West Virginia 24, Marshall 21
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, September 10, 2010
Where: Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Huntington, West Virginia
Temperature:
75°
Head Official:
Randy Smith
Attendance:
41382
By SportsDirect Inc.
Geno Smith finished with 316 yards and a touchdown and Noel Devine rushed for 112 yards and a score as No. 22 West Virginia came from behind to beat Marshall 24-21 in overtime in the “Friends of Coal Bowl” on Friday.
Will Johnson caught the touchdown pass with 25 seconds left to force overtime for the Mountaineers, who improved to 10-0 all time against the Thundering Herd.
West Virginia converted a field goal on the opening possession of overtime and Marshall failed to respond.
The Mountaineers forced overtime in dramatic fashion, driving 98 yards in 15 plays. Smith was 9-for-12 on the drive, including the scoring strike to Johnson on a beautiful pass to the back corner of the end zone.
Smith added a quick pass to Jock Sanders for the two-point conversion, completing the comeback.
Brian Anderson tossed a pair of TD passes in the first half, connecting with Antavious Wilson for an eight-yard score on the opening possession and hitting Aaron Dobson down the middle for the 96-yard shocker in the second to send Marshall into the locker room with a 14-3 edge.
Marshall extended the lead on its first play of the fourth quarter when Anderson hit Wilson on the left side at the 12-yard line. The sophomore wide receiver cut inside and broke a tackle before scampering into the end zone to make it 21-6.
The Thundering Herd had a chance to put it away after recovering a fumble by Smith, but freshman running back Tron Martinez fumbled it back on the West Virgina four-yard line with 8:46 remaining in the game.
The turnover gave new life to the Mountaineers, who marched down the field in nine plays, capped by Devine’s four-yard touchdown run. West Virginia decided to go for the extra point after that score, cutting it to 21-13.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
West Virginia |
|
Marshall |
Noel Devine
|
Player |
Martin Ward
|
23 |
Attempts |
11 |
112 |
Yards |
101 |
4.9 |
Avg Yards |
9.2 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
West Virginia |
|
Marshall |
Tavon Austin
| Player |
Aaron Dobson
|
9 |
Receptions |
4 |
85 |
Yards |
120 |
9.4 |
Avg Yards |
30.0 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sacks |
FF |
West Virginia
|
469 |
153 |
316 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
1 |
Marshall
|
364 |
135 |
229 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3.0 |
3 |