Post by cviller on Oct 8, 2007 9:44:36 GMT -5
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- True, with autumn temperatures here extending into the 80s, the weather was strangely similar, which was perhaps the biggest surprise aside from seeing a defensive lineman score on an interception return for West Virginia for the first time in 26 years.
Yet the postgame atmosphere outside the Mountaineers locker room convinced everyone in attendance they were not in Tampa, Fla.
"We needed to let everyone know we're still contenders and we're still going to come out and play hard," Safety Ryan Mundy said. "It's something we focused on all week and we went out and did just that."
WVU had its way with an overmatched, underwhelming Syracuse and the Mountaineers' misfortunes from last Friday's loss at South Florida were forgotten. Frowns were replaced by smiles and chatter of what they were not was replaced by who they still can be for the remainder of the season.
Why, so happy were the victors with the 55-14 performance in front of an increasingly frustrated Carrier Dome crowd of 35,345 that Johnny Dingle actually high-fived an official as he left the field.
"Thought he was a coach," Dingle said. "Oh well."
It might have been the only mistake a defensive lineman made all day.
Dingle forced two fumbles and batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage, Keilen Dykes returned an interception for a touchdown and the typically anonymous front was impossible to ignore.
"Actually," defensive tackle Scooter Berry said, "the secondary was yelling at us. They said if we didn't bat all those balls down, they would have gotten the interceptions."
A group of players who must sometimes humbly play in such a way that they allow others make a tackle or a sack instead were an unmistakable difference for now-No. 8 WVU and a source of irritation for heretofore steady Orange quarterback Andrew Robinson.
"They got a few sacks, but they got their hands in his face and batted a few balls down," said WVU Coach Rich Rodriguez, who won the 100th game of his career. "And they created the big turnover early. That got the guys excited and gave everyone a lot of confidence in what they were doing."
Rodriguez could have been referring to one of two turnovers early. On the first drive of the game, Robinson -- who came into the game with just one interception, and none in his previous 104 attempts -- had a ball tipped at the line of scrimmage and then rise and slide through the fingers of receiver Taj Smith. Mundy caught the ball and returned it 26 yards.
WVU (5-1, 1-1 Big East) started on offense from the Syracuse 37 and needed only five plays before Owen Schmitt scored his first touchdown of the season on a 7-yard triple-option run.
"They (defensive linemen) make my life easier as a safety when they get pressure and make him throw errant balls," Mundy said.
The Mountaineers and the Orange (1-5, 1-1 Big East), which perhaps inexplicably won at Louisville two weeks ago, traded touchdowns. Syracuse then failed on a fake field goal and WVU's Pat McAfee used a 63-yard punt to pin the Orange inside their 10.
The offense managed a first down and on that play, Robinson threw an inside screen pass to Smith. Smith caught the ball, but lost it when he was hit hard by linebacker Reed Williams, who openly admits one reason he leads the team in tackles is because of the way Dykes occupies two blockers and creates lanes for Williams.
Dykes caught the ball at the 19, turned around and followed teammates into the end zone.
"Reed owed me one for keeping him clean all season," Dykes said.
It was WVU's first defensive touchdown since former safety Jahmile Addae, who is now a graduate assistant, returned an interception against Pitt in 2005. The last time a defensive lineman returned an interception for a score was 1981. Jeff Seals brought his back 41 yards against Boston College, though he was 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. Dykes is 6-4 and 300 pounds.
"Longest 19 yards of my life," he said. "I had a dance planned and everything, but to tell the truth, I was too tired."
"The key to the game was the turnover and the touchdown the defense got," Rodriguez said. "It was the first time we've scored on defense in a couple years, so that was a huge, huge play in this game. It got all the players excited."
It was an illustration of what the line has meant to the defense this season. It anchors a group that ranks No. 19 nationally against the run. It combats an offensive line to allow linebackers and safeties to make tackles. It pressures the quarterback and asks the defensive backs to spend less time covering receivers.
"The guys up front are doing an outstanding job," Defensive Coordinator Jeff Casteel said. "No question about that."
The Mountaineers rolled after the Dykes touchdown and the defense allowed just a 61-yard touchdown from Robinson to receiver Mike Williams in the third quarter. It was Syracuse's eighth pass play of at least 40 yards this season.
Still, Robinson finished 5-for-15 for 100 yards. The Orange ran for 48 yards in the first quarter, but just 94 for the game. They finished with 202 yards of offense, the fifth time this season WVU's defense has allowed 277 total yards or fewer.
The Mountaineers offense had 486 total yards and scored their most points in a Big East game since beating Rutgers, 80-7, in 2001. In 118 years of football, Syracuse had never allowed as many points in a home game.
Quarterback Patrick White started after treating a bruised right thigh the past week. He completed 12-of-15 passes for 148 yards and a 20-yard touchdown to Darius Reynaud and ran 14 times for 89 yards and a score, but left in the third quarter with what was described Sunday as a strained chest muscle on his left side.
White is left-handed, but Rodriguez was not concerned because his team doesn't play again until Oct. 20, when it plays host to Mississippi State (4-2) from the Southeastern Conference.
Schmitt had an interesting day, finishing with 39 yards rushing and 31 yards receiving, but also one punt for 27 yards.
On a fourth-and-3 in the second quarter, WVU lined up in its shotgun, then shifted and left Schmitt alone in the backfield. He took the snap and punted and the ball was downed at the Syracuse 11.
Dingle hit Robinson and forced a fumble on third down. After Syracuse punted, Schmitt caught a short pass on first down and ran 31 yards, then barreled into the end zone four plays later with his second touchdown of the day.
Running back Steve Slaton caught four passes for 51 yards and rushed for 69 yards, but did not score a touchdown and still shares the school record of 42 rushing touchdowns with Ira Errett Rodgers and Avon Cobourne. He matched the mark two weeks ago against East Carolina.
"It's only frustrating when we lose," he said. "When we win, it's nothing."