1st Quarter Update

Syracuse 7, West Virginia 3

Not much happened in the first quarter thanks to Syracuse milking the clock on every play, executing their game plan perfectly to keep Geno Smith off the field. The Orange put together a 14-play drive that seemed to never end, taking 6:21 off the clock and putting 7 on the board. West Virginia got the ball back for only the second time with 4:15 left in the first. They drove down the field with relative ease, but ended up settling for a field goal as the blitz got to Geno on third down. The Orange returned on offense with 1:06 to go and continued grinding it out.

The tempo and style of the game is playing out exactly as Syracuse would like. West Virginia needs to come up with plays on defense to get the Orange off the field or the Mountaineers could be in jeopardy of dropping two in a row to Syracuse for the first time in a decade. 

1st Quarter Update

3-3 at the end of the 1st quarter.
The Mountaineers are looking sluggish in all phases of the game--not bad, just not quite clicking. As Holgorsen would say, they are not playing smart football. West Virginia has already committed a personal foul and a turnover.
Ivan McCartney coughed up the ball at the WVU 37 yard line. Last year, it was turnovers that killed the Mountaineers as they turned it over 7 times in their first ever loss to the Huskies.
The defense has been the most disappointing so far by not getting off the field. They are allowing the Huskies to sustain long drives, putting the Mountaineers in a huge time-of-possession hole. UCONN has held the ball for 11:07, with West Virginia getting it for only 3:53. Part of that is WVU's quick-strike offense...but this needs to improve in the rest of the game.