Bowling Green Falcons vs West Virginia Mountaineers Match Player Stats On Oct 01, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 1, 2011

Freshman running back Dustin Garrison racked up nearly 300 yards and Geno Smith tossed three first-half touchdown passes as No. 23 West Virginia rebounded by crushing Bowling Green 55-10 at home Saturday.

The Mountaineers (4-1, 0-0 Big East), coming off their 47-21 home loss to LSU, fell behind 10-3 to Bowling Green before scoring 52 straight points.

Garrison, listed at a mere 5-8 and 165 pounds, had 65 yards on 13 carries prior to Saturday. But his 291 yards on 32 carries against Bowling Green equaled West Virginia’s second-most in a game, and his 233 in the first half alone would have been good for sixth (and just a yard behind Amos Zereoue’s 234 against Notre Dame in 1997).

An 8-yard touchdown scamper early in the third quarter moved Garrison into fourth on WVU’s single-game list. He later passed Avon Cobourne (260) and matched Kerry Marbury’s 1971 game total with a 17-yard run on his final carry. Kay-Jay Harris set the Mountaineers’ record of 337 against East Carolina in 2004.

The Falcons (3-2, 1-0 MAC) scored on their first play from scrimmage, taking advantage of Jerry Gates’ 77-yard kick return as Matt Schilz hit Ray Hutson for an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Smith, who set single-game WVU marks for completions, attempts and passing yards in the loss to LSU, kept rolling. He connected with Ivan McCartney, Ryan Nehlen and Brad Starks for scores as the Mountaineers built a 38-10 halftime cushion, and finished 18-for-30 for 238 yards.

West Virginia has won all three meetings between the schools, and ended Bowling Green’s three-game winning streak versus the Big East.