Post by rainman on Sept 20, 2009 6:31:45 GMT -5
WVU loses ball six times in 41-30 loss to Auburn
Times West Virginian
— Oh, those turnovers.
Auburn turned the first five of West Virginia University’s six turnovers into 24 points in rallying to a 41-30 win Saturday night in a rain-delayed game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Chris Todd threw four touchdown passes and Craig Stevens intercepted a pass and returned it 16 yards for a score in the closing minutes to cap the victory for Auburn.
Auburn (3-0) came back from an early 14-0 deficit to take the lead for good with 12:07 to play on Todd’s 17-yard pass to Darvin Adams. It was Todd’s third touchdown pass to Adams, and it was set up by defensive tackle Jake Ricks’ interception at the West Virginia 19.
WVU quarterback Jarrett Brown, who had thrown only one interception in the Mountaineers’ first two games, was picked off four times and lost the ball on another occasion on a fumble.
Brown went to the sidelines late in the game with an apparent wrist injury. Freshman Eugene Smith, seeing his first college action, was intercepted for the sixth and final WVU turnover.
Todd also completed an 82-yard scoring pass to Mario Fannin to tie the game at 27 midway through the third quarter. West Virginia took a 30-27 lead late in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Tyler Bitancurt.
Todd’s TD passes were the most for Auburn quarterback since Daniel Cobb had four against Louisiana Tech in 2001.
The two teams combined for more than 900 yards of offense. Noel Devine rushed 15 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns for the Mountaineers (2-1).
WVU, when it wasn’t turning the ball over, posted impressive offensive numbers in front of a crowd of 87,451. Complementing Devine, Brown completed 18 of 32 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown and added 66 rushing yards. Jock Sanders caught 12 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
WVU held Auburn’s ground game — considered its strength — to 100 yards on 41 rushing attempts.
Todd, though, completed 16 of 31 passes for 284 yards. He was intercepted by WVU linebacker Ovid Goulbourne, Auburn’s only turnover.
The Mountaineers rushed for 207 yards and passed for 302, but the Auburn defense stiffened after taking the lead in the fourth quarter, intercepting West Virginia quarterbacks four times in the final period.
The start of the game was delayed for more than an hour by a powerful thunderstorm that hit the Auburn area shortly before the scheduled game time. Despite warnings that people should leave their seats because of the threat of lightning, about 15,000 boisterous fans in the Auburn student section, refused to move. They cheered and sang “Who’ll Stop The Rain,” some taking their shirts off, despite torrential rain that was falling so hard it was impossible to see across the field.
West Virginia quickly silenced the Auburn fans as the Mountaineers jumped off to a 14-0 lead on their first two possessions. On their third play from scrimmage, Jarrett Brown connected with Brad Starks for 58 yards to set up Devine’s 1-yard run.
On the Mountaineers next possession, Devine broke through the middle of the Auburn line and ran 71 yards untouched to the end zone. Brown threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Jock Sanders late in the first quarter.
Auburn fought back after the quick West Virginia start and only trailed 21-20 at halftime. Todd threw 4-yard and 16-yard touchdown passes to Adams in the first half and Wes Bynum kicked 46-yard and 42-yard field goals for Auburn.
West Virginia extended the lead on its first possession of the second half, driving 76 yards on eight plays, capped by Devine’s third score of the night, a 12-yard run.
The Mountaineers played without defensive lineman Scooter Berry and linebacker Reed Williams, although both dressed after being injured last week against East Carolina. Berry was replaced by Josh Taylor and Williams by Najee Goode.
WVU is off until it hosts Colorado a week from Thursday.
Times West Virginian
— Oh, those turnovers.
Auburn turned the first five of West Virginia University’s six turnovers into 24 points in rallying to a 41-30 win Saturday night in a rain-delayed game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Chris Todd threw four touchdown passes and Craig Stevens intercepted a pass and returned it 16 yards for a score in the closing minutes to cap the victory for Auburn.
Auburn (3-0) came back from an early 14-0 deficit to take the lead for good with 12:07 to play on Todd’s 17-yard pass to Darvin Adams. It was Todd’s third touchdown pass to Adams, and it was set up by defensive tackle Jake Ricks’ interception at the West Virginia 19.
WVU quarterback Jarrett Brown, who had thrown only one interception in the Mountaineers’ first two games, was picked off four times and lost the ball on another occasion on a fumble.
Brown went to the sidelines late in the game with an apparent wrist injury. Freshman Eugene Smith, seeing his first college action, was intercepted for the sixth and final WVU turnover.
Todd also completed an 82-yard scoring pass to Mario Fannin to tie the game at 27 midway through the third quarter. West Virginia took a 30-27 lead late in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Tyler Bitancurt.
Todd’s TD passes were the most for Auburn quarterback since Daniel Cobb had four against Louisiana Tech in 2001.
The two teams combined for more than 900 yards of offense. Noel Devine rushed 15 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns for the Mountaineers (2-1).
WVU, when it wasn’t turning the ball over, posted impressive offensive numbers in front of a crowd of 87,451. Complementing Devine, Brown completed 18 of 32 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown and added 66 rushing yards. Jock Sanders caught 12 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
WVU held Auburn’s ground game — considered its strength — to 100 yards on 41 rushing attempts.
Todd, though, completed 16 of 31 passes for 284 yards. He was intercepted by WVU linebacker Ovid Goulbourne, Auburn’s only turnover.
The Mountaineers rushed for 207 yards and passed for 302, but the Auburn defense stiffened after taking the lead in the fourth quarter, intercepting West Virginia quarterbacks four times in the final period.
The start of the game was delayed for more than an hour by a powerful thunderstorm that hit the Auburn area shortly before the scheduled game time. Despite warnings that people should leave their seats because of the threat of lightning, about 15,000 boisterous fans in the Auburn student section, refused to move. They cheered and sang “Who’ll Stop The Rain,” some taking their shirts off, despite torrential rain that was falling so hard it was impossible to see across the field.
West Virginia quickly silenced the Auburn fans as the Mountaineers jumped off to a 14-0 lead on their first two possessions. On their third play from scrimmage, Jarrett Brown connected with Brad Starks for 58 yards to set up Devine’s 1-yard run.
On the Mountaineers next possession, Devine broke through the middle of the Auburn line and ran 71 yards untouched to the end zone. Brown threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Jock Sanders late in the first quarter.
Auburn fought back after the quick West Virginia start and only trailed 21-20 at halftime. Todd threw 4-yard and 16-yard touchdown passes to Adams in the first half and Wes Bynum kicked 46-yard and 42-yard field goals for Auburn.
West Virginia extended the lead on its first possession of the second half, driving 76 yards on eight plays, capped by Devine’s third score of the night, a 12-yard run.
The Mountaineers played without defensive lineman Scooter Berry and linebacker Reed Williams, although both dressed after being injured last week against East Carolina. Berry was replaced by Josh Taylor and Williams by Najee Goode.
WVU is off until it hosts Colorado a week from Thursday.
pdq
