Freshman Garrison rushes for 291 yards, 2 TDs in WVU win
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West Virginia's Dustin Garrison, right, fends off Bowling Green's Aaron Foster. Garrison finished the Mountaineers' 55-10 victory in Morgantown, W.Va., with 291 yards rushing.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia just might have found its running back.
Dustin Garrison broke loose Saturday for the Mountaineers, just like it was a Friday night in Texas.
Garrison rushed for 291 yards, scored two touchdowns, and helped the offense amass 643 yards on the way to a 55-10 rout against Bowling Green.
For a team whose calling card has been the passing game this season, his performance was a strong sign the offense will have more dimension when West Virginia (4-1) begins Big East Conference play next week.
"I think we found a running back," said coach Dana Holgorsen. "He was hitting it. ... If you look at 16 games on his high school film last year, it's like that. He's used to 200-yard games. The more you give it to him and the more he plays, the better he gets."
That said, Holgorsen pointed out Garrison is not "the guy forever" and will have to continue to compete for carries, even though he finished 46 yards shy of the best rushing performance in school history.
Shawne Alston rushed for another 49 yards and scored on 8-yard touchdown runs in the first and fourth quarters.
"I got my chance," said Garrison, who said he had no idea how many yards he was amassing until late in the game. "I can't really explain it. It's just there. I didn't even know I made a cut at one point. It's instincts."
The running game seemed headed for a record-breaking day as Garrison amassed 233 rushing yards by halftime, setting the school's one-half record.
He was averaging 9.7 yards a carry and chewing up yardage.
"He was making cuts no one's ever seen before," said offensive lineman Joe Madsen. "He made a lot of moves that surprised me. It makes it easier to block because he's going to lead the guy and cut."
It was a positive day on offense, defense and special teams.
First Published October 2, 2011 12:00 am
