Quarterback Pat White scored on runs of 69, 40, 32 and 12 yards helping the Fifth-Ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (6-0, 1-0 Big East) to a 41-17 homecoming victory over Syracuse University (3-4, 0-2) at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, WV on Saturday.
White gained 247 yards on 14 carries including the four touchdown runs. The performance set a Big East Conference record for most game yards rushing for a quarterback.
“What did he get—247 yards rushing? That’s pretty good,” said West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez in one of his bigger understatements. White’s 247 yards exceeded his Big East record of 220 yards produced against Pitt last year as a freshman. White has now rushed for 517 yards and eight touchdowns on 58 carries for an 8.9-yards-per-carry average. As a team, the Mountaineers are averaging a staggering 6.9 yards per rush.
Bet on College Football at BetRoyal
In addition to White’s groundwork, West Virginia got 166 yards on 20 carries from sophomore running back Steve Slaton .The Mountaineers tallied 562 yards in total offense of which 457 yards came from the rushing game.
Syracuse took the opening kickoff and moved 80 yards in 11 plays. Facing third and nine from the West Virginia 47 yard-line, Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson evaded the pass rush and found freshman wide-receiver Mike Williams wide-open near the goal to complete the 47-yard touchdown play.
The Mountaineers responded quickly scoring on the next three possessions, the 69-yard touchdown run by White, a 19-yard field goal by kicker Pat McAfee and a 52-yard run by Slayton to go up 17-7.
Syracuse made the score 17-14 on a three-yard run by quarterback Perry Patterson capping a nine play 60-yard drive just before the half.
West Virginia scored touchdowns on its first three drives of the second half to build a comfortable advantage. Each score came on White runs covering 40, 32 and 12 yards. A 32-yard field goal by McAfee extended the lead to 41-14 in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse safety Donta Herrod recovered a Mountaineer fumble in West Virginia territory that resulted in a Pat Shadle field goal making the final score of 41-17.
Look for West Virginia to become the top rushing team in the country after the Mountaineers boosted their per game rushing average to 328.3 after the 457-yard effort against Syracuse. The previous weeks leader in team rushing was Navy who only managed 113 yards on 50 tried in a 34-0 loss to Rutgers, reducing its average to 303 yards per game.
