy Hail Mary Thursday night against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Texas Longhorns got some miraculous in-conference assistant on Thursday night from the team they'll be facing on Saturday, Oct. 21.

The Houston Cougars, who will soon host a Texas team that's coming off a 34-30 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, were looking for their first-ever Big 12 win Thursday against the 4-1 West Virginia Mountaineers at TDECU Stadium. Trailing 39-35 late in the fourth, the Cougars seemed to be headed for their first loss of the season after giving up a 50-yard touchdown on fourth down with only 12 seconds remaining.

But Cougars quarterback and former Texas Tech Red Raider Donovan Smith tossed a perfectly-placed pass toward the end zone with zeros on the clock that was tipped and caught by Houston receiver Stephon Johnson for a 49-yard touchdown that gave the Cougars a 41-39 win.

Take a look:

HAIL MARY HOUSTON COUGARS ‼️ pic.twitter.com/blDmruBxYi

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 13, 2023

The loss slightly helps Texas' path to the Big 12 Championship, as the Longhorns will not being facing West Virginia during the Big 12 farewell tour. If the Mountaineers were to have won the rest of their games except for the Nov. 11 matchup with OU, they'd have a chance at winning the tie-breaker over Texas for a spot in the Big 12 title game.

But now, the Mountaineers will have to upset the Sooners in Norman to give themselves a legit shot of keeping Big 12 title berth hopes alive. Of course, this is all under the assumption that the Sooners and Longhorns both win their final six games this season.

Houston Cougars quarterback Donovan Smith (1) attempts a pass during the first quarter against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at TDECU Stadium / © Troy Taormina, USA TODAY

At the end of the day, anything can happen in the Big 12 as the season goes on. But Thursday's events certainly helped Texas more than it hurt.

The Longhorns will look to let out the frustration of the loss to Oklahoma when they make the short trip to Houston for their matchup on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. CT.