game-by-game recaps game 6 #16/19
West virginia
Connecticut
A
43 16
33-point second half enabled West Virginia to capture its first BIG EAST win of the 2011 season with a convincing 43-16 win over Connecticut in the conference opener for both teams. The Mountaineers put up 541 yards of total offense on the Huskies with 469 coming through the air. Quarterback Geno Smith completed 27-of-45 passes and 450 yards, with four touchdowns to pace the offensive attack. Smith’s favorite target was once again receiver Stedman Bailey, who turned in a school-record fourth straight 100-yard receiving performance. Along with an 84-yard touchdown reception, Bailey hauled in a total of seven catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns to lead all receivers for the game. After Connecticut’s opening drive ended in a missed field goal, the Mountaineers wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. A 61-yard drive resulted in a 31-yard Tyler Bitancurt field goal for a 3-0 WVU lead with 7:43 left in the first quarter. However, Connecticut’s keep-away game was working early and long sustained drives by the Huskies kept the Mountaineer offense off the field. A 4:13 drive resulted in a 40-yard David Teggart field goal, before he followed that up with a 53-yarder at the 14:53 mark of the second quarter to give UConn a 6-3 lead. Sparked by a 24-yard completion from Smith to Bailey, West Virginia took the lead for good with 2:44 left in the half, when running back Dustin Garrison rushed in from 14-yards away. However, UConn made the most of the final minutes and moved the ball 53 yards to convert a 22-yard Teggart field goal to put the halftime score at 10-9 in favor of the Mountaineers. West Virginia took control of the game in the third quarter with a 23-point outburst, while the Mountaineer defense held the Huskies at bay. A key stretch came at the 7:54 mark of the third, with Connecticut driving to the WVU 13-yard line. UConn quarterback Johnny McEntee fumbled, and the ball was recovered by WVU linebacker Jewone Snow, who returned it 83 yards to the UConn 12-yard line. That play ignited the Mountaineer offensive outburst. Two plays later, Smith connected with receiver Tavon Austin for a 12-yard scoring toss and a 17-9 advantage. On WVU’s first play of its next possession, Smith hooked up with Bailey for an 84-yard touchdown reception to extend its lead to 24-9. The Mountaineer defense got in on the scoring action, as Bruce Irvin and Snow sacked McEntee for a safety, before receiver Brad Starks made a leaping 22-yard touchdown catch, giving the Mountaineers a 33-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The West Virginia offense wasn’t done in the final stanza, adding 10 more points. A 33-yard Bitancurt field goal, along with a Smith strike to Bailey from 27-yards out at the 9:50 mark, gave WVU a 32-9 advantage. The Husky defense intercepted backup quarterback Paul Millard later in the fourth and returned it 48 yards for a score, putting the final total at 43-16. Aside from Smith and Bailey’s offensive numbers, Ivan McCartney turned in 131 yards receiving on six catches, while the strong WVU defensive effort was led by Snow with seven stops and the 83-yard fumble return. UConn got 193 yards passing from McEntee and 73 yards rushing from Lyle McCombs to total 275 yards of offense. Sio Moore led the Husky defense with eight stops. With the win, West Virginia improved to 7-1 all-time against Connecticut and 4-0 all-time in Morgantown.
[ brad starks ]
[ October 8, 2011 · Morgantown W.Va .]
Scoring and Statistical Summary 1 2 3 4 F Connecticut 3 6 0 7 16 3 7 23 10 43 West Virginia 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th
WVU UConn UConn WVU UConn WVU WVU WVU WVU WVU WVU UConn
Tyler Bitancurt 31 FG David Teggart 40 FG Teggart 53 FG Dustin Garrison 14 rush (Bitancurt kick) Teggart 22 FG Tavon Austin 12 pass from Geno Smith (Bitancurt kick) Stedman Bailey 84 pass from Smith (Bitancurt kick) Team Safety Brad Starks 22 pass from Smith (Bitancurt kick) Bitancurt 33 FG Bailey 27 pass from Smith (Bitancurt kick) Ty-Meer Brown 48 interception return (Teggart kick)
UConn WVU
First Downs 16 23 Rushes/Yards 35/82 29/72 Passing Yardage 193 469 Passes 21/37/0 28/48/1 Punts 9/397/44.1 5/215/43.0 Fumbles/Lost 3/1 3/1 Return Yardage 175 165 Penalties/Yards 7/51 8/80 Time of Possession 32:33 27:27 WVU RUSHING: Garrison 18-80; WVU PASSING: Smith 27-45-0-450; WVU RECEIVING: Bailey 7-178, McCartney 6-131, Austin 7-74; WVU TACKLES (TFL/QS): Smith 8, Cook 8, Snow 7 (1/1); WVU INTERCEPTIONS: None. UConn RUSHING: McCombs 20-74; UConn PASSING: McEntee 2137-0-193; UConn RECEIVING: Griffin 5-57; UConn TACKLES (TFL/ QS): Moore 8, Junior 7 (1/1), Smallwood 7; UConn INTERCEPTIONS: Brown. Attendance - 56,179
86
West Virginia University