After the shocking loss last week to Syracuse, West Virginia knew they couldn’t afford another letdown this week. However at halftime, it looked as if the Mountaineers were headed for another upset. Rutgers (5-3, 2-2) pounded the ball against West Virginia(6-2, 2-1) for the better of three quarters, something that the Mountaineer defense has been vulnerable against all season. However, the West Virginia defense was able to shut out the Rutger defense in the second half and pull through with a 41-31 victory.
Geno Smith orchestrated three second-half touchdowns including the gutsy call by Coach Dana Holgorsen to go for it on 4th and 1 from Rutger’s 1-yard line with just over six minutes left in the game.
“If you don’t get it and they are backed up inside their one yard line, then you can use that to your advantage defensively,” said Holgorsen of his decision of going for the touchdown instead of kicking a game-tying field goal. “I felt like we had it; I felt like we had the right play called and Geno kind of blinked a little bit. We were supposed to hit Tyler (Urban) over the middle and he didn’t trigger it and made a play – which we’ve been telling these guys a lot that it’s hard to call perfect plays on offense.”
“If you don’t call a perfect play, that doesn’t mean a play can’t work,” Holgorsen added. “You’ve got to figure out a way to make it work. I was frustrated with Geno for a lot of the game today, but he did it in the fourth quarter.”
West Virgina kicker Tyler Bitancurt missed the point after attempt to still give Rutgers a chance to tie the game. After the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, it looked as if Rutgers may have a chance to tie up the ballgame. However, on second down, Julian Miller recovered a Rutgers fumble for the Mountaineers.
Smith went on to hit Tavon Austin for a 20-yard score to seal the victory for the Mountaineers.
It looked as if Greg Schiano (Rutgers coach), would finally be able to pull a victory out against the Mountaineers. Instead, with his team’s second-half collapse, Schiano now lost his 11th straight game to West Virginia and it marks the 14th straight loss overall for Rutgers.
While it is concerning the way West Virgnina played the first half, you have to admire the way they played four quarters and didn’t quit.
“The number one thing is effort and when adversity hits and you don’t make a play, what are you going to do? Are you going to shut it down or are you going to line up and play even harder?” said Holgorsen. “We did that in the second half.”
While Dustin Garrison has led the West Virginia rushing attack in the past weeks, this game, a new running back had his breakout game. Shawne Alston ran for 110 yards on 14 carries including a 52-yard touchdown run and a 2-yard touchdown run.
“Shawne Alston came in there and did a great job,” said Holgorsen. “He played really well; I probably should have given him the ball a lot more.”
Smith went 20-31 for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Stedman Bailey had his consecutive 100-yard game streak stopped as he hauled in just two passes for 51 yards. Along with Alston, Tavon Austin added a spark to the offense with 96 yards rushing on two carries and 67 yards receiving.
West Virginia will return home next weekend for a Big East showdown with Louisville.
Photo Credit: MSNsportsnet.com
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