Live blog: WVU handles Penguins 52-17 in home opener

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The No. 14 Mountaineers were 33-point favorites over Youngstown State in a game they hoped would be forgotten as the appetizer between Tennessee and N.C. State.

It was, as the Mountaineers prevailed 52-17.

We’ll feature live updates throughout the game from Milan Puskar Stadium:

Fourth quarter

FIELD GOAL: 31-yarder by Evan Staley (8:37) WVU leads 52-17
Backup quarterback Jack Allison’s first game action at West Virginia resulted in points, though Allison was only 1-of-3 on the drive for 4 yards. Leddie Brown’s 18-yard run and Kennedy McKoy’s 23-yarder kept the ground game humming until Staley came on. (Drive: 64 yards in 9 plays in 3:26)

YSU PUNT: The Penguins gained 5 yards on five plays.

TOUCHDOWN: 40-yard pass from Will Grier to Dominique Maiden (14:37) WVU leads 49-17
Maiden’s over-the-middle catch featured some impressive YAC as he raced through the Youngstown State secondary for his first career touchdown. On the previous play, Pettaway barreled ahead for 10 yards and nearly popped a big gainer. The WVU offense has needed a combined 53 seconds for its past two TDs, averaging 21 yards per play in the process. (Drive: 50 yards in 2 plays in 0:23)

Third quarter

FIELD GOAL: 45-yarder by Zac Kennedy (0:01) WVU leads 42-17
Josh Norwood will hear the phrase “eye discipline” repeatedly this week after being beaten deep on another pump fake. This one went for 43 yards to Zach Farrar down to the West Virginia 11. Youngstown State’s touchdown hopes vanished on the next play when an H-back was flagged for a chop block into the legs of JoVanni Stewart. But Kennedy delivered three points nonetheless with a long-range kick. (Drive: 56 yards in 7 plays in 3:14)

TOUCHDOWN: 8-yard run by Kennedy McKoy (3:20) WVU leads 42-14
West Virginia cashed in quickly with a knockout blow from McKoy. His 26-yard run on first down featured several broken tackles on the second level, something he needed to improve upon after his first two seasons. His touchdown carry came on the next snap, at which point the Fightin’ Pelinis appeared to have lost their fight. (Drive: 34 yards in 2 plays in 0:30)

YSU TURNOVER: Dravon Askew-Henry worked the sideline toe-tap to intercept VanGorder.

TOUCHDOWN: 1-yard run by Leddie Brown (4:02) WVU leads 35-14
Brown’s 33-yard dash for a touchdown was wiped away by a holding flag — one that had Dana Holgorsen inventing multi-syllable words toward the officiating crew. But Brown got another chance at his first career TD later in the drive and capitalized behind a strong line surge. Don’t overlook the nice play the freshman made a play earlier, spinning away from blitzing linebacker Armond  Dellovade for a 6-yard gain down to the 1. The series featured another beautiful throw-and-catch: Grier connecting with Simms for 25 yards on fourth-and-3 despite defensive pass interference on cornerback Bryce Gibson. (Drive: 82 yards in 14 plays in 1:11)

TOUCHDOWN: 13-yard run by Tevin McCaster (9:29) WVU leads 28-14
Cornerback Josh Norwood endured an up-and-down series. He forced a fumble by Zach Farrar that YSU recovered near midfield, but then he was beaten on a stop-and-go by Farrar for 40 yards to the Mountaineers’ 12. Two snaps later McCaster, a Payton Award nominee, gashed through for the score. Not much defense displayed on that series. (Drive: 75 yards in 6 plays in 2:50)

TOUCHDOWN: 33-yard pass from Grier to Jennings (12:19) WVU leads 28-7
This was the quick-strike offense we’re accustomed to. After three Leddie Brown carries netted 28 yards, Jennings raced by a cornerback for a wide-open touchdown pass from Grier. That was the trifecta for Jennings, who entered the game with five career scores. (Drive: 51 yards in 4 plays in 1:11)

YSU PUNT: The Penguins opened the second half at their 25 and punted from their 12. Back-to-back TFLs by West Virginia’s defense (JoVanni Stewart and Josh Norwood) and a false start did the trick.

Halftime update

— West Virginia leads 305-111 in total offense.

— QBs: Grier is 13-of-17 for 163 yards with two TDs after that opening-drive interception. VanGorder is 3-of-10 for 23 yards with six carries for 11 yards.

Second quarter

TOUCHDOWN: 24-yard pass from Grier to Jennings (1:00) WVU leads 21-7
West Virginia executed with precision before the half to pad the lead. Facing third-and-6 at the Youngstown State 44, Grier took advantage of soft coverage to find Simms for 11. After Simms caught the next pass for 9 more, Grier found Jennings working an inside-out route against zone coverage. The Penguins had no one near as Jennings secured his second touchdown of the quarter. (Drive: 65 yards in 7 plays in 2:32)

YSU PUNT: Starting from its own 7, Youngstown State at least advanced the ball out to the 39-yard line before punting.

WVU PUNT: Simms nearly broke a long kickoff return only to be tripped up at his 29. The Mountaineers picked up one first down before stalling. Jennings couldn’t catch a low throw from the scrambling Grier, and on third-and-10 Will Latham batted down a pass intended for Simms.

TOUCHDOWN: 4-yard pass from Montgomery VanGorder to Miles Joiner (9:01) WVU leads 14-7
Montgomery’s 3-for-6 passing on the series didn’t tell the story because West Virginia defenders twice were hit for pass interference flags. One came against cornerback Derrek Pitts who stumbled and tackled Zach Farrar from behind. Then safety Kenny Robinson grabbed Ryan Emans on an incompletion in the back of the end zone, setting up YSU at the 2-yard line. WVU threatened a goal-line stand thanks to a Pitts breakup and VanGorder losing 2 yards after a fumble snap, but the grad transfer QB made amends on a savvy third-down play. He sucked in the linebackers on a fake scramble and hit a wide-open tight end for the touchdown. (Drive: 10 yards in 75 plays in 3:51)

TOUCHDOWN: 11-yard pass from Grier to Jennings (12:52) WVU leads 14-0
Grier went 5-for-5 for 65 yards on the drive and his third-down passing made it pay off. He found Simms for 13 yards on third-and-9 to the Youngstown State 13, and then hit Jennings on third-and-8 from the 11. Jennings fought through two tacklers at the goal line for his second TD of 2018, doubling his 2017 total. (Drive: 68 yards in 10 plays 4:18)

First quarter

YSU PUNT: Three-and-out for the Penguins thanks to Jabril Robinson dropping the VanGorder for a 6-yard loss after a fake handoff.

TOUCHDOWN: 9-yard run by Alec Sinkfield (3:50) WVU leads 7-0
The methodical Mountaineers ran it seven straight times using Pettaway and Brown, and three of those carries chewed up double-digit yardage. Grier finally loosened up his arm on a 14-yard crossing route to Jennings before pulling some play-action on a 13-yard gain to Simms. That set up the scoring play on which Sinkfield darted around the right edge. (Drive: 99 yards in 10 plays in 3:51)

YSU PUNT: The Penguins got cranked up with a 20-yard run by McCaster, but then Kenny Bigelow burst through for a momentum-killing TFL. Mark Schuler’s wobbly punt landed near the 20 and rolled inside the 1 for a 56-yard net, something that could’ve been prevented had returner Marcus Simms made a better read and been more aggressive.

WVU TURNOVER: The Mountaineers ate up 5:19 on a 12-play drive to the Penguins’ 33. (Grier converted a third-and 13 with a 14-yard comeback throw to Sills.) But a clunky-looking third-and-5 play began with an off-target snap  and ended with Grier making a poor throw off a scramble. Youngstown’s Will latham intercepted at the 23.

Pregame notes

— During warmups, JoVanni Stewart lined up at Sam linebacker spot alongside Dylan Tonkery (Mike) and David Long (Will). Now, whether Stewart is really functioning as a linebacker or just a sixth DB remains to be seen. On the depth chart, WVU had Shea Campbell and Exree Loe 1-2 at Sam.

— Cool, overcast and breezy today at Milan Puskar Stadium. Starting to feel like fall.

— WVU is 18-0 all-time against the FCS, including 7-0 under Holgorsen.

— Here were our MetroNews staff picks. No one anticipates drama.

— Sean Manning of The Dominion Post wrote a piece on the Stills brothers playing side-by-side last week. That’s a duo the Mountaineers could enjoy seeing across the next three years.

— My story this week on the 1988 WVU team that is celebrating its 30th anniversary. It features good stuff from Don Nehlen, but one anecdote that didn’t make the story involved the infamous rap video Major Harris and Alvoid Mays recorded before the Fiesta Bowl. The players needed less than a half-hour to pen the lyrics en route to the Morgantown studio, and sales of the cassingle benefited charity. (A heavy Run D.M.C influence, you know, for the kids.) Thing is, Nehlen knew nothing about the recording and was incensed about it providing bulletin-board material for Notre Dame. “That certainly didn’t help us in the bowl game,” he told me this week.

— More pregame storylines:

Will T.J. Simmons see more targets? His first one sure worked out, a 59-yard touchdown that stunned the Tennessee secondary and even Simmons’ own position coach, Tyron Carrier. “I put him in the game for (David) Sills and said, ‘Go get you one,’ and T.J. got him one,” Carrier said. “What he did after breaking that tackle was pretty special. It’s been a while since we’ve seen him run like that.” Simmons left spring practice as a starting receiver but had been slowed by a toe injury throughout preseason, when Marcus Simms re-emerged. After the game-changing play Simmons made vs. Tennessee, he’s deserving of more chances.

Why play this game? To quote Judge Smails, “The world needs ditch diggers too,” and there’s a symmetry to Power Five schools taking on their FCS little brothers. The small programs receive a lifeblood payday and a chance to sample big-boy atmosphere, while teams like West Virginia embrace an opportunity to fine-tune, tinker and develop. With college football now acclimated to the 12-game regular season, one weekend of mismatches doesn’t hurt.

— Brad Powers’ betting picks on the MetroNews “GameDay” broadcast: He likes Texas A&M (+12) against Clemson, Stanford (-5) vs. USC, Cal (+3) vs. BYU, and he’s touting the over in Florida-Kentucky (51).

Powers also takes Youngstown State to cover the 33-point advantage against West Virginia.





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