Final
West Virginia overcomes sluggish start to beat Marshall
Sep 8, 2007 - 8:23 PM HUNTINGTON, West Virginia (Ticker) -- West Virginia's first visit to Marshall in nearly a century was anything but easy.Pat White passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another score as the third-ranked Mountaineers overcame a sluggish start before pulling away for a 48-23 victory over Marshall on Saturday.
Making their first visit to Huntington since 1915, the Mountaineers (2-0) hardly resembled one of the nation's top teams as they had to rally from a halftime deficit.
But White got the high-powered offense moving in the second half as he threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Darius Reynaud and scored on a 20-yard run during a 21-point third quarter that turned a 13-6 deficit into a 27-16 lead.
White completed 13-of-18 passes for 149 yards without a turnover. He also rushed for 125 yards on 18 attempts.
Speedy running back Steve Slaton, who was completely bottled up in the first two quarters, added touchdown runs of two and 18 yards in the second half for West Virginia, which improved to 7-0 all-time against Marshall.
Slaton rushed for 144 of his 146 yards after halftime. The junior was held to two yards on five carries over the first two quarters.
Led by Slaton and White, the Mountaineers cranked out 315 of their 361 rushing yards after halftime.
"They changed their offense and in the fourth quarter their offensive front kicked our line's butt," Marshall coach Mike Snyder said.
Reynaud also proved a handful for the Thundering Herd defense as he finished with eight receptions for 126 yards and two scores. He caught a 46-yard TD pass in the first quarter, giving the Mountaineers a 6-3 lead.
Bernard Morris threw a pair of touchdown passes for Marshall (0-2), which was coming off a 31-3 beating at Miami last week.
After enduring four three-and-outs on their seven first-half possessions, the Mountaineers scored touchdowns on six of their seven possessions after intermission.
Darius Marshall gave the home crowd an immediate jolt, returning the opening kickoff 77 yards to the West Virginia 23. The big play led to Anthony Binswanger's 32-yard field goal.
The Mountaineers responded when White found Reynaud over the middle for a 46-yard TD. A bad snap on the extra point left the Mountaineers with a 6-3 lead.
After the score, the Thundering Herd's aggressive defense - which featured seven men in the box - held the Mountaineers off the board for the rest of the half.
A 26-yard punt return by Pat McAfee in the second quarter set up Morris' 38-yard touchdown pass to Darius Passmore, giving the Thundering Herd a 10-6 lead with 5:27 left in the first half.
Morris went an efficient 15-of-23 for 231 yards without a turnover.
Binswanger converted a 26-yard field goal with two seconds left in the opening half as Thundering Herd took a 13-6 lead.
But the Mountaineers flexed their muscles thereafter on offense, with White engineering five scoring drives of at least 50 yards.
Noel Devine also got into the act for the Mountaineers, scoring on runs of 12 and 10 yards. He rushed for 76 yards on five carries.
- NCAAF FINAL
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 6 0 21 21 48
MARSHALL 3 10 10 0 23 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: MARSHALL - FG, ANTHONY BINSWANGER 32 YD,
1:54. MARSHALL 3-0
WEST VIRGINIA - TD, DARIUS REYNAUD 46 YD PASS FROM
PAT WHITE (PAT FAILED), 5:37.
WEST VIRGINIA 6-3
2ND QUARTER: MARSHALL - TD, DARIUS PAS
Sep 8 2:30 PM - NCAAF
TD WEST VIRGINIA
NOEL DEVINE 10 YD RUN
(PAT MCAFEE KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 48
MARSHALL 23 1:40 LEFT, 4TH QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 2:25 PM - NCAAF
TD WEST VIRGINIA
STEVE SLATON 18 YD RUN
(PAT MCAFEE KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 41
MARSHALL 23 4:31 LEFT, 4TH QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 2:15 PM - NCAAF
TD WEST VIRGINIA
NOEL DEVINE 12 YD RUN
(PAT MCAFEE KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 34
MARSHALL 23 10:28 LEFT, 4TH QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:58 PM - NCAAF END, 3RD QTR
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 6 0 21 27
MARSHALL 3 10 10 23 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: MARSHALL - FG, ANTHONY BINSWANGER 32 YD,
1:54. MARSHALL 3-0
WEST VIRGINIA - TD, DARIUS REYNAUD 46 YD PASS FROM
PAT WHITE (PAT FAILED), 5:37.
WEST VIRGINIA 6-3
2ND QUARTER: MARSHALL
Sep 8 1:44 PM
TD MARSHALL CODY SLATE 42 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS (ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:37 PM
TD MARSHALL CODY SLATE 42 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS (ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:37 PM
TD MARSHALL CODY SLATE 42 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS (ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:37 PM- NCAAF
TD MARSHALL
CODY SLATE 42 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS
(ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 27
MARSHALL 23 3:14 LEFT, 3RD QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:37 PM - NCAAF
TD WEST VIRGINIA
STEVE SLATON 1 YD RUN
(PAT MCAFEE KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 27
MARSHALL 16 3:21 LEFT, 3RD QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:33 PM - NCAAF
TD WEST VIRGINIA
PAT WHITE 20 YD RUN
(PAT MCAFEE KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 20
MARSHALL 16 6:26 LEFT, 3RD QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:24 PM - NCAAF
FG MARSHALL
ANTHONY BINSWANGER 34 YD
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 13
MARSHALL 16 9:31 LEFT, 3RD QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:13 PM
TD WEST VIRGINIA DARIUS REYNAUD 23 YD PASS FROM PAT WHITE (PAT MCAFEE KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:00 PM
TD WEST VIRGINIA DARIUS REYNAUD 23 YD PASS FROM PAT WHITE (PAT MCAFEE KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:00 PM
TD WEST VIRGINIA DARIUS REYNAUD 23 YD PASS FROM PAT WHITE (PAT MCAFEE KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:00 PM- NCAAF
TD WEST VIRGINIA
DARIUS REYNAUD 23 YD PASS FROM PAT WHITE
(PAT MCAFEE KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 13
MARSHALL 13 12:33 LEFT, 3RD QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 1:00 PM - NCAAF
FG MARSHALL
ANTHONY BINSWANGER 26 YD
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 6
MARSHALL 13 0:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Sep 8 12:30 PM - NCAAF
FG MARSHALL
ANTHONY BINSWANGER 26 YD
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 6
MARSHALL 13 0:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 12:30 PM
TD MARSHALL DARIUS PASSMORE 38 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS (ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 12:16 PM
TD MARSHALL DARIUS PASSMORE 38 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS (ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 12:16 PM
TD MARSHALL DARIUS PASSMORE 38 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS (ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 12:16 PM- NCAAF
TD MARSHALL
DARIUS PASSMORE 38 YD PASS FROM BERNARD MORRIS
(ANTHONY BINSWANGER KICK)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 6
MARSHALL 10 5:21 LEFT, 2ND QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 12:16 PM - NCAAF END, 1ST QTR
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 6 6
MARSHALL 3 3 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: MARSHALL - FG, ANTHONY BINSWANGER 32 YD,
1:54. MARSHALL 3-0
WEST VIRGINIA - TD, DARIUS REYNAUD 46 YD PASS FROM
PAT WHITE (PAT FAILED), 5:37.
WEST VIRGINIA 6-3
Sep 8 11:43 AM
TD WEST VIRGINIA DARIUS REYNAUD 46 YD PASS FROM PAT WHITE (PAT FAILED)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 11:23 AM
TD WEST VIRGINIA DARIUS REYNAUD 46 YD PASS FROM PAT WHITE (PAT FAILED)
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 11:23 AM- NCAAF
TD WEST VIRGINIA
DARIUS REYNAUD 46 YD PASS FROM PAT WHITE
(PAT FAILED)
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 6
MARSHALL 3 9:23 LEFT, 1ST QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 11:23 AM - NCAAF
FG MARSHALL
ANTHONY BINSWANGER 32 YD
WEST VIRGINIA (3) 0
MARSHALL 3 13:06 LEFT, 1ST QTR
West Virginia(3) vs. MarshallSep 8 11:08 AM
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