Post by elp525 on Sept 25, 2011 10:11:06 GMT -5
Sunday, September 25, 2011
By Jenn Menendez
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- No. 2 LSU forced three turnovers on its way to a dominating 47-21 victory against No. 16 West Virginia Saturday night with the glare of the national spotlight.
Just when the Mountaineers appeared to creep back into the game with two second-half touchdown drives, special teams let them down in front of 62,056 on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.
LSU's Morris Claiborne weaved his way 99 yards on a kick return to stamp the Tigers' win with a minute to play in the third quarter.
Michael Ford scored for LSU in the fourth quarter.
LSU had taken a 27-7 halftime lead thanks to dynamic corner Tyrann Mathieu, who set up two scores for his team.
Mathieu forced a first-quarter fumble, then intercepted quarterback Geno Smith at the West Virginia 20 and returned it 19 yards to the 1.
Both led to touchdowns and a lead that seemed insurmountable.
The Mountaineers offense had gotten production, outgained LSU in total offense, 241-204 yards by the half, but the turnovers cost them.
To open the second half, LSU dropped a touchdown pass, then missed a field goal, a sequence of events that breathed some life into West Virginia.
Smith reeled off a very nice drive and finished with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Urban to make it 27-14.
Two possessions later, Tavon Austin's 72-yard reception set up a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Dustin Garrison to get within a score on LSU, 27-21, with 1:16 to play in the third quarter.
Then Claiborne struck, sucking the life back out of the crowd.
The loss comes at an interesting time for the Mountaineer program, just a week after Pitt and Syracuse defected from the Big East Conference, spawning fear for the future of West Virginia athletics.
A quick start was paramount.
So was protecting the ball.
Neither happened.
The Mountaineers turned the ball over twice on its first three possessions to start the game.
The Tigers went 68 yards on their first possession to lead, 7-0, with barely five minutes elapsed in the game.
Mathieu forced a fumble by Brad Starks to negate a 16-yard gain on a pass play, and LSU safety Brandon Taylor intercepted a pass that bounced off the hands Austin. Taylor returned it 10 yards to the 50.
LSU made West Virginia pay on the second, driving quickly to make it 13-0 with a missed extra point.
Just when things looked particularly bleak, Smith brought some tempo back and engineered a 12-play drive that included a completion to Austin on fourth-and-4.
Three plays later, Smith connected with Stedman Bailey for a 20-yard touchdown pass at 12:30 of the second to make it 13-7 with the extra point.
LSU countered with Jarrett Lee's 52-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. onthird-and-1 to make it 20-7 with 6:57 to go until halftime.
Then another turnover -- with 37 seconds to play in the half.
Mathieu batted down a pass by Smith on third-and-long from his own 25, returned it 19 yards to the 1.
From there, LSU needed a mere two plays to convert on a 1-yard pass to Chase Clement.
•
NOTES -- LB Josh Francis started over Casey Vance at linebacker. ... All-American linebacker Darryl Talley was honored at the game. He will be inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Dec. 6.
By Jenn Menendez
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- No. 2 LSU forced three turnovers on its way to a dominating 47-21 victory against No. 16 West Virginia Saturday night with the glare of the national spotlight.
Just when the Mountaineers appeared to creep back into the game with two second-half touchdown drives, special teams let them down in front of 62,056 on Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.
LSU's Morris Claiborne weaved his way 99 yards on a kick return to stamp the Tigers' win with a minute to play in the third quarter.
Michael Ford scored for LSU in the fourth quarter.
LSU had taken a 27-7 halftime lead thanks to dynamic corner Tyrann Mathieu, who set up two scores for his team.
Mathieu forced a first-quarter fumble, then intercepted quarterback Geno Smith at the West Virginia 20 and returned it 19 yards to the 1.
Both led to touchdowns and a lead that seemed insurmountable.
The Mountaineers offense had gotten production, outgained LSU in total offense, 241-204 yards by the half, but the turnovers cost them.
To open the second half, LSU dropped a touchdown pass, then missed a field goal, a sequence of events that breathed some life into West Virginia.
Smith reeled off a very nice drive and finished with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Urban to make it 27-14.
Two possessions later, Tavon Austin's 72-yard reception set up a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Dustin Garrison to get within a score on LSU, 27-21, with 1:16 to play in the third quarter.
Then Claiborne struck, sucking the life back out of the crowd.
The loss comes at an interesting time for the Mountaineer program, just a week after Pitt and Syracuse defected from the Big East Conference, spawning fear for the future of West Virginia athletics.
A quick start was paramount.
So was protecting the ball.
Neither happened.
The Mountaineers turned the ball over twice on its first three possessions to start the game.
The Tigers went 68 yards on their first possession to lead, 7-0, with barely five minutes elapsed in the game.
Mathieu forced a fumble by Brad Starks to negate a 16-yard gain on a pass play, and LSU safety Brandon Taylor intercepted a pass that bounced off the hands Austin. Taylor returned it 10 yards to the 50.
LSU made West Virginia pay on the second, driving quickly to make it 13-0 with a missed extra point.
Just when things looked particularly bleak, Smith brought some tempo back and engineered a 12-play drive that included a completion to Austin on fourth-and-4.
Three plays later, Smith connected with Stedman Bailey for a 20-yard touchdown pass at 12:30 of the second to make it 13-7 with the extra point.
LSU countered with Jarrett Lee's 52-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. onthird-and-1 to make it 20-7 with 6:57 to go until halftime.
Then another turnover -- with 37 seconds to play in the half.
Mathieu batted down a pass by Smith on third-and-long from his own 25, returned it 19 yards to the 1.
From there, LSU needed a mere two plays to convert on a 1-yard pass to Chase Clement.
•
NOTES -- LB Josh Francis started over Casey Vance at linebacker. ... All-American linebacker Darryl Talley was honored at the game. He will be inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Dec. 6.
