Smith throws three touchdowns, Devine runs for two as WVU bounces back from first loss
MORGANTOWN - He had become almost an afterthought, sort of a luxury that, were it ever to become available, would be both surprising and pleasantly welcomed.
MORGANTOWN - He had become almost an afterthought, sort of a luxury that, were it ever to become available, would be both surprising and pleasantly welcomed.
Saturday afternoon, Bradley Starks finally emerged as both.
On a day when everything else pretty much followed script - West Virginia was supposed to pummel UNLV and easily did so - perhaps the biggest contributor was a shocking one. Starks caught four passes, turned them into 100 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Mountaineers to their 49-10 rout of the Rebels.
That Starks can play the game should come as little surprise. After all, he caught 29 passes for 405 yards last season. The year before that, he had 17 catches and finished the year with a highlight reel grab for a touchdown from Pat White in a win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
But he has also spent more time in the training room than on the field, too. While he managed to play in all four previous games this season, his noteworthy contributions were nil. He had not caught a single pass or gained a yard.
"Yeah, but he's one of the biggest [skill position players] and fastest on the team,'' coach Bill Stewart said. "I just wish we could get him healthy all year.''
Especially if this is the result.
Starks caught a wide-open 38-yard touchdown on the game's third play, fought a defender for a 48-yard score just before halftime and then worked himself open to catch a 2-yarder when quarterback Geno Smith had to scramble early in the third quarter.
Yes, there were other reasons West Virginia (4-1) handled UNLV (1-5) with almost comic ease, including Noel Devine's three rushes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Smith completed 12-of-16 passes for 220 yards and the three scores. The Mountaineers rolled up 445 total yards despite substituting freely. And the defense managed three sacks, two interceptions (both by Keith Tandy) and held the Rebels to 276 yards. The score was 35-0 at halftime and the game ended as easily the most lopsided rout in Stewart's 21/2 years.
But none of that was surprising or, quite frankly, terribly noteworthy. Starks' performance was.
"He's pretty much a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams,'' said Smith. "Add in Jock [Sanders] and Noel and Tavon [Austin] and everyone else and that's a good mix to have.''
MORGANTOWN - He had become almost an afterthought, sort of a luxury that, were it ever to become available, would be both surprising and pleasantly welcomed.
Saturday afternoon, Bradley Starks finally emerged as both.
On a day when everything else pretty much followed script - West Virginia was supposed to pummel UNLV and easily did so - perhaps the biggest contributor was a shocking one. Starks caught four passes, turned them into 100 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Mountaineers to their 49-10 rout of the Rebels.
That Starks can play the game should come as little surprise. After all, he caught 29 passes for 405 yards last season. The year before that, he had 17 catches and finished the year with a highlight reel grab for a touchdown from Pat White in a win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
But he has also spent more time in the training room than on the field, too. While he managed to play in all four previous games this season, his noteworthy contributions were nil. He had not caught a single pass or gained a yard.
"Yeah, but he's one of the biggest [skill position players] and fastest on the team,'' coach Bill Stewart said. "I just wish we could get him healthy all year.''
Especially if this is the result.
Starks caught a wide-open 38-yard touchdown on the game's third play, fought a defender for a 48-yard score just before halftime and then worked himself open to catch a 2-yarder when quarterback Geno Smith had to scramble early in the third quarter.
Yes, there were other reasons West Virginia (4-1) handled UNLV (1-5) with almost comic ease, including Noel Devine's three rushes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Smith completed 12-of-16 passes for 220 yards and the three scores. The Mountaineers rolled up 445 total yards despite substituting freely. And the defense managed three sacks, two interceptions (both by Keith Tandy) and held the Rebels to 276 yards. The score was 35-0 at halftime and the game ended as easily the most lopsided rout in Stewart's 21/2 years.
But none of that was surprising or, quite frankly, terribly noteworthy. Starks' performance was.
"He's pretty much a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams,'' said Smith. "Add in Jock [Sanders] and Noel and Tavon [Austin] and everyone else and that's a good mix to have.''
Indeed, with West Virginia's Big East season beginning just four days from now with a Thursday night home game against South Florida, now was a perfect time for the Mountaineers to find themselves yet another offensive option. The receiving combination of Sanders and Austin and the running of Devine is all well and good, but the fact of the matter is that all three are little guys whose skill sets are similar. They get the ball in the open field and try to make things happen.
Starks is not a little guy. He's 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, was athletic enough to be the high school basketball player of the year in Virginia as a senior, and at WVU has played both quarterback and wide receiver.
The bottom line is that he is a big, athletic receiver who can go down the field and catch the ball, something the Mountaineers have lacked. And now, after perhaps putting behind him the hip and groin injuries that have plagued him since the spring, Starks is ready to contribute.
"I just had to really be patient,'' Starks said after becoming the first WVU player since Cedric Thomas in 1977 to catch three touchdown passes in a game. "It was frustrating. I had all summer to work and get ready, and then the injuries hit again when camp began.
"I knew I'd have the opportunity to do it, but having the opportunity and doing it are two different things.''
Starks had the opportunity right from the start because the Mountaineers opened the game in a five-wide receiver set. With Devine nursing a foot injury and expected to play only as much as necessary, West Virginia simply spread the field with Starks, Sanders, Austin, Stedman Bailey and J.D. Woods.
"They had really big, strong inside guys and we thought our advantage was on the edge,'' said offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen. "So we got our guys out there and spread them out.''
And with Starks making his catches and Devine scoring on two of his three carries covering 28 and 48 yards, it was just as easy as the final score indicates.
BRIEFLY: West Virginia played Saturday's game with just two available quarterbacks in Smith and true freshman Barry Brunetti. Freshman Jeremy Johnson was not dressed and not on the sidelines, and Stewart said after the game that Johnson is struggling with the same homesickness issues that plagued him in August.
"I don't know how to combat the mileage,'' Stewart said of Johnson, who is from Texas.
Cornerback Brandon Hogan spent the second half in street clothes after injuring his arm in the first half. Stewart did not directly address the injury except to say that he thought that Hogan was tough enough to recover in time to play Thursday night against USF.Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
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