West Virginia Mountaineers @ Maryland Terrapins Football Recap

West Virginia 37, Maryland 31

The Saturday noontime affair between out of conference rivals West Virginia and Maryland was expected to be a fast-pace, high-scoring game, and it did not disappoint.  The road team ran out to an early lead, but managed to stave off a late comeback by the Terrapins from Maryland to earn a hard-fought victory by a 37-31 count.

Head Coach Dana Holgorsen’s Mountaineers seemed determined not to get off to a slow start like they did last week, when they trailed Norfolk State 12-10 at the half.  After their first drive ended in a fumble (which, incidentally, led to a Maryland field goal), the Mountaineers took a lead that they would not relinquish, as Geno Smith passed his way down the field before a Vernard Roberts 9 yard rushing touchdown. 

Danny O’Brien, one of the ACC’s better quarterbacks, threw his first of three interceptions on the next drive.  Terence Garvin returned the interception 37 yards for a touchdown to put West Virginia up 14-3. After a Maryland three and out, the Mountaineers scored a field goal followed by a touchdown two possessions later to give West Virginia a 24-3 lead early in the second quarter. 

Going for the kill before the end of the second half, Holgorsen decided to go for it on 4th  and 3, up 21 points.   Granted, the Mountaineers were in the zone of the field where it is entirely reasonable to go for it on 4th and short, at the Maryland 37 yard line.  West Virginia kicker Tyler Bitancurt doesn’t have the leg to make a 54 yard field goal a reasonable option, and if the punt goes into the end zone, the Mountaineers would only gain a net 17 yards after the touchback, so Holgorsen made a wise choice to go for the first down, but he took the ball out of his star quarterback’s hands and gave it to a much less reliable running game.  Shawne Alston’s rush was a yard short of the first down marker, and O’Brien quickly led the Terrapins 65 yards down the field on 3 of 4 passing, including an 18 yard touchdown pass to Kevin Dorsey, to give Maryland life going into halftime.  Unfortunately, he left the Mountaineers too much time, and they were able to tack on a field goal as time expired to take a commanding 27-10 lead into the half.

After receiving the second half kickoff, Smith marched the Mountaineers down the field, and a 34 yard touchdown pass to Stedman Bailey gave the visitors a 34-10 lead.  The rest of the game belonged to O’Brien and the Terrapins.   The difference in the game may have been the next drive, where O’Brien and running back Davin Meggett drove the ball from the Maryland 23 to the West Virginia 6 yard line before turning the ball over on downs.  Had the Terps been able to put the ball in the end zone, assuming the rest of the game played out the same, the Terps would have stolen a victory.  As it was, the Terps cut the Mountaineers’ lead from 34-10 to 34-31 before giving up a field goal for the final margin.  Maryland had one last shot on its final drive, but O’Brien made a poor decision to force a throw into double coverage on 3rd and 8 with over a minute left on the West Virginia 35.  It appeared that O’Brien had the space to rush for the first down, or at least allow a 4th and short opportunity, but Eain Smith intercepted the ill-advised pass to effectively end the game.

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Geno Smith, considered by some to be a Heisman Trophy candidate, beat Danny O’Brien both on the field and in the box score.  Smith was 36-49 for 388 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while his counterpart was 34-52 for 289 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.  Davin Meggett added 113 yards rushing on 19 carries and a touchdown for Maryland, while Kevin Dorsey led the Terps with 9 receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.   The Mountaineers had three wide receivers with over 100 yards.  Tavon Austin led WVU with 11 catches for 122 yards, while Stedmon Bailey and Ivan McCartney each came up with 8 catches.  Bailey had 113 yards and one touchdown while McCartney had 101 yards.

Next games:  Louisiana State visits West Virginia on Saturday, Sep. 24 th  at 8 PM on ABC.  Temple is at Maryland on Saturday, Sep. 24 th  at 12:30  PM on ESPN3.

By: John Cary
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer