Coastal Carolina Notebook

By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
September 5, 2010

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – There were many times last year when it seemed like the worst thing West Virginia could do was score a touchdown or a field goal. That’s because the next thing the Mountaineers had to do was kick off to the other team.


	Pat Miller celebrates his tackle on West Virginia's opening kickoff of the 2010 campaign. All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo

Time and again last season West Virginia would score points only to see a short kick returned to midfield, a squibber roll out of bounds, or a low liner taken back for a touchdown.

The one that comes to mind immediately happened at Rutgers last year right after the Mountaineers went up 21-3 following a Sidney Glover interception return for a touchdown. That’s when Joe Lefeged scooped up WVU’s worm-burner and weaved right through the coverage unit like Red Grange in those old black and white movies. The Scarlet Knights tacked on the two-point conversion, and just like that, they were right back into the game.

Coach Bill Stewart, disgusted with his team’s kickoff coverage unit that ranked near the bottom of the NCAA, decided to overhaul the whole operation last spring and put safeties coach Steve Dunlap in charge. The team worked on kickoff coverage intermittently during the spring and fall – mostly when reporters were not at practice – leaving many to wonder what they would see when the ball was on the tee this fall against Coastal Carolina.

Would it be another ‘Oh God’ kickoff moment? You know, ‘Oh God, here comes the kickoff team!’ Well, after driving the length of the field to score the game’s first touchdown, West Virginia lined up at the 30 to kick the ball back to Coastal. Corey Smith, the Alabama transfer by way of Mussleman High in the state’s eastern panhandle, got into one pretty high that sailed to the 9 yard line where Adrian Sullivan pulled the ball in and started up the field.

But before Sullivan could even reach the 20 yard line, backup cornerback Pat Miller was right there to haul him down at the 19. Applause.

West Virginia’s second kickoff opportunity came with about eight minutes left in the first half and the Mountaineers leading 10-0. This time Smith got all of it, sailing the ball high and deep to the Chanticleers’ goal line where Eric O’Neal hauled it in. This time Brantwon Bowser was there to meet him at the 22. More applause.

The Mountaineers’ third kickoff to begin the second half decided the outcome of the game. Coastal (hanging around mainly because West Virginia couldn’t stop shooting itself in the foot) was looking to begin the second half with a time consuming drive that ended with points – either a touchdown or a field goal.

A good return would put it in position to do so.

Smith pounded another high kick that took Sullivan back to his goal line. Sullivan started up the right side of the field when out of nowhere Robert Sands crashed into him, jarring the football loose where Darwin Cook fell on it at the Coastal 19. Three plays later, West Virginia was in the end zone and a close game was no longer close.

Six times West Virginia kicked off to Coastal Carolina and the best the Chanticleers could do was a 22-yard return by O’Neal. Coastal’s best starting field position was its own 27 yard line when a pooch kick was returned 9 yards by Anthony Frye.

It was a good opening performance for the Mountaineer kickoff team, but more tests will undoubtedly come.

“I was pleased with the polish of our special teams,” said Stewart. “I thought Corey Smith kicked the ball well and our coverage was excellent.”

Stewart also knows one game does not make a season.

“If we can keep it up, it will be neat,” he said.

Briefly:

Stewart talked during fall camp about the need for his offense to turn field position when the Mountaineers had the ball backed up deep in their own territory and it appears more work needs to be done in that area. The offense again struggled trying to come out of its own goal line, producing consecutive three-and-out possessions in the first quarter when starting inside its 20. All five of West Virginia’s scoring drives on Saturday started with the football beyond the 20, with three of the five beginning at midfield or on Coastal’s side of the field.

It looks like West Virginia is going to be most effective running in the red zone when Ryan Clarke is behind Matt Lindamood in the I-formation. It took Clarke three cracks from the 9 to cross the Chanticleers’ goal line behind the blocking of lead back Lindamood to give the Mountaineers a 24-0 lead.

On two occasions in the first half, West Virginia opted to spread Coastal Carolina out in the red zone with only Devine in the backfield. It took the Mountaineers three tries before quarterback Geno Smith found J.D. Woods in the end zone on a fourth-down pass on its opening possession. WVU's second red zone trip resulted in a Tyler Bitancurt 21-yard field goal.

At first glance, it appeared West Virginia’s offensive performance against a so-so FCS opponent was also so-so. The Mountaineers did finish the game with 400 total yards but only had 10 points on the scoreboard at halftime. However, don’t forget Tavon Austin’s fumble out of the end zone that took six points off the scoreboard, Geno Smith’s interception out in the flat when West Virginia was trying to get into field goal range, and a Noel Devine third-quarter fumble at the WVU 36. Also, all but five of those 400 yards came with the No. 1 offense on the field before the backups saw action with more than 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Barry Brunetti’s passing line of 3 of 5 for 0 yards won’t be remembered, but the simple fact that West Virginia was able to get him under center in game conditions will prove to be invaluable down the road.

Smith’s 216-yard, two-touchdown passing performance against Coastal Carolina was on par with some of the other recent first-time starting quarterbacks at WVU. Of the five most recent first-time starters, Jarrett Brown’s effort was the best – his 244-yard passing performance leading West Virginia to a triple-overtime victory over Rutgers in 2006. There were times when Smith looked like a polished veteran and there were other times when he looked like an inexperienced rookie on Saturday.

“This was his first complete game and he is just a sophomore,” said Stewart. “The pick was a bad break. He’ll get better and he’s my guy.”

West Virginia’s shutout was its first in 55 games dating back to a 38-0 whitewash of Cincinnati in 2005. Coastal Carolina had three legitimate scoring opportunities - one being the result of a Dominique Davenport interception return to the WVU 21. But Brandon Hogan made an athletic, sliding catch in the back of the end zone to turn away that scoring threat.

Coastal Carolina kicker Justin Durham also missed two field goal tries of 47 and 42 yards. The Chanticleers finished the game with just nine first downs and an average of 3.1 yards per play.

“There was a lot of (defensive) speed and we used it to our advantage,” Stewart said.

Gregg Pugnetti’s punting also helped the defense. He averaged 49.2 yards per punt and put two inside the five.

“It was a good opening win but we’ve got a long, long way to go – and a lot of better football to play,” added Stewart.

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