West Virginia: Mountaineers get defensive in easy win
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West Virginia's Tavon Austin runs down the sidelines for a first down against Coastal Carolina in the third quarter Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- This one showed perfection -- on the defensive side at least -- as West Virginia stalled Coastal Carolina, 31-0, Saturday at Mountaineer Field in the season opener for both teams.
"I'm pleased with the way our defense adjusted," Mountaineers coach Bill Stewart said. "Pleased with the way we reacted and took control of the football game."
Fair enough.
This was, after all, the first time a West Virginia team held an opponent without scoring since 2005, when they stymied Cincinnati, and the first time at home -- there were 57,867 inside the stadium yesterday -- since a 48-0 romp of Rutgers.
That's all the good, but it would be impractical to just look at the final score without pulling away some of the layers to reveal the polishing that needs done to this Mountaineers team if it wants to continue on a road to where it contends for the Big East Conference crown.
West Virginia, ranked No. 25 in the preseason Associated Press poll, led the Division I-AA Chanticleers 10-0 at halftime, a margin most thought would be wider against a Big South Conference team that won just five games last season and has a schedule dotted with teams such as Presbyterian, Gardner Webb and Delaware State.
Sophomore quarterback Geno Smith, making his first start as West Virginia's quarterback, finished 20 of 27 for the day for 216 yards and two touchdowns.
At halftime, he was 13 for 17 -- mostly underneath and low-risk completions -- with a costly interception and a first-quarter touchdown pass to sophomore receiver J.D. Woods.
PDF"It wasn't like we weren't moving the ball," Smith said. "We just had to stay patient."
And the Mountaineers had to find a way to finish.
West Virginia held possession for 10:12 of the second quarter but scored just three points, a 21-yard field goal by Tyler Bitancurt.
That, coupled with the Woods touchdown, allowed the Mountaineers to grasp that 10-0 halftime lead.
There was also this to consider, as a measure of how the final score, a span of more than four touchdowns, might have been a little deceptive: West Virginia standout senior running back Noel Devine, who finished with 111 yards on 23 attempts, was averaging 2.9 yards per carry in the first half, carrying 16 times for 47 yards and unable to break one deep against the Chanticleers early like many would have expected.
First Published September 5, 2010 12:00 am
