W.Va. comes alive; erupts for 6 TDs

Sunday, September 9, 2007
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pat White, Steve Slaton and newcomer Noel Devine kicked it into gear after intermission, leading West Virginia to six second-half touchdowns in a 48-23 victory over Marshall on Saturday at Huntington, W.Va.

Held to three first downs and 118 total yards in the opening half, heavy favorite West Virginia (2-0) scored on its first three possessions of the third quarter and handed Marshall its worst home loss since Joan C. Edwards Stadium opened in 1991.

"It was a matter of time before everything took its toll," Slaton said. "We kept working."

The schools renewed the Friends of Coal Bowl last year after a lengthy layoff.

The Mountaineers' last game in Huntington was 1915 and they won, 92-6. They got a little more than halfway to 90 on Saturday, which was still impressive considering they had six in the first 30 minutes.

White threw for two touchdowns and ran for 125 yards and another score, Slaton ran for almost all of his 146 yards in the second half and scored twice and the freshman Devine also scored two TDs. West Virginia ran for 362 yards and improved to 7-0 against Marshall.

PITT 34, GRAMBLING 10 (at Pittsburgh) -- LeSean McCoy ran for three touchdowns on his first four carries in the first quarter and Kevan Smith threw for 202 yards and a score in his first career start, helping the Panthers to an easy victory.

Smith became the second Pitt quarterback to win his initial start in as many weeks, throwing a 50-yard touchdown pass to tight end Nate Byham in the second quarter and connecting with Oderick Turner of Teaneck on a 61-yard completion in the third quarter that led to a Conor Lee field goal.

Smith, a redshirt freshman, replaced Bill Stull, who was lost for at least a month with a torn ligament in his right thumb during a season-opening 27-3 win over Eastern Michigan. Smith (15-of-22, one interception) had thrown only four passes in his career, all of them last week, before beating out freshman Pat Bostick to make the start.

CONNECTICUT 38, MAINE 0 (at East Hartford, Conn.) -- Tyler Lorenzen threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Huskies rolled.

Lorenzen, a junior-college transfer starting his first home game, completed 17 of 26 passes for 186 yards and one interception. He also rushed for 35 yards.

IOWA 35, SYRACUSE 0 (at Iowa City) -- Jake Christensen threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns and the Hawkeyes held the Orange to five first downs.

Tony Moeaki had three TD catches and Kenny Iwebema blocked two field goals for Iowa (2-0), which handed Syracuse (0-2) its worst loss under third-year coach Greg Robinson.