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The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault
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WVU 48, Villanova 21 The Mountaineers would pass more. This much we knew. What we didn't know was that the maiden effort from new West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart and his staff would be a record-setting performance from quarterback Pat White, who tossed five touchdowns in leading the No. 8 Mountaineers to a 48-21 season-opening victory over Villanova Saturday afternoon in Morgantown. In a stark change of pace, White's elusive running became the supplement to his talented arm, instead of the other way around as in in previous seasons. The senior completed 25 of 33 passes for 208 yards -- career highs in both completions and attempts -- and numbers which could have been higher had several balls not been dropped by receivers. In fact, White's one flaw came in the form of an interception caused by a bobbled reception. "As I tried to say way back and no one would believe me, if you put nine people in the box, we're going to throw the football," Steward told the Associated Press as reported in this article. "It's the only thing I know how to do."  WVU's new air attack looks formidable. White's previous career high in passing TDs was two, but his five strikes against 'Nova set a new Mountaineer field record. He finished the day with 271 yards of total offense, placing him ahead of Marc Bulger as WVU's all-time leader in total offense with 7,984 yards. "A year ago, I probably would have thought it was crazy," White told the Register-Herald in this article. "I always wanted to (throw more touchdowns), I just never had the opportunity. As long as we get the 'W.'" Villanova coach Andy Talley said other teams around the country should take notice of White and WVU. "We thought they were as good as advertised," Talley told the Charleston Daily Mail in this article. "We think Pat White is an underrated passer. I think it's really going to help him as a pro prospect." The air attack resulted in several play-makers emerging for future opponents to contend with. Alric Arnett finished with four catches for 70 yards and two scores -- the second of which came from 34 yards out on a perfectly-executed play-action -- while Jock Sanders hauled in eight passes for 62 yards and two trips to paydirt. All told, four different receivers had more than three catches, including the fifth TD pass to Will Johnson.  Pick your poison. Next week will tell if the Mountaineers can pass against stiffer competition. WVU visits East Carolina, who will be fresh off Saturday's 27-22 upset of No. 17 Virginia Tech. The Pirates held the Hokies to 243 total yards, just 139 through the air. ECU logged two interceptions in the victory. The much-anticipated debut of Noel Devine as a starter took a backset to all the action under center. The sophomore had 84 total yards of offense, though the totals were balanced well between rushing (47 yards) and receiving (37 yards). West Virginia rushed for just 149 total yards, just the second time the 'Eers have outgained the ground game with the passing attack. Defensively, the Mountaineers looked at times suspect, but still came up with plenty of big plays with three turnovers. The linebacking crew had a big day, led by Morrty Ivy's 29-yard interception return for a touchdown, and J.T. Thomas, who checked in with six tackles and two sacks to complement his blocked punt in his first start. Strong safety Boogie Allen led the defense with nine tackles and a sack. WVU couldn't get off the field on third down consistently though, stopping the Wildcats on just 8 of 14 opportunities. In fact, the game could have been much closer in the first half if not for John Holmes' forcing a fumble and Ivy's subsequent recovery and 30-yard return. That play set up White's first TD pass to Arnett. Villanova also missed a field goal attempt early on. "I wasn't alarmed," head coach Bill Stewart told ESPN.com in this article. "But I was a little frustrated. We missed a lot of open-field tackles." On paper, the postgame stats actually favored Villanova, which led in first downs (28-21); passing (266-205); total offense (399-354); and time of possession (37:22-22.38). 'Nova passed for 200-plus yards, exposing potential weaknesses in a defense that must face another talented passer next week in East Carolina's Patrick Pinkney, who went 19-of-23 for 211 yards and a touchdown against VT. The No. 8 Mountaineers (1-0) visit Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to take East Carolina (1-0) Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. kick-off.  Fresh off their victory over Virginia Tech, the Pirates will seek to recover from the fact that their father was a tree. News and notes from Mountaineer Field (via WVU Sports Information): Pat McAfee booted six extra points and made two field goals, including a career-high 52-yarder which was the fourth-longest in school history. WVU's team captains were Ryan Stancheck, Mortty Ivy, Pat McAfee and Sam Morrone. Mountaineer coach Bill Stewart said he'll select game captains each week. There were eight first-time starters for WVU: Zac Cooper, J.T. Thomas, Pat Lazear, Boogie Allen, Ellis Lankster, Eain Smith, Alric Arnett and Will Johnson. WVU now has 32 players with at least one game of starting experience. White has now thrown at least two touchdowns in 13 career games, including 10 of his last 17. Kicker McAfee's 52-yard field goal to end the first half was the longest of his career. It tied for the fourth-longest in school history. When Thomas blocked a third-quarter punt, it was the first for WVU since Thandi Smith did so against Rutgers in 2005. Ivy's 29-yard interception return for a score was WVU's first since Keilen Dykes had a 19-yard score at Syracuse last season. Since 2000, West Virginia is 54-1 when scoring 30 points or more in a game. The Mountaineers are 34-5 over the last 39 games. White moved into third place in career Big East touchdowns responsible for (rushing or passing) with 79. He moved past Pitt's Tyler Palko, who had 78 from 2002-06. Donovan McNabb (Syracuse) is the all-time leader with 96. No. 8 WVU 48, VILLANOVA 21 Villanova 0 7 0 14 — 21 WVU 7 17 10 14 — 48 First Quarter WVU—Arnett 24 pass from P.White (McAfee kick), 2:04. Second Quarter WVU—Johnson 3 pass from P.White (McAfee kick), 12:35. Vill—A.Young 3 run (Marcoux kick), 6:47. WVU—Arnett 34 pass from P.White (McAfee kick), 4:35. WVU—FG McAfee 52, :00. Third Quarter WVU—Sanders 9 pass from P.White (McAfee kick), 9:14. WVU—FG McAfee 33, 5:26. Fourth Quarter Vill—Ball 2 run (Marcoux kick), 14:45. WVU—Sanders 17 pass from P.White (McAfee kick), 11:39. WVU—Ivy 29 interception return (McAfee kick), 11:19. Vill—Whitney 1 run (Marcoux kick), :02. A—60,566. Vill WVU First downs 28 21 Rushes-yards 50-133 22-149 Passing 266 205 Comp-Att-Int 21-37-2 26-34-1 Return Yards 0 80 Punts-Avg. 4-29.3 2-42.5 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0 Penalties-Yards 7-60 5-40 Time of Possession 37:22 22:38 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Villanova, Ball 15-55, Atkinson 2-34, Adeyemi 4-20, A.Young 18-13, Whitney 7-8, Babbaro 2-5, Doss 1-0, Szczur 1-(minus 2). West Virginia, P.White 9-63, Devine 9-47, Sanders 2-28, Brown 1-9, Rodgers 1-2. PASSING—Villanova, A.Young 17-33-2-218, Whitney 4-4-0-48. West Virginia, P.White 25-33-1-208, Brown 1-1-0-(minus 3). RECEIVING—Villanova, Harvey 5-85, Reynolds 4-51, White 3-31, Atkinson 3-30, Babbaro 2-27, Smith 2-27, Szczur 2-15. West Virginia, Sanders 8-62, Devine 6-37, Arnett 4-70, Johnson 3-22, Jalloh 2-7, Gonzales 1-7, Starks 1-3, Rodgers 1-(minus 3). |
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| Poster | Thread |
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| WVKay | Posted: 9/1/2008 12:12 am Updated: 9/1/2008 12:12 am |
Pitt Hater   Joined: 1/17/2008 From: Monroe County, WV now in Morgan, GA Posts: 2287 |
 Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assaultI can't help but wonder what would have happened last season had Pat been allowed to pass. Nevertheless, this is 2008 and it's a whole new ballgame. Thank, God.
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| LiteTheCouch | Posted: 9/1/2008 2:40 pm Updated: 9/1/2008 2:40 pm |
Pitt Hater  Joined: 11/24/2007 From: Posts: 1469 |
Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault Fresh off their victory over Virginia Tech, the Pirates will seek to recover from the fact that their father was a tree.
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| BeastoftheEast | Posted: 9/1/2008 2:53 pm Updated: 9/1/2008 2:53 pm |
WMITC   Joined: 7/21/2006 From: Boone County, WV Posts: 9803 |
Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault Those pirates better be getting their rum and booty in now as I have a feeling they won't be celebrating too much this time next week.
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| msaul37 | Posted: 9/1/2008 3:15 pm Updated: 9/1/2008 3:15 pm |
  Joined: 7/27/2006 From: Alkol, Lincoln County Posts: 12329 |
Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault with 5 td passes, that's easily 1/3 of pat white's total passing td from last year. and it's only one game.
in 06, ecu handled our run pretty decently.. so we passed a bit more. i remember a pass to reynaud that was just a little bubble to the left and he took it to the house. in 07, everything worked. i think if ecu stops one thing, they won't stop another.  |
| wvuengineer | Posted: 9/1/2008 3:48 pm Updated: 9/1/2008 3:48 pm |
Grant Ave. Warrior   Joined: 2/8/2008 From: Huntington, WV Posts: 850 |
Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault I don't know true believers...Stew said it best about the defense being frustrating. LOTS of missed tackles, or lots of yards by the time our D caught up to them. I may eat my words next week, but I hope our defensive coaches are tightening things up this week. ECU will not be as forgiving.
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| Pabstman | Posted: 9/1/2008 6:27 pm Updated: 9/1/2008 6:27 pm |
Makin' it Rain   Joined: 5/14/2008 From: Posts: 4780 |
Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault WVUengineer I hear ya. My thoughts are that they will work on these miss tackles and other issues with the D. I just can’t believe the time of possession and total yards. Scares the F*&^ing hell out of me. I was at Mtneer stadium this weekend and I will be in Greenville this coming weekend, as long as those damn hurricanes stay away. I think u and I both will eat our words against ECU. At least I hope we do!
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| silvercire | Posted: 9/2/2008 12:02 pm Updated: 9/2/2008 12:02 pm |
Grant Ave. Warrior  Joined: 2/1/2008 From: Chicago Posts: 896 |
Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault I have two words for ECU from last year....REVERSE, REVERSE!
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| rocketrodeo | Posted: 9/4/2008 9:25 am Updated: 9/4/2008 9:25 am |
Suspected Punter   Joined: 1/4/2008 From: Ann Arbor, MI ... via Pleasants County, USA Posts: 148 |
Re: The Mountaineers crush Villanova with an aerial assault Good as Rodriguez was supposed to be [cough] he sure did neglect developing talents in already-good players. Stew encourages me; he's certainly bringing out skills in our players that weren't used previously.
You have to wonder how much better White's chances for the Heisman would have been had the previous coach used him for anything other than a glorified running back. Actually, you don't have to wonder. |
