#13/12 West Virginia Defeats Orange

Saturday, October 6

Syracuse, NY

12:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

West Virginia

Curtis Brinkley went over the top for a touchdown against #13/12 West Virginia.

10/6/2007 11:13:04 AM | Football

Syracuse Game Notes
Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes

Head Coach Greg Robinson Quotes
West Virginia Head Coach Quotes
West Virginia Player Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange lost to #13/12 West Virginia, 55-14, on Saturday, Oct. 6 in the Carrier Dome. After WVU scored on its first drive, Syracuse responded with a touchdown to tie the score, 7-7, with 6:38 left in the first quarter. The Mountaineers (5-1, 1-1) then scored 34 unanswered points to break open the game.

Junior tailback Curtis Brinkley and sophomore receiver Mike Williams each had touchdowns for the Orange. Brinkley scored his first TD of the year in the first quarter and Williams had a career-long 61-yard touchdown catch and run in the third period. Brinkley rushed 18 times for 50 yards and Williams was the game’s leading receiver with 72 yards on two receptions. Defensively, true freshman Mike Holmes had a fine game, making a career-best 13 tackles in his second start. He also returned three kickoffs for 118 yards, an average of 39.3 yards per return.

The Mountaineers recorded touchdown drives of 37, 77 and 51 yards in the opening half. Defensive lineman Keilen Dykes also had a touchdown for the Mountaineers when he returned an interception 19 yards to paydirt. Fullback Owen Schmitt capped two of the scoring drives with touchdown runs of seven yards and one yard, respectively. Quarterback Pat White had the other TD, a one-yard scamper, and a 49-yard field goal by Pat McAfee as time expired gave the Mountaineers a 31-7 lead at the break.

West Virginia added to its advantage in the third quarter, taking the second-half kickoff 46 yards for its fifth touchdown of the afternoon. White hooked up with Darius Reynaud for a 20-yard TD strike. McAfee booted his second field goal of the day to make the score 41-7 with three minutes to go in the third before Andrew Robinson’s TD pass to Williams ended the Mountaineer’s scoring streak. Robinson was 5-for-15 for 100 yards. He threw a touchdown and two interceptions for the Orange. His second-half touchdown pass increased his season total to eight. Robinson has at least one TD in five of SU’s six games this season.

West Virginia backup quarterback Jarrett Brown, who replaced White in the third quarter, scored on a four-yard run in the fourth period and Jock Sanders added an 11-yard touchdown run to produce the final score.

White rushed 14 times for 89 yards and a touchdown. He was 12-of-15 for 148 yards and a TD through the air. Schmitt finished with 39 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Tailback Steve Slaton added 69 yards.

The Mountaineers retained the Schwartzwalder Trophy, which goes to the winner of the annual contest.

Schmitt’s first TD capped off a five-play scoring drive to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead 3:01 into the contest. The touchdown was set up by Ryan Mundy, who intercepted Robinson’s first pass of game, and returned it to the Orange 37. The pick was Robinson’s first since the Iowa game – a streak of 104 attempts.

The Orange answered West Virginia’s first score with a 10-play, 45-yard march to tie the game with 6:38 left in the opening quarter. Holmes gave the Orange good starting field position, returning the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the West Virginia 45. Brinkley carried the load, rushing seven times for 32 yards on the drive, including a 1-yard leap over the top of the Mountaineers’ defense to even the score.

White’s TD gave West Virginia the lead back at the 2:13 mark of the first quarter and Dykes’ interception return, on a pass that was knocked out of the hands of junior receiver Taj Smith, extended the margin to 21-7 three minutes into the second period as West Virginia pulled away.

SU freshman safety Max Suter made seven tackles in the first start of his career as the Orange went with five defensive backs and five down linemen in an attempt to thwart the Mountaineers’ spread offense. Safety Joe Fields had 10 tackles and linebacker Jake Flaherty finished with nine stops.

The Orange hosts its second straight ranked opponent Saturday, Oct. 13 when it entertains #21/21 Rutgers on Homecoming Weekend. Kickoff is at 12 p.m. on ESPN Regional.